Where to stay in Amsterdam

South of the museum quarter, De Pijp is Amsterdam at its most cosmopolitan. The Albert Cuyp Market — the largest outdoor market in the Netherlands — runs daily along the main street. Surinamese, Indonesian, Moroccan, and Dutch kitchens exist within a 10-minute walk of each other. The Heineken Experience is here too, though the brewery itself makes a better bar stop.

Amsterdam's most notorious neighborhood is also one of its oldest — the canals here date to the 14th century. Beyond the window brothels and coffee shops, the neighborhood has the Oude Kerk (the city's oldest building), excellent Indonesian restaurants, and some of the most photographed canal bridges in the city. Visit in the morning for an entirely different experience.

A free ferry from Centraal Station takes you to Amsterdam Noord, the city's fastest-changing district. The NDSM shipyard has been transformed into a creative hub of studios, street art, food trucks, and a monthly flea market. Eye Filmmuseum is a stunning piece of architecture on the waterfront. Few tourists venture here — that's the point.

Amsterdam's most photogenic neighborhood: 17th-century canal houses, independent galleries, brown cafés (bruine kroegen), and the Noordermarkt on Saturdays. It was a working-class district until the 1970s gentrification; today it's the city's most desirable address. Walk the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals at dusk.

East of the city centre, Plantage was Amsterdam's first planned suburb (1850s). The Artis Royal Zoo, the Hortus Botanicus botanical garden, and the Resistance Museum are all here. Wider streets, fewer tourists, and canal-side café terraces. The perfect antidote to the bustle of Centraal Station.

The Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Stedelijk Museum all face the same square. The Conservatorium Hotel and Hilton anchor the luxury accommodation here. Quieter than the canal ring, with wide streets and the Vondelpark — Amsterdam's Central Park — just behind.