Recently, I discovered that Amsterdam has a free-to-visit horse museum.
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The Living Horse Museum is a historic riding school that’s been turned into a public facility. It has a stable where horses live, along with a schedule of horse-riding workshops and classes. You can hang out and watch others ride while enjoying a coffee from a balcony café—not too shabby when it comes to ways to spend an afternoon in a historic city.
It made me wonder… what else is Amsterdam hiding?
While I’m a proponent of getting out of Amsterdam to experience the Netherlands’ other highly visitable cities and villages, like Texel, I also think the capital is worth delving into.
The big question is how to do that in a city that’s grappling with overtourism. When you look for tours, you’ll see plenty of options for seeing tulip fields, visiting the Ann Frank House, and exploring the canals and Red Light district. You can choose which of these tours suits your needs—my goal is to take you into more uncharted Amsterdam territory.
(If you’re visiting Rome, don’t miss my hush-hush tour recommendations for the Italian capital!)
5 unique canal tours in Amsterdam
You’ll find tons of canal tours in Amsterdam—I recommend booking one based on how long the tour is and where it goes. I also recommend booking one of the most unique options listed below:
- 420-friendly canal cruise: Board the Bulldog Smoke Boat to enjoy the city’s canals with a little special treat in hand. This tour also includes two free drinks.
- Canal booze cruise with unlimited drinks: See those famous canals while you sip on drink after drink. While you do, you can chat with other passengers and learn about local recs from your guide.
- Cruise Amsterdam like a local: Skip the tourist fare for a few hours with this homegrown tour. You’ll step aboard a local’s boat and experience the canals as locals do.
- Tulip tour canal cruise: You don’t need to leave Amsterdam to get close to those gorgeous tulips. This canal tour lets you get out on the water while surrounded by bouquets of fresh, fragrant tulips.
- Luxury canal cruise: If you want to kick your feet back in the lap of luxury while you take on Amsterdam’s canals, book this small group tour. You’ll have unlimited drinks and snacks at your fingertips.
6 unique museum tours in Amsterdam
Here are a few ways that you can dig into Amsterdam’s acclaimed museums, along with visit some of its more hidden gem-caliber museums that many tourists miss.
- Rembrandt House Museum & neighborhood tour: This small-group tour takes you inside the Rembrandt House Museum, along with the neighborhood surrounding the site. You’ll get to learn about Rembrandt, his art, and the history of Amsterdam during his life.
- Private tour of the Rijksmuseum: Like many other impactful historical sites, I highly recommend you go with a pro guide to the Rijksmuseum. This tour pairs you up with a private guide who can break down those famous Rembrandt and Van Gogh paintings you’ve only heard about before.
- Van Gogh Museum with an art historian: In a similar vein, this tour lets you explore the Van Gogh Museum with an art historian at your side. You can ask questions about Van Gogh and Dutch fine arts as you tour the museum.
- Our Lord in the Attic Museum: This insanely cool museum showcases a glimpse of what life in Amsterdam was like in the 1600s. The canal house is beautifully preserved, while the attic includes a secret meeting spot for the city’s Catholics during the Reformation.
- Amsterdam WONDR experience: There seems to be a trend when it comes to museums that have stages where you can take photos. If you like to fill up your library on vacation, or if you want to let the kids take the reins for a while, visit WONDR.
- Castle De Haar small group tour: I know that I promised to focus on tours in Amsterdam that take place inside the city. But if you want to know what a Dutch castle is like, you might want to skip town for a day to check out this medieval castle that dates back to 1391.
4 workshop-style tours in Amsterdam where you get hands-on
Workshops and experiences are some of my favorite types of tours to go on. Unsurprisingly, Amsterdam has a few can’t-miss workshop-style tours that let you try your hand at cooking and crafting. Here are my top picks:
- Private Dutch pancake cooking class: Head into a real canal home in Amsterdam to learn the art of Pannenkoeken, aka the art of cooking pancakes. Along the way, you’ll get to sip on local wine, too.
- Traditional Dutch syrup waffle class: You’re sure to munch on a stroopwafel at some point during your stay in Amsterdam. Take a peek behind the curtain and learn how to make these sugary concoctions yourself.
- Traditional Dutch blue tile painting: Delftware is a traditional type of blue-and-white-painted pottery. You’ll learn about the history of this craft, along with how to paint your own tile using traditional Dutch symbols.
- Wooden shoe making workshop: Meet the ultimate tour in Amsterdam—learning how to make a wooden clog from scratch. After you learn the craft, you’ll also get a short tour of a local clog and cheese factory.
5 cool, niche tours in Amsterdam that you’ll remember for years
Didn’t find exactly what you’re looking for in the lists above? You have more options at your fingertips. Check out these tours for more ideas on what to do in Amsterdam.
- Boom Chicago English comedy show: I’m rarely interested in comedy at home, but it’s something that I love to do when traveling. This English-language comedy show will bring you closer to Dutch culture with a few laughs guaranteed.
- Private, custom tour of Amsterdam: If you already have a list of things you want to do, see, and learn about in Amsterdam, book a custom tour. You’ll get to steer the experience from the jump, guaranteeing you see what you want and skip what bores you.
- The Amsterdam Dungeon: This entrance ticket gets you into an experiential theatre show. The production shows you around 500 years of Dutch history, with tons of especially dark topics related to the Middle Ages, from the plague to torture devices. Think: a sinister take on Amsterdam’s history.
- Romantic dinner in the dark: Dinner in the dark, if you haven’t heard of the setup, involves dinner dates where you eat without the benefit of light. The dishes are austere and fine-dining-quality… but your attempts to eat are sure to be met with laughter and failure.
- Behind the scenes strip club tour: Former sex workers from Amsterdam’s red light district will take you behind the scenes so you can learn about what it’s actually like to be a sex worker. You’ll hear inside stories and unfiltered insights into the industry.
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