An Amsterdam day from the Anne Frank House to the Prinsengracht

Book a morning ticket online weeks ahead — they sell out. An hour walking through the secret annex. The audio guide is essential; bring your own headphones if you can. Exit onto Prinsengracht with the weight of the place still on you.

The tower Anne Frank heard from the attic — she mentions the bells in the diary. Climb the 186 steps for a view over the western canals. Guided ascents only, roughly on the hour.

Walk the Prinsengracht south from the Westerkerk — the widest of the 17th-century canal rings. Gabled merchant houses, houseboats with real chimneys, arched bridges every two hundred metres. Forty minutes at a slow pace.

An old-school Italian in the Jordaan — tablecloths, candlelight even at noon. Veal ossobuco, homemade pappardelle, a bottle of Barolo. Small room, loud regulars, a chef who's been there since 1991. Book well ahead.

The Jordaan's main square. Farmers Market Saturdays 09:00-16:00: organic cheese, charcuterie, flowers, stroopwafel cart. Mondays the Antique Market. Weekdays just cafés and the surrounding canal.

The nine streets between Herengracht and Prinsengracht. Independent shops, vintage stores, cheese specialists, tiny gin tasting rooms. Walk east to west slowly; duck into whatever catches your eye.

A 1780 gin distillery, now a canal-side brown café. Terraces directly on the water where you order at the window. Bitterballen and a jenever, then stay for a Belgian Trappist beer as the light drops.