Free things to do in Amsterdam

Amsterdam has never been a cheap city, and it's got pricier. Beds cost a lot, the city adds a tourist tax of 12.5% of your room price, and museum tickets add up fast. So if you find yourself low on cash and you want to do something other than sit in your hostel room, it helps to know that a lot of the best stuff here costs nothing at all.

Several of these are things you'd want to do even with a fat wallet. You don't have to be broke to enjoy them.

This is part of the Cheap Amsterdam Guide.

Stroll through the Red Light District

Many travelers are intimidated by the idea of wandering through the world's most notorious prostitution district, but they shouldn't be. De Wallen is also the oldest and most historic neighborhood in Amsterdam, and possibly the most beautiful, so a walk through the Red Light District belongs on any trip. The Oude Kerk, the city's oldest building, sits right in the middle of it. There are a few narrow alleys lined with red-lit windows, and they're easy to avoid if you'd rather not join the herd shuffling through them. The canals and architecture are lovely, and during the day it's not even a little weird. You'll see.

The rules have changed a lot since this page was first written, and the city enforces them:

• No smoking weed on the street. Since May 2023, smoking cannabis in public is banned across the Red Light District, as well as on Dam Square, Damrak and Nieuwmarkt. The fine is €100. If you want to smoke, do it inside a coffeeshop. Our page on where you can smoke and where you can't has the details.
• No group tours past the windows. Guided tours that pass the windows have been banned since April 2020. Walking around on your own is fine, and free.
• Earlier nights. Since April 2023, bars and restaurants in the district close at 2 a.m. on weekends and let no new guests in after 1 a.m.
• No photos of the women in the windows. It's disrespectful, and it's the fastest way to start an argument on the street.

For the background on the sex industry itself, see our prostitution in Amsterdam page.

Browse the big street markets

Amsterdam has two big street markets that run every day except Sunday, and they're entertaining in totally different ways. Looking costs nothing.

The Waterlooplein Market is the city's oldest flea market, with around 300 stalls of vintage clothes, used books, old cameras, bikes, records, souvenirs and weird junk you can't even identify. It's open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 18:00, right in the city center next to the Waterlooplein metro stop.

The other is the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp, a few blocks from the Heineken Experience. It has about 260 stalls, and this is where Amsterdammers buy fruit, fish, fabric, clothes and household things at a discount. It's open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 17:00, and it used to be hard to find. Not anymore: the North-South metro line (M52) now stops at De Pijp station, right by the market, about ten minutes from Centraal Station. It's less quirky than Waterlooplein, and if you only have time for one I'd pick Waterlooplein, but the Cuyp teaches you a lot more about day-to-day life here.

Look in on the flower market (and skip the bulbs)

You'll probably walk past this one by accident, because the Bloemenmarkt is right in the middle of the city center, a row of stalls floating on the Singel canal between Muntplein and Koningsplein. It's been there since 1862, and it's still fun to walk down.

Just know what it has become. According to its Wikipedia entry, only a few of the roughly 15 stalls still sell fresh flowers. Most sell souvenirs, tulip-themed trinkets and packets of bulbs, and a 2019 survey by the Dutch broadcaster RTL found that the bulbs bought there almost never flowered. Look, take photos, and buy your bulbs from a proper garden center, or see real flowers at the Aalsmeer flower auction instead.
>> more information on the flower market in Amsterdam

Walk through the Jordaan

This is another one you'd do even with money to burn. Plenty of people rave about this neighborhood just across from the Anne Frank House, and when you first get there it's hard to see what the fuss is about. It's a quiet district of narrow streets and small canals filled with art galleries, bars, shops and restaurants. Over the past few decades the Jordaan has gone from a run-down working-class area to one of the priciest addresses in town. Find it on the Amsterdam map and plan to wander for an hour or two. There isn't one thing in particular to see, but almost everyone likes it.

Duck into the Begijnhof

Hidden behind a doorway off the Spui is the Begijnhof, a quiet courtyard of old almshouses built around a lawn, including one of only two wooden houses left in the city center. It's free to enter and, according to OpenStreetMap (checked April 2026), open daily from 10:00 to 18:00. People still live here, so keep your voice down and don't photograph the residents.

Watch the action on the big squares

There are three major squares (pleinen) in the city center, and each is good for free people-watching. Dam Square is where you'll find the Royal Palace and the National Monument, and it's always crowded with tourists and locals. Rembrandtplein is a bit further out, and in the evenings it's packed with people heading out for the night. Leidseplein is the farthest out and the most likely to have street performers working the crowds. The whole Leidseplein area is fun even with nothing going on, and plenty of people who come for the coffeeshops near Centraal Station never make it this far on a weekend visit.

Spend an afternoon in Vondelpark

Being broke is a great excuse to spend time in the city's playground, Vondelpark. On a sunny day it's jammed with people sunbathing, picnicking and goofing around. From May to September, the park's Openluchttheater (open-air theater) puts on shows almost every weekend: dance on Friday evenings, family theater and comedy on Saturdays, classical and pop music on Sundays. Every show is free to attend, and they ask for a donation if you enjoyed it.

Take a free ferry across the IJ

If your pockets are empty, you'll be happy to know that the ferries from behind Centraal Station across the IJ (pronounced "eye") are free for pedestrians and cyclists. No ticket, no check-in. Just walk on.

The busiest route runs to Buiksloterweg, a few minutes across, next to the Eye Filmmuseum and the A'DAM Tower, and it runs through the night. The other main routes go a little east to IJplein, and west on a longer ride past the harbor to the NDSM Wharf, a former shipyard now full of street art, studios and cafés.

You can stay on board and come right back, but Amsterdam-Noord is well worth a walk. When this page was first written, hardly any visitors crossed the water. These days Noord is one of the most interesting parts of the city.
>> more information on the free ferry ride to North Amsterdam

A special note to stoner types

If you've still got a few euros left and you're the adventurous type, a space cake from a coffeeshop will make everything on this list more entertaining. Go slow: edibles take an hour or more to kick in and they're much stronger than most people expect. Coffeeshops are tolerated rather than legal, you have to be 18 or over, and the limit is 5 grams per person per day. Read the Amsterdam coffeeshops FAQ first.

More ways to stretch your money are in the Cheap Amsterdam Guide, and if you're here in the warm months, summer in Amsterdam lists more free events.