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The Rough Guide to Amsterdam
Discover Amsterdam with this comprehensive, entertaining, 'tell it like it is' Rough Guide, packed with exhaustive practical information and our experts' honest independent recommendations.
Whether you plan to explore the Museum District, visit the moving Anne Frank Huis, hole up in a cosy brown caf� or cycle the leafy lanes of Vondel park, The Rough Guide to Amsterdam will show you the perfect places to explore, sleep, eat, drink and shop along the way.
Detailed regional coverage: provides in-depth practical information for every step of every kind of trip, from intrepid off-the-beaten-track adventures, to chilled-out breaks in popular tourist areas. Regions covered include: Old Centre; Red Light District; Grachtengordel; Jordaan; western docklands; old Jewish quarter; Plantage; eastern docklands; Amsterdam Noord; NDSM shipyard; Museum Quarter; DePijp; Amsterdamse Bos.
Honest independent reviews: written with Rough Guides' trademark blend of humour, honesty and expertise, and recommendations you can truly trust, our writers will help you get the most from your trip to Amsterdam.
Meticulous mapping: always full colour, with clear numbered, colour-coded keys. Navigate the trendy NDSM Wharf neighbourhood, the narrow streets of Jordaan and many more locations without needing to getonline.
Fabulous full-colour photography: features a richness of inspirational colour photography, including postcard-pretty Begijnh of and the colourful Bloemenmarkt.
Things not to miss: Rough Guides' rundown of Amsterdam's best sights and top experiences, including Koninklijk Paleis, the Anne Frank Huis, Joods Historisch Museum, EYE Filmmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
Itineraries: carefully planned routes will help you organise your trip, and inspire and inform your on-the-road experiences.
Basics section: packed with essential pre-departure information including getting there, getting around, accommodation, food and drink, health, the media, festivals, sports and outdoor activities, culture and etiquette, shopping and more.
Background information: comprehensive Contexts chapter provides fascinating insights into
Amsterdam, with coverage of history, religion, ethnic groups, environment, wildlife and books, plus a handy language section and glossary.
About Rough Guides: Rough Guides have been inspiring travellers for over 35 years, with over 30 million copies sold. Synonymous with practical travel tips, quality writing and a trustworthy 'tell it like it is' ethos, the Rough Guides' list includes more than 260 travel guides to 120+ destinations, gift-books and phrasebooks.
602 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1988
31 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 27, 2015
May be it is because I am a reader that I enjoy travel guidebooks. I approach a new city or new country like a text that needs to be deciphered. Walking through the streets and looking at the buildings I always feel a need to know about their history. Reading about the place then has become for me necessary.
The Rough Guides have long been my favourites. They fit in the bag and provide a good balance between practicalities and context.
With the internet and globalization, however, the section on practicalities becomes less and less useful, but I still value the way they present the context. Organized in neighbourhoods, they divide the city in chapters, each one with its own drama but contributing to the overall plot.
Unfortunately, the latest edition for Amsterdam is somewhat old, 2010, but this matters more to the practicalities. For example, it does not indicate that for visiting the Ann Frank Huis one needs at least two months notice. Nonetheless, I still managed to get interesting hints about somewhat hidden places, like one of the oldest cafés, t’Smalle, in the Jordaan, where we had a lovely lunch on a narrow balcony perching over the lovely Egelantiersgracht. It was a tasting house for the gin distillery next door. To our surprise it was almost empty. Or the existence of a Pianola museum, which awoke memories of my Proust reading days. This peculiar museum had somewhat reduced visiting times, but we did manage to get a peek.
Like other editions of Rough Guides, this one included an excellent chapter on Books on Amsterdam and by Amsterdammers. I have often found excellent references in such chapters.. Almost as good as GR.
The book also helped me in working out a couple of day excursions, to beautiful Edam and to Frans Hals’ Haarlem. The guide also pointed me towards the possibility of visiting the Corrie Ten Boomhuis, which compensated not been able to visit the Ann Frank museum.
What this book did not warn me, though, was of the extreme danger of the bicycles…
If you want to know what I mean have a look at this..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQdwl...
September 3, 2016
My first visit to Amsterdam was boring (thank you Fodors). I went to the tourist traps (Anne Frank Hause, Sex Museum, Medieval torture museum), toured the red light district, giggled at smoke shops...
However, during my second visit I was in possession of a more enlightened guide (as well as staying with my Dutch friends). Yes, there IS a condomerie, and you should visit it! You should also party at the Ministry of Sound, move to a houseboat, and spend New Year's in an inappropriately themed warehouse party. 48 hours later, you must CRAWL into a cab (otherwise you haven't had the full experience). Later, you'll find the cute roads that have signs of children crossed out, and enjoy not being around children while your pupils return to a normal size. Shopping is critical (see the guide), but wear nice panties because the salespeople will strip and forcibly re-clothe you.
As a professional, this is all I can say. However, read the book, use the maps, and remember that the bikes always have the right of way. Also, the medieval torture museum is always worth another visit, as all the "implements" are authentic.
However, during my second visit I was in possession of a more enlightened guide (as well as staying with my Dutch friends). Yes, there IS a condomerie, and you should visit it! You should also party at the Ministry of Sound, move to a houseboat, and spend New Year's in an inappropriately themed warehouse party. 48 hours later, you must CRAWL into a cab (otherwise you haven't had the full experience). Later, you'll find the cute roads that have signs of children crossed out, and enjoy not being around children while your pupils return to a normal size. Shopping is critical (see the guide), but wear nice panties because the salespeople will strip and forcibly re-clothe you.
As a professional, this is all I can say. However, read the book, use the maps, and remember that the bikes always have the right of way. Also, the medieval torture museum is always worth another visit, as all the "implements" are authentic.
January 17, 2025
This is a very good and comprehensive guide book of Amsterdam. I plan a visit to Amsterdam soon and I found useful information for my trip in this guidebook. Rough Guides are my favourite guide books.
December 10, 2025
The city of Amsterdam, concerned about overcrowding of the city due to tourism, would be well advised to recommend this book to anyone planning to travel to this fascinating and beautiful city. It would be enough to discourage anyone who hasn’t visited.
Condescending, inaccurate, and dismissive, the authors should be banned from travel. No must sees here? Are you kidding?
I don’t know who the authors are or where they live but they should stay there and be relegated to writing reviews of Poundland.
Condescending, inaccurate, and dismissive, the authors should be banned from travel. No must sees here? Are you kidding?
I don’t know who the authors are or where they live but they should stay there and be relegated to writing reviews of Poundland.
October 21, 2015
desperately needs updating
while the outlay is fine, three things make me regret my purchase :
1. the maps are awful on Kindle, Kindle iOS etc.
2. the text layout is awful on Kindle iOS
3. much of the information is out of date ( ticket price from schiphol to centraal is NOT 6,30€ but more like 8€, and the chip card has been mandatory for all least 6 years now )
while many people flock to the city center and the canal rings, there is so much more to see, in up and coming new neighborhoods like Oud-oost ... a good guide should be better informed
while the outlay is fine, three things make me regret my purchase :
1. the maps are awful on Kindle, Kindle iOS etc.
2. the text layout is awful on Kindle iOS
3. much of the information is out of date ( ticket price from schiphol to centraal is NOT 6,30€ but more like 8€, and the chip card has been mandatory for all least 6 years now )
while many people flock to the city center and the canal rings, there is so much more to see, in up and coming new neighborhoods like Oud-oost ... a good guide should be better informed
February 20, 2013
Jak zachwalałam zawsze praktyczne przewodniki Pascala, to ten nie przypadł mi do gustu. Po pierwsze jest z 1998 r., kiedy był jeszcze kawałek czasu do wstąpienia Polski do Unii Europejskiej i strefy Schengen. Poza tym od 1998 roku Pascal udoskonalił układ. W tym wydaniu układ leżał i nawet jeśli kwiczał, bo bardzo słabo.
January 19, 2009
Is it too much to tell us what mode of transport we may choose to take to a sight? It's a mainstay in guidebooks these days.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews