Rainy Day in Amsterdam: Best Indoor Things to Do
Amsterdam averages around 130 rainy days a year, so a wet forecast is no reason to change your plans. The city's best experiences — the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, cheese tastings and glass-covered canal boats — all happen indoors. Here is how to turn a grey Amsterdam day into one of the best of your trip, with the top-rated tickets and tours to book.
At a glance
- 1Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh with a guide
- 2Foodhallen & covered shopping
- 3Dutch cheese & wine tasting
- 4Glass-covered canal cruise
Morning: the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh Museum with a guide
Rain is the perfect excuse for a long, unhurried museum morning. The Rijksmuseum's Gallery of Honour — Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's Milkmaid — deserves at least two hours, and a guided tour with reserved entry (from around €40) gets you straight to the masterpieces. The Van Gogh Museum next door releases timed slots that sell out days ahead in high season, so book in advance rather than gambling on the door. Both sit on Museumplein, two minutes apart, so you can dash between them under one umbrella.
Midday: covered markets and food halls
For lunch, head to the Foodhallen in Oud-West — an indoor food hall in a converted tram depot with some twenty stalls serving everything from bitterballen to bao, ten minutes by tram from Museumplein. Prefer shopping to snacking? The 19th-century Magna Plaza behind Dam Square keeps you dry across four ornate floors, and the passages around the Nine Streets are lined with cafés built for waiting out a shower with appeltaart and coffee.
Afternoon: a Dutch cheese and wine tasting
Mid-afternoon is tasting time. Guided cheese tastings — usually five to eight aged Goudas and Old Amsterdam varieties paired with wine or local beer — run from about €25 per person and last around an hour, entirely indoors. It is the cosiest way to learn why the Dutch export a million tonnes of cheese a year, and sessions in the centre run several times a day, so they slot easily around museum bookings. Food walking tours with café stops are a good rain-tolerant alternative.
Evening: a canal cruise under glass
Amsterdam's classic canal boats are built for this weather — glass-roofed and heated, with the gabled canal houses arguably prettier through rain-streaked windows and reflections on the water. Standard one-hour cruises start from about €16; evening departures with wine and cheese on board make a fine end to the day. Boats leave every half hour or so from Central Station and the Rokin, so you can book a slot once you see how the sky looks.
Book the experiences in this itinerary
Top-rated tours for exactly what this plan recommends in Amsterdam — prices per person.
