Amsterdam in one afternoon?

"Is it possible to see the Van Gogh, Rijks and Anne Frank museums all in one afternoon and/or evening (May 23rd to be exact)?" Probably not, even with the Rijksmuseum being under renovation.

Very doable. Allow two hours each for the Van Gough and Rijks; (both are near each other), and the Anne Frank House is open late until 9pm daily...go for it:)

I would just do the Van Gogh which is nicely laid out in chronological order and only takes 2 hours to see it all. The AF museum takes about 60-90 minutes. Just make sure you have purchased your tickets in advance and will have no waiting in line. The rest of the time I would either take a canal ride or just walk around the town.
For dinner I would suggest eating at one of the Indonesian rice tables which is a special in Amsterdam.

I would list the museums in my priority. Start with the one you most want to see. Once you have finished with that see if you have time to see the next one- or just walk around canal and people watching. I dont believe in rushing through Museums (or anything) and only getting a glimpse and a check mark on your bucket list. You werent planning Amsterdam, so whatever you see is a bonus and should be special Indonesain Rijstafel- absolutely must do. if you arent in the mood try a creperie

I would pick one and spend the rest of the day walking around, eating outside at a restaurant on a canal, even checking out the touristy Dam. I love museums but would get burned out on 3 in a row, especially on the same day.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I like the idea of picking one museum and then playing it by ear afterwards. The idea of just wandering around Amsterdam does sound charming. However, I keep reading that we should purchase tickets in advance. Are the ticket lines really so long? I wouldn't want to squander my precious time there waiting in line. I also want to save the early evening time to check out the notorious red light district. That will be something new for us.

Ticket lines can be long or short but it's hard to predict. The Anne Frank museum is very small even though the adjacent building is used for additional exhibits. It's also popular with school groups and those can fill up the small space very quickly. When we went there was no reservation possible and after standing in line all around the block we wished it would have been possible.

I saw where Brian and Byron recommended an Indonesian Rijsttafel. Of all the recommendations I have seen about Amsterdam, none tops this one. You may be able to visit all of those places, but enjoyment might be lacking, and the effort exhausting. Plan to return some day and instead, visit the Heineken Brewery. Disneyland for adults.