Organized Tours

A convincing case could be made for the proposition that "disorganized touring" -- making it up as you go along -- is a better way of getting to the inner core of the Amsterdam experience. But there's no lack of choice or ingenuity among off-the-peg offerings.

Canal-Boat Cruise

Amsterdam's 17th-century Golden Age becomes a vivid reality as you glide through the waterways that were largely responsible for those years of prosperity. You view the canal houses from canal level, just as they were meant to be seen. This is also the best way to see Amsterdam's large and busy harbor. Yes, you have to smile inanely for your boarding picture and sit through a thumbnail-sketch history in several different languages. No matter. The canals are Amsterdam's best starting point. Amsterdammers might scoff as they watch fleets of glass-topped boats prowling around, but secretly, they're proud of everything you will see. "I live here," you can almost hear them thinking. "All this is mine."

A typical canal tour-boat itinerary includes Centraal Station, the Haarlemmersluis floodgates (used in the nightly canals flushings), the Cat Boat (a houseboat with a permanent population of some 100 wayward felines), and the city's narrowest building, as well as one of the largest houses still in private hands. You'll also see the official residence of the burgemeester (mayor), the "Golden Bend" of the Herengracht (traditionally the best address in the city), many picturesque bridges, including the famous Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) over the Amstel, and the harbor. While on the canal-boat tour, take note of attractions you'd like to see up close later.

Trips last about an hour and depart at regular intervals from rondvaart (excursion) piers in key locations around town. The majority of launches are docked along Damrak and Prins Hendrikkade near Centraal Station, on Rokin near Muntplein, and at Leidseplein. Tours leave every 15 to 30 minutes during summer (9am-9:30pm), every 45 minutes in winter (10am-4pm). A basic 1-hour tour is about 8€ ($10) for adults, 5€ ($6.25) for children ages 4 to 12, and free for children under 4 (prices vary a bit from company to company).

Recommended canal tour-boat lines are: Amsterdam Canal Cruises (tel. 020/626-5636); Canal Company (tel. 020/626-5574); Holland International (tel. 020/622-7788; www.hir.nl); Meijers Rondvaarten (tel. 020/623-4208); Rederij Boekel (tel. 020/612-9905); Rederij Hof van Holland (tel. 020/623-7122); Rederij P. Kooij (tel. 020/623-3810); Rederij Plas (tel. 020/624-5406); Rederij Noord-Zuid (tel. 020/679-1370; www.canal-cruises.nl); and Rederij Lovers (tel. 020/530-1090; www.lovers.nl). Despite its heart-shaped logo, Lovers isn't necessarily for lovers, but named after the man who started the company.

Some lines offer specialized tours and services. These include the Museum Boat and the Canal Bus, the Artis Express (which plies a regular furrow between Centraal Station and the Artis Zoo), cruises amid the Eastern Islands' modern architecture, Red Light District cruises, dinner cruises, jazz cruises, candlelight cruises with wine and cheese, night cruises, and more.

Water Bikes

A water bike is a boat you pedal with your feet. These crafts seat two or four people and are rentable from Canal Bike (tel. 020/626-5574; www.canal.nl). Amsterdammers look down their tolerant noses at water bikes. On the other hand, tourists love the things. No prizes for guessing who has the most fun. Your water bike, also known as a pedalo, comes with a detailed map. It's great fun in sunny weather, and still doable when it rains; boats can be covered with a rain shield. But they don't go very fast and it can get tiring. In summer, rent a water bike for evening rambles, when the canals are illuminated and your bike is kitted out with its own Chinese lantern.

Moorings are on Prinsengracht, beside the Anne Frankhuis (tram: 13, 14, or 17); on Singelgracht, a few steps from Leidseplein (tram: 1, 2, 5, 7, or 10), and beside the Rijksmuseum (tram: 7 or 10); and on Keizersgracht at Leidsestraat (tram: 1, 2, or 5). You can rent a water bike at one mooring and leave it at another. The canals get busy with tour boats and other small crafts, so proceed carefully, particularly when going under bridges. Rental is available daily from 10am to 10pm in summer, and to 7pm during other seasons. The cost is 8€ ($10) per person hourly for one or two people; 7€ ($8.75) per person hourly for three or four people. You need to leave a deposit of 50€ ($63).

Biking on the Water -- A suggested tour by water bike: Start at the Canal Bike mooring on Prinsengracht (at Westermarkt). Pedal south along Prinsengracht, past Lauriergracht, Looiersgracht, and Passeerdersgracht, perhaps diverting into one or more of these quiet side canals if you fancy a closer look at their leafy linings. At Leidsegracht, go straight ahead under the Leidsestraat bridge until you come to Spiegelgracht, where you turn right. Continue to the end, then turn left under the bridge into Lijnbaansgracht.

Turn right at the first corner into a narrow connecting canal that merges with Singelgracht in front of the Rijksmuseum. Go right along this canal, which is bordered by overhanging trees and the back gardens of waterside villas. You pass the Holland Casino Amsterdam, Leidseplein, and the American Hotel.

Keep going, past the Bellevue Theater and the De la Mar Theater, and turn right into Leidsegracht, which brings you back to Prinsengracht and the long home stretch back to Westermarkt.

By Vintage Boat

Using antique IJ passenger ferry boats from 1927, the Historic Ferry (tel. 0900/423-1100; www.museum-ijveren-amsterdam.nl) takes a 2-hour trip through the eastern harbor and along the IJ channel, with stops at several places where you can disembark (and pick up a later boat if you want). The ferry departs from the Waterplein-West dock behind Centraal Station. It operates Easter to October, on Sundays and some other days, with departures at 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. Tickets are 4.50€ ($5.65) for adults, 3€ ($3.75) for seniors and children ages 4 to 11, and free for children under 4. On Saturday, there's a longer cruise (1 1/2 hours each way) to Fort Pampus, and one that's 2 hours each way to allow time to tour this old coastal fortification on the IJsselmeer.

By Bicycle

You'll look pretty conspicuous taking one of the guided tours offered by Yellow Bike, Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, off Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal (tel. 020/620-6940; www.yellowbike.nl; tram: 1, 2, 5, 13, or 17). Why? Because you'll be cycling on a yellow bike along with a dozen other people also on yellow bikes. But you get a close encounter with Amsterdam or its nearby countryside.

By Tram

A vintage Tourist Tram (tel. 0900/423-1100) from the Clanking Twenties shakes, rattles, and rolls between the sights along the tracks on a 1-hour ride through the heart of town. Departures are from Prins Hendrikkade, at Damrak, in front of Centraal Station. The tram runs Sundays and holidays from Easter to September, hourly from 11am to 5pm, and Saturday (July and Aug) from 10am to 5pm. Tickets are valid all day, so you can step on and off at will; they're 7€ ($8.75) for adults, 5€ ($6.25) for kids ages 4 to 11, and free for kids under 4.

By Bus

A quick bus tour is a good way to get going on sightseeing in a strange city, and though a boat tour on Amsterdam's canals is a pertinent alternative, you might want to get your bearings on land as well. A basic 2 1/2-hour bus tour is around 17€ ($21); on most tours, children ages 4 to 13 are charged half fare, and children under 4 go free. Itineraries vary from line to line, but a typical one might include the Royal Palace, the Mint Tower, the flower market, the old Jewish Quarter, the Waterlooplein flea market, the Museum Quarter, the Jordaan, the Westerkerk, the harbor, the Red Light District, a windmill, a visit to a diamond factory, and shopping and entertainment areas.

Good sightseeing lines are: The Best of Holland, Damrak 34 (tel. 020/623-1539); Holland International, Prins Hendrikkade 33A (tel. 020/625-3035); Holland Keytours, Dam 19 (tel. 020/624-7304); and Lindbergh Excursions, Damrak 26 (tel. 020/622-2766).

These and other lines provide a variety of half-day and full-day tours into surrounding areas, particularly between April and October; and special excursions at tulip time and the height of the summer season. Rates vary by company and tour, but typical half-day tours begin around 18€ ($23); full-day tours cost around 40€ ($50); children ages 4 to 13 are generally charged half fare, and children under 4 go free.

Typical of the tours on offer is an 8-hour drive that hits the Aalsmeer flower auction, The Hague and its sea-coast resort Scheveningen, Delft, and Rotterdam. A shorter excursion visits just Delft and The Hague. A 4 1/2-hour trip takes you to see the decorated houses and the (occasionally) costumed villagers of Volendam and Marken on the shore of the IJsselmeer, with stops at the windmills of Zaanse Schans and a cheese farm along the way. An additional tour, available during tulip time (late March to late May), is a 4 1/2-hour or a 9-hour drive through the flower fields of the Bollenstreek (Bulb District) and to Keukenhof Gardens.

Other tours available include a half-day outing to Haarlem, an 8-hour trip along the IJsselmeer shore and across the Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dike) to Friesland; a 4 1/2-hour tour via Zaanse Schans to Edam (a cheese town with no market); and a 5-hour trip to visit the Friday Alkmaar cheese market and the 17th-century port of Hoorn.

By Foot

Though you could see most of Amsterdam's important sights in one long walking tour, it's best to break the city into shorter walks. Luckily, the VVV Amsterdam tourist office has done that for you. For 2€ ($2.50), buy a brochure outlining one of four walking tours: Voyage of Discovery Through Amsterdam, A Walk Through Jewish Amsterdam, A Walk Through the Jordaan, and A Walk Through Maritime Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Walking Tours (tel. 020/640-9072) leads guided strolls through Old Amsterdam on Saturday and Sunday at 11am.

By Horse & Carriage

These romantic, kid-friendly vehicles run by Stal Karos (tel. 020/691-3478), depart from just outside the Royal Palace on the Dam for traipses through the Old City, along the Canals, and into the Jordaan. Tours operate April to October, daily from 11am to 6pm (to 7pm in July and Aug), and are 45€ ($56) for each 30 minutes or part thereof.

Diamond Tours

Visitors to Amsterdam during the 1950s and 1960s, when the diamond business was booming, were able to go to Amsterdam's diamond-cutting factories and take tours through their workrooms. Now you'll be lucky to see one lone polisher working at a small wheel set up in the back of a jewelry store or in the lobby of a factory building. Never mind, you still can get an idea of how a diamond is cut and polished. You need no special directions or instructions to find this sightseeing activity; signs all over town direct you to diamond-cutting demonstrations. You're also on your own if you decide to buy.

Amsterdam's major diamond factories and showrooms are: Amsterdam Diamond Center, Rokin 1, just off the Dam (tel. 020/624-5787; tram: 4, 9, 14, 16, 24, 25); Coster Diamonds, Paulus Potterstraat 2-6, near the Rijksmuseum (tel. 020/676-2222; tram: 2, 5); Gassan Diamonds, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 173-175 (tel. 020/622-5333; Metro: Waterlooplein); Holshuijsen Stoeltie, Wagenstraat 13-17 (tel. 020/623-7601; tram 4, 9, 14); and Van Moppes Diamonds, Albert Cuypstraat 2-6 (tel. 020/676-1242; tram: 16).

A High-End Guide

"My guides are interesting people, not faceless tour operators," says René Dessing, a suave, bespectacled historian-turned-tour-operator. Dessing offers everything from architecture walks to painting classes on canal boats. His tailor-made tours aren't exactly cheap (the price depends on what you want to do), but his multilingual guides -- trained art historians -- can get you into private collections, the Royal Palace even when it's closed to the public, the Amsterdam School's Scheepvaarthuis (never open to the public), and plenty more places. Some clients wind up spending half their day in a cozy brown cafe. "The idea," says Dessing, "is to make new friends." Contact: Artifex (tel. 020/620-8112; www.artifex-travel.nl).