Map of Amsterdam: Neighbourhoods, Attractions and How to Get Around

Amsterdam looks confusing on a map — a web of half-circle canals with no obvious grid. Once you understand the basic shape, though, it is one of the easiest cities in Europe to find your way around. This guide breaks down the map of Amsterdam: the main neighbourhoods, where the big sights sit, the best areas to stay, and how to get between them on foot, by tram or by bike.

Interactive map of Amsterdam: attractions, food, bars, toilets & hidden gems

Use the map below to find the city’s main attractions, the best friet and food spots, classic brown cafés and bars, public toilets, and a handful of hidden gems. Toggle the categories with the panel at the top right, and click any pin to open directions in Google Maps. The full list of every place is underneath.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins are approximate — tap “Open in Google Maps” for exact directions.

Top attractions

• Rijksmuseum — the Dutch masters and the famous library. Guide
• Van Gogh Museum — the world’s largest Van Gogh collection. Tickets
• Anne Frank House — the canal-house hiding place (book well ahead).
• Dam Square & Royal Palace — the historic heart of the city.
• Heineken Experience — the old brewery, now an interactive tour. Guide
• A’DAM Lookout — rooftop views and a swing over the edge, in Noord.
• Vondelpark, Moco Museum, NEMO Science Museum and the Bloemenmarkt floating flower market.

Best food & friet (including Fabel Friet)

• Fabel Friet (Runstraat 1) — fresh hand-cut fries with truffle mayo, in the Nine Streets.
• Vleminckx de Sausmeester (Voetboogstraat 33) — the city’s most famous Flemish fries, going since 1957.
• Winkel 43 (Noordermarkt) — the legendary Dutch apple pie.
• Foodhallen — indoor street-food hall in Oud-West.
• Albert Cuyp Market — fresh stroopwafels and snacks along the stalls. Guide
• The Pancake Bakery, Café de Klos (ribs), Moeders (homestyle Dutch), Stubbe’s Haring (herring) and a wall-of-croquettes FEBO.

For more on what to eat, see our guides to must-eat Amsterdam snacks and the famous stroopwafels of Amsterdam.

Bars & brown cafés

• Wynand Fockink — a 1679 jenever tasting room behind Dam Square.
• Café de Dokter — the smallest bar in the city.
• Café ‘t Smalle — a postcard-perfect canal-side brown café in the Jordaan.
• Brouwerij ‘t IJ — craft brewery at the foot of the De Gooyer windmill.
• In ‘t Aepjen (a 16th-century wooden house), Café Hoppe, Café Papeneiland and waterfront Hannekes Boom.

Public toilets

Public toilets are limited in Amsterdam, and many charge around €0.50. Your most reliable options are at Amsterdam Centraal, around Dam Square and Leidseplein, in department stores such as De Bijenkorf, inside museums, and at Vondelpark and the Albert Cuyp market. There are also free street urinals (the green krul) dotted around the centre. The map marks the handiest spots.

Hidden gems

• Begijnhof — a hidden medieval courtyard moments from the busy Spui.
• Our Lord in the Attic — a secret church built in the top of a canal house.
• Electric Ladyland — a tiny museum of fluorescent art in the Jordaan.
• De Poezenboot — a floating cat sanctuary on the Singel.
• KattenKabinet, the Hortus Botanicus, the free Civic Guards Gallery, the Nine Streets and the photogenic Brouwersgracht.

The shape of the city: how to read the map

Start with one landmark: Amsterdam Centraal station. It sits at the top of the old centre, facing the water, and almost everything you want to see fans out south of it in a series of half-rings.

Those rings are the famous canals of Amsterdam — Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht — curving around the medieval core like growth rings on a tree. Once you picture Centraal at the top and the canals curving away from it, the map clicks into place. If you can find the station, you can find your way home.

The main neighbourhoods of Amsterdam

The city is officially split into seven districts, but as a visitor you will spend nearly all your time in a handful of central neighbourhoods:

• Old Centre (Centrum) — the oldest part of the city, with Dam Square, the busy Damrak shopping street and the Red Light District around the Oude Kerk. Lively, central and walkable from the station.
• Canal Belt (Grachtengordel) — the UNESCO-listed 17th-century canal ring, lined with gabled merchant houses. This is the postcard Amsterdam and the prettiest area to wander.
• Jordaan — narrow streets and small canals just west of the centre, full of cafes, galleries and the Anne Frank House on its eastern edge. Quieter and very photogenic.
• Museum Quarter (Oud-Zuid) — upmarket and green, home to the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and Vondelpark.
• De Pijp — a buzzing, food-focused neighbourhood south of the centre, built around the Albert Cuyp market.
• Amsterdam-Noord — across the IJ waterway behind Centraal, reached by a free ferry. Industrial-turned-creative, with the A’DAM Lookout tower and the EYE film museum.
• Oost & Plantage — east of the centre, with the zoo, the botanical garden, a working windmill and the Maritime Museum.

Where the main attractions sit on the map

Most first-time visitors are surprised how close everything is — the central sights are mostly within a 20 to 30 minute walk of each other. Here is the rough lay of the land:

• By Centraal & the old centre: Dam Square, the Royal Palace, the Red Light District, Chinatown.
• In the canal belt: the Anne Frank House, the Nine Streets shopping area, countless canal-side cafes.
• In the Museum Quarter: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Moco and Vondelpark.
• In De Pijp: the Albert Cuyp market and the Heineken Experience.

For a ready-made route through these, see our one day in Amsterdam itinerary, or the 2-day and 3-day versions if you have longer. A full list of options is in our guide to things to do in Amsterdam.

Best areas to stay

Where you base yourself shapes your whole trip. As a quick guide: the Canal Belt and Jordaan are the prettiest and most central; the Old Centre is the most convenient but can be noisy; the Museum Quarter and De Pijp are calmer and good value while still close in. We cover specific picks in our Amsterdam hotel tips and our list of central Amsterdam hotels.

How to get around Amsterdam

• On foot — the centre is small and walking is the best way to see it. Just stay off the red bike lanes.
• Tram, metro & bus — run by GVB. Tap in and out with a contactless bank card or phone; there is no need to buy a separate ticket for short trips.
• Ferry — free passenger ferries cross the IJ to Amsterdam-Noord from behind Centraal.
• Bike — the local way to travel. Rentals are everywhere, but the traffic moves fast, so it suits confident cyclists.
• From the airport — trains run from Schiphol to Centraal in about 15 to 20 minutes.

Getting a paper or offline map

Phone signal is good across the city, so an offline Google Map of the centre is usually all you need. If you prefer paper, the official I amsterdam site offers a free downloadable city map, and any tourist information point near Centraal can hand you one. Pin Centraal station and your hotel before you set off and you will not get lost.

Beyond the city map: day trips

Some of the Netherlands’ best sights sit just off the Amsterdam map — the windmills of Zaanse Schans, the tulip fields, and historic towns like Haarlem and Utrecht, all reachable by a short train ride. See our guide to the best day trips from Amsterdam to plan one.

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