Amsterdam

Amsterdam is such a small city with English so widely spoken that it's very easy to plan your own 1-2 day layover which you could supplement by using the museum guides for those places you want to see, and you can always take a narrated boat or Hop-On/Hop-Off Bus tour to get a quick introduction and overview of the city. You don't mention what day(s) of the week you would be in Amsterdam, so check the websites of all of the museums you would like to visit carefully to make sure that they are open as some are closed on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. The main tourist information (VVV) office located over near Amsterdam Centraal will also have a lot of information about various guided walking or bike tours of the city if you were interested in a historical or architectural guided tour.

Thank you - I will keep that in mind in days the places are open and checking out the tourist place. Dawn

Hi Dawn, yes, Amsterdam would be super easy to do on your own, one reason is that English is so widely spoken . I really enjoyed ( can't think of more appropriate word) my visit to Anne Franks house, but it was many years ago and crowds and lines were not the issue they are today, I believe nowadays people reserve their tickets online and well in advance, suggest you look ( google ) for the Anne Franks House website.

so check the websites of all of the museums you would like to visit carefully to make sure that they are open as some are closed on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. All the major museums in Amsterdam are open everyday, even xmas day.

First check that your airline itinerary allows such a stopover at the same price as simply changing planes or making a brief stop.

Thanks - I will ask a travel agent about this about staying in Amsterdam for a few days. Dawn

I highly recommend the Banks Mansion for your stay. Great location on a canal and they offer so much for you money. There is a neighborhood bakery up the street for sandwiches and drinks for lunch. Breakfast, snacks, decanters of liquor in your room, wine and snacks at the cocktail hour in the lobby, refreshments also throughout the day and all the things in the fridge in your room are included! There is also a small restaurant towards the shopping area down the street on the same side as Banks Mansion just a few doors down in another hotel that was great for dinner. Wonderful stay there!

Dawn
Like the other poster indicated check out the Anne Frank site for tickets. We did this last October. You are assigned a time for entrance and it is soooo much easier than standing in line to get the tickets. It takes about an hour to go thru the house and it is amazing. Do not miss. Also Amsterdam is easy to get around- Once off the train go to your left a white building for a map of the city and tram tickets. One of the easiest cities in Europe to get around despite the canals.

My wife and I just left and toured the Frank home. Yes, it does get very crowded but we stopped by around 20:00 and there was no line to speak of.