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Morning

Spend the morning in the Amsterdams Historisch Museum , although a morning is scarcely enough. When you feel like a break, leave the main building and head for the Kalverstraat entrance, where the café-restaurant David and Goliath is on your left. Make sure that you keep your ticket so that you can re-enter the museum without having to pay again. The end of the tour brings you to the excellent museum shop.

Rather than leaving by one of the exits, cut through the Civic Guards’ Gallery to the Begijnhof , and while away some time in this secluded place. Come out of the Gedempte Begijnensloot entrance and turn the corner into Spui, where you might lunch at Café Hoppeor Café Esprit (Spui 10).

Afternoon

After lunch, walk down Kalverstraat, the district’s main shopping street, to Dam Square, where you could visit the Koninklijk Paleis as well as the Nieuwe Kerk. Then take a break among the tiny shops built into the buttresses of the church in Gravenstraat; at No.18, De Drie Fleschjes is one of the oldestproeflokalen (tasting houses), dating from 1650.

When you are revived, walk down Damrak past the Beurs van Berlage to finish your day at the Centraal Station, where you can hop on a tram back to your hotel.

Morning

As the Oude Kerk does not open until 11am, start your day with a tour of the Museum Amstelkring . Although in the Nieuwe Zijde, it is only a few steps from the Oude Kerk , which you can visit afterwards. Then walk to Nieuwmarkt for a break at In de Waag (Nieuwmarkt 4), where you can sit outside in summer and watch the bustle of the square.

Afterwards, make your way to Oudezijds Achterburgwal for the Hash Marijuana Hemp Museum. Then follow the main drag of the Red Light district , Oudezijds Voorburgwal, as far as Café Rouxfor lunch.

Afternoon

Walk down to peaceful Grimburgwal and the House on the Three Canals. Agnietenkapel (now closed) is a few doors away. From here, head east to Oudezijds Achterburgwal and cut through Oudemanhuispoort (stone spectacles mark the entrance), browsing through the second-hand bookstalls as you go. Continue to Jodenbreestraat and the Museum Het Rembrandthuis . After your tour – if it is a Monday, Wednesday or Friday – pop into Pintohuisfor a glimpse of the painted ceiling. Revive yourself in Café de Sluyswacht. From here there is a lovely canalside walk, past the Montelbaanstoren. Turn left and stroll along Binnenkant before heading back to your hotel.

Morning

Start your day among the cannons, models, figureheads, maps and instruments of the Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum , then revive yourself at the pleasant ground-floor café. If you secretly hanker after a ship-in-a-bottle, a cutlass paper knife or other objects with a nautical theme, visit the museum shop before you leave. Outside, take a look around the Amsterdam, the full-size replica of an 18thcentury East Indiaman, manned by actors.

If it is a Tuesday and you haven’t yet had your fill of boats, take a short detour to the Werf ’t Kromhout Museum to see some shipbuilding in progress or, at the very least, the exhibition about it. Lunch at one of the cafés in Entrepotdok– such as Café ’t Kromhout at No. 36.

Afternoon

After lunch, you could make your way to Plantage Kerklaan and the Verzetsmuseum . A visit here is definitely worthwhile, if harrowing. Afterwards, blow the cobwebs away by spending an hour or two at Artis . For a few euros, the excellent zoo plan gives you feeding times, as well as pinpointing the two museums and the revamped Aquarium. Head back towards the main entrance, where there is a café, and a shop selling goods with a wildlife theme. If there is time, you could finish your explorations with a quick dash around the solar system at the Planetarium.

Morning

On a fine stretch of the Amstel River, dainty Magere Brug makes a good spot to begin. Walking north, follow the river’s curve, pausing at Amstel 104 and its equally crooked neighbours. Reaching Munttoren, wander along the Bloemenmarkt, then head down Reguliersbreestraat, where you can check your email at easyEverything (No. 22) before checking out the incredible Tuschinski Theatre a little further along the street.

Chic Utrechtsestraat, with its appealing selection of restaurants, cafés, delicatessens, boutiques and galleries, is perfect for both shopping and lunch. The best Indonesianrijsttafel in town is served at Tujuh Maret.

Afternoon

From Utrechtsestraat cross to Amstelveld, where the wooden Amstelkerk lends a countrified air, and Reguliersgrachtintersects picturesquely with Prinsengracht. Make your way along Prinsengracht, cross Vijzelstraat, and dive into Weteringbuurt. On the other side of Prinsengracht, admire elegant Deutzenhofje (Nos 855–99), erected in 1695 for destitute women.

From here, it’s only a short walk to the Museum Van Loon , or a little further to Museum Willet-Holthuysen , after which you can wind down with a drink in jolly Rembrandtplein. Best cafés are Schillerand De Kroon.

Morning

Beat the queues and be first to arrive at the Anne Frankhuis , which opens at 9am. Afterwards, you could take a contemplative walk along Prinsengracht to the Western Islands, perhaps first climbing the tower of Westerkerk . On the way, drop in on two peacefulhofjes , Zon’s and De Star . For refreshment, visit Papeneiland, a tiny brown café founded in 1642, at the junction of Prinsengracht and Brouwersgracht.

On the Western Islands, stroll round Prinseneiland and along Zandhoek on Realeneiland, where you could lunch very well at De Gouden Reael (Zandhoek 14). If you are with children, visit Dierencapel, the children’s farm on Bickerseiland.

Afternoon

En route to the Jordaan, hardened shoppers will first want to stop in Haarlemmerbuurt, with its mix of shops, both smart and tatty. Don’t miss a peak at over-the-top Café Dulac (Haarlemmerstraat 118), and the world’s narrowest restaurant, De Groene Lanteerne (Haarlemmerstraat 43).

Spend a couple of hours exploring the endlessly picturesque Jordaan, then join today’s breed of young Jordaanese in one of the trendy cafés around Noordermarkt – Finch or Proust, or the wildly kitsch Café Nol in Westerstraat. If it’s dinner time, head for De Reiger, the locals’ favouriteeetcafé .