01 · ParkingParking rules: the plate is the ticket

The whole Centrum district has paid parking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Rates vary by street and district. In 2026 the centre runs roughly €5.37 to €8.05 an hour, and the outer districts are cheaper. Pay with the Yellowbrick, Parkmobile or EasyPark apps, or at a street machine, where you type in your plate. Don't count on paying cash.

Don't pay and you'll get a naheffingsaanslag: the parking tax you skipped plus a penalty charge of up to about €82. Collect more than two unpaid fines and they clamp the car. Getting the clamp off costs €158, plus the fines.

Two more things before you drive in:

• Low emission zone. Inside the A10 ring, diesel cars must be Euro 5 or newer, which usually means first registered from around late 2009. Petrol, LPG and electric cars are fine. Cameras read foreign plates too, and the fine is €130 plus €9 admin.
• Bike lanes. The red asphalt belongs to bikes. Stopping on it, even "just for a second", is a €130 fine and a chorus of bells.

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02 · TowedCar towed? Card at the ready

If your car has vanished from a canal street, the likeliest story is the tow truck, not a thief. Common reasons are parking in a charging bay without charging, blocking a loading zone, or standing where an event is about to happen.

The car pound is at Daniël Goedkoopstraat 5-9, east of the centre near Amstel station. The city's visitor site lists it as open around the clock, but ring first: from a Dutch phone dial 14 020, from abroad +31 20 624 1111.

Now the part nobody enjoys. In 2026 the city charges €484 for the first 24 hours, then €10 for each extra day, plus the original fine. They take debit and credit cards only. At that price, you'll want to go and get it quickly.

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03 · EVEV charging: plenty of plugs, strict rules

Amsterdam has one of the densest public charging networks in the world. By March 2026 it passed 10,000 public connectors and 240 fast chargers. You'll need a charge card or app, and street parking fees still apply while you charge.

The rule people get wrong: you may only park in a charging bay while you're actually charging. Finish charging, go for dinner, and you'll come back to a €130 fine, or no car at all.

Garages are more relaxed. Q-Park De Bijenkorf by Dam Square has 14 chargers. On the edge of town, the P+R sites have them too: 35 at RAI, 20 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, 16 at Noord and 16 at Zeeburg 3.

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04 · Free spotsHow to park for €6 (or free) and still see the canals

P+R is the answer, and here's exactly how it works in 2026:

1. Drive into a P+R garage and take a ticket at the barrier. Don't use your bank card to enter.
2. Arrive after 10:00 on a weekday, or any time at weekends and on holidays, and you pay €6 per 24 hours. Arrive before 10:00 on a weekday and the first 24 hours cost €13.
3. Travel into the centre and back by GVB public transport, checking in with an OV-chipkaart, a GVB ticket, or the P+R GVB card. You buy that card at the machine within an hour of parking. It's €6 for one or two people, and a bit more for bigger groups.
4. When you come back, pay at the machine with both your parking ticket and your transport card, within an hour of checking out.

Don't tap in with a contactless bank card or your phone. That's called OVpay, it's very convenient, and it doesn't count for P+R. You'll pay the normal garage rate. It's the classic P+R mistake, and the machine won't care that you didn't know.

The maximum stay is 96 hours, except at RAI, where it's 24. After that, the normal rate kicks in.

If you want truly free parking, the city still has a few pockets on its edges: the Amsterdamse Bos (not the main-entrance car park), the dyke villages of Durgerdam and Ransdorp north of the IJ, the Osdorp polders and most of Weesp. They're lovely. They're also far from the Rijksmuseum.

Free or nearly-free spots

05 · SightsWhat to see once the car is sorted

The Royal Palace on Dam Square. It was built as the town hall in the 1650s on 13,659 wooden piles driven into the mud. Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, turned it into a palace and knocked down the old weigh house next door to improve his view.

The Night Watch at the Rijksmuseum. In 1715 the painting was moved to the town hall and trimmed on all four sides to fit between two columns. And it isn't a night scene. The darkness is centuries of varnish.

Centraal Station. Designed by Pierre Cuypers, who also did the Rijksmuseum, it stands on 8,687 piles on artificial islands. The two buildings sit at opposite ends of the old centre like a pair of bookends.

The Begijnhof. Walk through an unmarked door off the Spui and the city noise disappears. It's a hidden courtyard with the oldest wooden house in Amsterdam, from around 1420, and it's free to enter. Keep your voice down; people still live here.

The free ferries. Behind Centraal Station, GVB ferries cross the IJ for free for pedestrians and cyclists. Take the F4 to NDSM, a former shipyard now covered in street art.

Magere Brug. The "Skinny Bridge" over the Amstel is lit by 1,200 bulbs at night. The story about two sisters called Mager is charming and probably untrue.

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06 · FoodWhat to eat

Raw herring comes with chopped onions and pickles. Locals hold it by the tail, tilt their head back and lower it in. Tourists use the little flag-topped cocktail stick. Nobody judges. Try Stubbe's Haring on the Singel near Centraal.

Bitterballen are deep-fried balls of meat ragout. They come out of the fryer at the temperature of the sun, so wait. Order them with a beer in any brown café.

Stroopwafels are best fresh and warm. Get them at Rudi's stall on the Albert Cuyp Market in De Pijp.

Appeltaart here is tall, dense and served with a mountain of whipped cream. Winkel 43 on the Noordermarkt is where the queue is, and it's worth it.

For a rainy evening, Foodhallen in Oud-West is a converted tram depot full of food stalls. Or go for rijsttafel, the Indonesian "rice table" of many small dishes, a legacy of the Dutch colonial era.

07 · FestivalsFestivals and events

On King's Day, 27 April, the entire city wears orange, anyone can sell anything on the street, and the canals fill with party boats. It is the worst day of the year to drive into Amsterdam. Use P+R, or better, the train.

In August, the Pride Canal Parade sends decorated boats along the Prinsengracht while hundreds of thousands watch from the bridges. In 2027 it's on Saturday 7 August. In October, the Amsterdam Dance Event takes over clubs all over the city. From late November, the Amsterdam Light Festival puts art installations along the canals, and the best way to see it is from a boat.

08 · HistoryA little history

Amsterdam got its first official privilege, a toll exemption, from Count Floris V on 27 October 1275, which is why it celebrated its 750th birthday in 2025. The city stands on millions of wooden piles driven into soft peat. When they rot, houses start to lean sideways. The ones leaning forward are doing it on purpose: they were built that way so furniture hoisted by the hook at the top of the gable wouldn't bang into the façade. Canal house staircases are so steep that moving furniture through the windows is still the normal way. Look up and you'll see the hooks.