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Amsterdam canals with boats view from a bridge with a bike
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Category:Things to do in Amsterdam

8 hours layover Amsterdam

Be sure to visit Amsterdam if you have a stopover at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol during your trip to or from Europe. It's a short trip to the city center by train.

  • Make a quick visit to Amsterdam.
  • Soak up the atmosphere during a boat tour.
  • Visit one of the museums on the Museumplein.
After arrival at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol store your luggage and take the short, 15 minute train ride from the airport to Amsterdam Central Station. To get the most out of your short stay, aboard a canal cruise at Central Station. Most tours last about 1,5 hours. A canal cruise is the perfect way of getting around Amsterdam and seeing Europe's largest historic city center with nearly 7000 monuments from the 15th through the 19th century.

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Hop off the boat at Museum Square to visit the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh Museum or continue the rest of the tour and return to Central Station to wander around the city center. Have lunch at cozy restaurant Gartine (Taksteeg 7) and before heading back to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, quickly stop by tasting house Wynand Fockink (Pijlsteeg 31), hidden in a small alley behind Dam Square dating back to 1679!
And if you have a couple of minutes to spare before catching your flight, don't forget to visit the Rijksmuseum at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol! Check out Schiphol's brown pub for that last Dutch beer or shop at Europe's best airport shops!

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