Absolutely Amsterdam - the Essential Introductory Walking Tour
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Offered in: English
Why travelers loved this
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Overview
Enjoy a wide-ranging introduction to Amsterdam’s highlights and history on this small-group walking tour. Pick between morning and afternoon start times, meet your guide right in the heart of the city, and set off on foot. You’ll see highlights like the Royal Palace and the Red Light District, will learn about the city’s origins and key moments in its history, will admire its UNESCO-listed center, and more.
- Discover many of Amsterdam’s key sights, all in one tour
- Exploring on foot makes it easy to soak up the city’s ambiance
- Get up close and personal with the city’s UNESCO-listed center
- Enjoy snacks included on the tour with a tip-based payment option
What's Included
- Our guides support their tours with pictures, paintings and maps that help bring history back to life!
- Super Local Guides who are are also happy to share their (restaurant) recommendations with you
- A unique souvenir
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Freedam ToursBeursplein 5, 1012 GZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
We meet IN FRONT of the stock exchange on Beurplein 5. The guides will be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour, holding a yellow umbrella. You can also find directions by looking for FreeDam Tours on Google Maps. !!ATTENTION!! It does NOT start on the nearby Dam square!
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Beurs van Berlage
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Damrak
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Our Lord in the Attic Museum Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
4
Chinatown
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
The Waag
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
6
Oostindisch Huis
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Waterlooplein Market
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
The Amstel
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Oudemanhuispoort
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
10
Royal Palace Amsterdam
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.9
based on 4,104 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
Diane_O, Aug 2026
Good information about the history and arts of the city. What he told us about depended on our interest of what we wanted to learn about.
Carol_Y, Aug 2026
We had a wonderful walking tour of Amsterdam with Daan! He was friendly, engaging, and incredibly knowledgeable. Daan majored in history at the University of Amsterdam, and his background really came through as he brought the city’s history, architecture, and stories to life. He made the tour interesting, informative, and fun. We would definitely recommend this touring company to anyone wanting to see Amsterdam with a knowledgeable and personable guide!
Christine_M, Aug 2026
Great tour. Lots of stops with information and photo opportunities. Our guide Gianni was very knowledgeable, friendly and informative.
Pam_W, Aug 2026
Danni was the best tour guide. He is a local and his knowledge of the city was great
I highly recommend this tour and ask for Danni
Gaurav_S, Aug 2026
Amazing walking tour which was focused on the history of Amsterdam! Our tour guide was amazing and did a great job at keeping things fun and easy but equally provided us enough about the history. Definately recommended!
Julia_D, Aug 2026
Sebastian was fabulous. Her answers all my questions and was so personable and funny. Great way to get some history on the city and your bearings on your first day.
Jennifer_A, Aug 2026
Did this on our first day in Amsterdam and it was a great way to get an idea of the major points of the city. Kind and insightful tour guide.
John_R, Aug 2026
Autodidactic/polymathic tour guide willing to field any and all queries, from pre-history to present day. Very interesting city history and we appreciated being kept in the shade on a hot day.
Nripendra_M, Aug 2026
It was a great experience to walk arround the streets of Amsterdam, specially the historic port and historic buildings.
Jane_G, Aug 2026
Daan introduced us to Amsterdam through history & humor! He offered what felt like a casual walk through Amsterdam as we learned its history as well as current day highlights.
Sokratis_P, Aug 2026
Our tour guide was great. He was knowledgable and with nice sense of humour. I would choose to book this nice tour again.
DRJANNETT_B, Aug 2026
Lots of walking; fast-paced but with approporiate stops to learn about select sites. Jaap was very entertaining with a fount of historical knowledge from which to draw. Enjoyed the tour immensely!
Vikki_G, Aug 2026
Great walking tour of city. Definitely worth the time to hear and see more about Amsterdam from a local.
anita_p, Aug 2026
Fantastic detailed and humorous tour with the brilliant Sergio. He is a very warm and friendly as well as being fun and knowledgeable. Walked our legs off and learnt facts that we would not have known otherwise. Had a great time
Anmar_O, Aug 2026
We chose this tour because for a budget-conscious family of four this mattered. The tacky approach of Sergio, our guide, asking, almost demanding, as much money as possible from everyone as a tip left us really turned off and ruined what was a pleasant walk and pleasant company. I tipped him 30 euros, and even though I heared two other couples tip him 30 euros each, which would average around 300 Euros as we were roughly 10 couples, he got upset! He actually said “is that all you are going to tip”!!!
I wish we went with one of the other guides. However you get assigned automatically to one of the guides. I would not do this tour again and would definitely advise others to stay away!
Lorraine_M, Aug 2026
Dan was very knowledgeable and friendly. We thought the tour was only 1.5 hours but in fact was 2.5 hours. A very good tour
Theresa_R, Aug 2026
Interesting and very informative. Our guide Annelieke was wonderful. Great pace and answered questions thoroughly.
Elizabeth_W, Jul 2026
This was one of the best walking tours I ever had. Our tour guide was Ramses, and his knowledge of the various sites on the tour was outstanding. Fun and informative, but on certain occasions, also stunned us into silence with his rendition of what happened during World War II in Amsterdam. Also great was we had no trouble hearing him with a group of 12. He gave us tips on other museums and places of interest along the way. If you book this tour, ask for Ramses!
Mike_J, Jul 2026
If you have a chance, take the tour with Janos. My partner and I start every trip to a new city with a walking tour, so we have been on a lot of them. Janos was one of the two best we have ever experienced. It was a perfect introduction to Amsterdam from a guide who clearly knows and loves the city. Janos us a natural teacher and storyteller. We came away from the tour with an understanding of the city's history and culture, along with a few prized restaurant recommendations. He is also a very charming person who enjoys meeting new people. You can't fake that.
Betsy_W, Jul 2026
Johnnie was a great tour guide. The tour lasted 2.5 hours, not 90 minutes, and he was FULL of great information. A great way to start our stay in Amsterdam.
Alison_D, Jul 2026
This tour was very enjoyable and our guide Sebastian was very knowledgeable. We always love a good walking tour and the tour guide can really make it. Sebastian was very good.
Kerry_H, Jul 2026
The tour with Dani was not "OMG, absolutely fabulous, loved it to bits and simply divine," it was just very good.
Jennifer_J, Jul 2026
Wonderful walking tour with a super fun guide-highly recommended! We covered some beautiful areas of the city that we weren’t aware of before and can’t say enough about our guide Jaap
PANAGIOTIS_A, Jul 2026
Very nice tour! Our guide, Raymond, was simply great! Very polite and friendly, while he also knows a lot of things! I definitely recommend it, if you're visiting Amsterdam.
JeanPhilippe_K, Jul 2026
Samuel was one of the best tourguide I've ever had. He was funny, entertaining and was litteraly a walking encyclopedia. This was a really good introductory tour to the great city of Amsterdam. A lot of topics were covered such as History, Architecture, Dutch tolerance, WW2, Holocauste, funny stories about the background of drugs and prostitution in Amsterdam, etc.
I would highly reccomend this tour!
I love those tip based tours and you bet I tipped accordingly!
At the end of the tour, Samuel gave us a QR code leading to a map in Google maps listing all of the best local spots. Restaurants, Coffeeshops, cafés, etc. Everything you need is right there and I can testify this map helped me a lot during my stay.
Traci_F, Jul 2026
Great tour! We did this tour our first full day in town. Learned a lot about Amsterdam (history, canals, industry) and received good general info that we were able to use the rest of the week (recs for restaurants, museums, other tours etc). I highly recommend doing this tour at the beginning of your time in Amsterdam.
Olga_M, Jul 2026
First time in Amsterdam, I decided to take this walking tour to start the trip. I’m not really into history too much and really don’t like to listen to very much explanation but wanted to get a full experience of culture traditions and just overall architectural experience. We were so lucky to be paired up with Danny for our tour. He was so fun, very informative, always willing to answer any questions and made this whole experience very enjoyable. I would highly recommend in fact when we’re going to other countries, I was really hoping to have the same experience as well. Danny did a fantastic job.!!
Laura_H, Jul 2026
My tour guide was Jaap & he was fantastic! Friendly, funny, very engaging & exceptionally knowledgable. He also ensured we were safe at all times from the crazy cyclists. He made the tour thoroughly enjoyable, the time flew past & before we knew it the tour was over. Would highly recommend both the tour & Jaap
Michelle_H, Jul 2026
Johnny did a fantastic job showing us around Amsterdam. He brought a good mix of humor and history to the tour. Highly recommend!
Pamela_M, Jul 2026
Good tour and a nice orientation for our first day in the city. There was no opportunity for a bathroom break during the 2 1/2 hour tour so I would recommend that you take care of business beforehand.
From $5.84
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Absolutely Amsterdam - the Essential Introductory Walking Tour
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