For couples · Amsterdam · Netherlands
Romantic things to do in Amsterdam
Ideas for a couples' trip, from small moments to a special day out.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: The original uploader was Mtcv at Dutch Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Amsterdam is at its most romantic on a quiet canal at dusk, when lights come on in the gabled houses and reflect on the water. Pair an evening boat ride with dinner in the Jordaan or a drink in a candlelit brown café. Couples tend to stay in Canal Ring (Grachtengordel).
Key facts
- Romantic ideas
- 6
- Couple-friendly sights
- 5
- Area for couples
- Canal Ring (Grachtengordel)
- Best months
- April–June and September
Romantic ideas
1.Evening canal cruise
Take a small open boat through the canal ring at sunset, or a covered boat with dinner on a winter evening.
2.The bridges of Reguliersgracht at night
Stand where Reguliersgracht meets Herengracht to see a line of illuminated arched bridges reflected in the water.
3.Brown café by candlelight
Share a drink in a centuries-old brown café in the Jordaan on a winter evening.
4.Sunset at A'DAM Lookout
Watch the sun set over the harbour from the tower's rooftop across the IJ.
5.Picnic in the Vondelpark
Gather cheese, bread and wine from the Jordaan and spread out by the ponds on a summer evening.
6.Cycling the bulb fields
In spring, cycle between the striped tulip fields around Lisse and the Keukenhof gardens.
Sights couples love
Waterfront · Canal Ring
Canal Ring walk
Walk at dusk, when lights come on in the canal houses and reflect in the water.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Iconic
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- Couples
Experience · Canal Ring
Canal cruise
Choose a small open boat on a fine evening or a covered boat in winter, and compare operators rather than booking from touts at Centraal Station.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Couples
- Views
- Iconic
Neighbourhood · Jordaan
The Jordaan
Visit on a Saturday morning for the Noordermarkt and the Lindengracht market, then sit outside a brown café.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Couples
- Shopping
- Photo spot
Park · Museum Quarter
Vondelpark
Pick up picnic supplies in Oud-West and head for the lawns by the central ponds.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Couples
Viewpoint · Amsterdam-Noord
A'DAM Lookout
Take the free ferry from behind Centraal Station to Buiksloterweg, a five-minute crossing, and go up for sunset.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Views
- Couples
- Kids
- After dark
Where couples should stay
$$$$ · Best for first-timers, couples, luxury and culture
Canal Ring (Grachtengordel)
The three main canals dug in the 17th century form a horseshoe around the old centre, lined with merchants' houses, hump-backed bridges and houseboats. Staying here puts the Anne Frank House, the Nine Streets and Rembrandtplein within walking distance, and the Golden Bend of the Herengracht has the grandest mansions.
- Good
- Picture-postcard setting; Walk to most sights; Quieter than the medieval centre at night
- Watch out
- High hotel prices; Steep, narrow stairs in canal-house hotels
- Nearby
- Anne Frank House, Nine Streets, Westerkerk, Golden Bend
Romantic day trips
- Haarlem (About 15 minutes by train) — A smaller, calmer Amsterdam with canals, almshouse courtyards and the Grote Markt dominated by St Bavo's Church, whose organ Mozart played as a boy.
- Keukenhof (About 1 hour by bus) — Open for only about eight weeks each spring, usually from late March to mid-May, Keukenhof's 32 hectares of gardens display millions of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, while the surrounding bulb fields bloom in stripes of colour.
- Utrecht (About 30 minutes by train) — Utrecht's two-level canals have old wharf cellars at water level converted into cafés and terraces.
- Delft (About 1 hour by train) — The town of Vermeer and blue-and-white Delftware has a canal-lined centre and a vast Markt between the New Church, burial place of the Dutch royal family, and the town hall.
For dinner
Share local specialities such as Dutch cheese, Rijsttafel and Stamppot. Lunch is often light — a sandwich (broodje) or soup — with the main meal in the evening.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Amsterdam romantic?
Amsterdam is at its most romantic on a quiet canal at dusk, when lights come on in the gabled houses and reflect on the water. Pair an evening boat ride with dinner in the Jordaan or a drink in a candlelit brown café.
+What is the most romantic thing to do in Amsterdam?
Evening canal cruise: Take a small open boat through the canal ring at sunset, or a covered boat with dinner on a winter evening.
+Where should couples stay in Amsterdam?
Canal Ring (Grachtengordel): Gabled merchants' houses along the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht.