Amsterdam

I would recommend either riding the train from the airport to central station into town or you could take a taxi. Train will take about 20 minutes. Taxi is going to be more expensive. Once in town you can ride the trams with a ticket to sights such as Van Gogh museum, Ann Frank House etc. You can buy advance tickets to Van Gogh museum on line so that you dont have to wait in the long line. There used to be a circle tram that went around the city also

What kind of layover are you on? If this is your first port of arrival in Europe, you'll have to go through customs and immigration to get out of the airport, then go back thru security again to get back in. Is it 4-5 hours between flight arrival and flight departure? They like to have you arrive 90 minutes before departure, so that doesn't leave a lot of time to get into Amsterdam and see anything, without risking your connecting flight. One traffic jam, and you've had it. Schipol airport actually has a lot to see, including a display of items from the Rijksmuseum. Personally, that's a little too close for comfort for me.

Actually that have just rearranged the security screening process at Schipol. When you return to the airport, there is no longer a general security screening after the immigration check; all screenings are now done at the gate. So there is no longer the giant backlog that used to occur. So a very quick trip into the city is now feasible with a 4-5 hour layover.

I think the taxi idea is a good one Negoitate a round trip price should allow for 2 hour 25min out 25min in with 70 min tour not so cheap but I think worth the $150 it probably will cost . I have taken train to town and then hour boat trip then train back in 2 and half hours.

I have done just what you suggest - took a quick trip into Amsterdam while on a 5-6 hour layover. I remember taking the train from the airport into the city, and I had several hours left to spend in Amsterdam. I enjoyed just walking around to get a feel for the city, and it certainly beats sitting in the airport during a long layover! The train drops you off right in town. The Anne Frank house seems to be one of the top sights to seee if you're there when it is open. According to the website a visit takes about an hour, so if your flight has no delays I think you would have plenty of time. Go to: http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=3&lid=2

We did a similar thing in Brussels this fall (6 hour layover). It worked fine to put our luggage in lockers and go. The train into Amsterdam is pretty quick - I think I would opt for a boat tour, but I don't know if there are stops close to the train station. Don't spend time on the main pedestrian street. If you have any wandering time or choose not to do a tour, go along a canal or two for a few blocks (Singel and Herren are easy to access to the right of the station) - just soak up the atmosphere. If it's sunny, it gets you out and started on your jetlag acclimation.

plan a seperate trip. in a couple hours in amsterdam all you can really do is get high and get the urge to see more.