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This immaculate, good-value hotel has a wonderful antique breakfast room and spacious contemporary bedrooms that can accommodate up to six people.

The greatest artist of the Dutch Golden Age (see Rembrant and The Night Watch).

This former butter market has what you might call a split personality. In its centre is a 19th-century statue of Rembrandt set in a tranquil garden, but around its sides are neon-lit, low-brow and – at night – high-octane bars and cafés, packed with Amsterdammers and visitors alike. This is a great place for an early evening drink; you might choose grand cafés Schiller and De Kroon, as popular at the turn of the 20th century as they are now.

A wide range of facilities at surprisingly reasonable rates distinguish this central hotel. The business and conference centre occupies a former Lutheran church. The hotel has a health centre, brown café, boat dock, car parking and apartments, in addition to the usual bedrooms and suites.

In the University District, this smart new complex of studio bedrooms, each with kitchenette, is patronized mainly by visiting academics.

The world’s greatest collection of 17th-century Dutch art is housed in this grand municipal art museum – and there’s so much more to see besides (see Rijksmuseum).

The country’s largest national museum houses an unrivalled collection of 17th-century Dutch art, and much besides. Vermeer’sMilkmaid and Rembrandt’sNight Watch are among the star sights (see Rijksmuseum).

Architectural curiosities in a formal garden (see The Garden).

A delicious culinary after-echo of Holland’s colonial past, Indonesian cuisine is usually eaten in the form ofrijsttafel (rice table), a veritable feast consisting of as many as 25 little dishes of meat, fish, vegetables and sauces (some very hot), centred around a shared bowl of rice or noodles. Amsterdam has several good Indonesian restaurants, including Kantijl en de Tijger and Tujuh Maret.