Museum Quarter (Museumplein)

Three of the world's great museums sit within a five-minute walk of each other on Museumplein, and that concentration of cultural weight is hard to match anywhere in Europe. The Rijksmuseum holds the Night Watch and the largest collection of Dutch Golden Age painting. The Van Gogh Museum has more of his work than anywhere else on earth. The Stedelijk covers modern and contemporary art in a building locals call 'the bathtub' for its white extension.

The strategy matters. Van Gogh Museum sells out weeks ahead; book the earliest morning slot and you'll have the galleries nearly to yourself for the first hour. Rijksmuseum is easier to get into but the Gallery of Honour gets crowded by noon, so start there. The Stedelijk rarely sells out and works best as an afternoon visit.

Vondelpark sits just west of the museums, and it's where the city decompresses. At 47 hectares, it's Amsterdam's largest park, with an open-air theatre in summer, a rose garden with 70 species, and enough space that it never feels packed. The cafes along the Museumplein side of the park are good for a post-museum coffee and regroup.