Is the Amsterdam City Card worth it?

Amsterdam is one of my favourite cities, and one of the only places I’ll always return to. I love the chilled vibe, the pretty canals, the food and the short flight from the UK, and I’m desperate to explore nearby Rotterdam too. But even though I’ve done four trips to Amsterdam so far, I’ve never been able to justify spending the 85 euros on a 48 hour Amsterdam city card. (They do 1, 3, 4 and 5 day cards too, if you’re in the city for longer) I decided that I’d bite the bullet, pay for a 48 hour card, and write this post-is the Amsterdam City Card worth it?

Our most recent trip, and J’s first, was for his brother’s 50th birthday. The three of us flew from Manchester and met their sister in the city as she flew from Bristol, and as Karl wanted to do museums and art, this trip was the perfect time to try the city card. This post talks about everything we managed to do with it in the 48 hours, how much we saved, and whether it was worth the price.

We booked our city cards via Klook, as we had a 5% new customer discount and 5% of 85 euros for four people makes a big difference. The cards were loaded straight onto the IAmsterdam app and were easy to transfer to each person-you click to transfer a card and it gives you a QR code, and then the card is on the other person’s app. This worked well for us as we didn’t want to book the cards individually, but knew we might split up in the city itself so all needed our card on our own phone. So far, so good.

The 48 hour city card, rather than doing two full days (Monday and Tuesday) lasts for 48 hours from activation. We planned ahead and activated ours at 4pm on our first day, just in time for our first activity. This meant it lasted until 4pm, a couple of hours before we left on our third day, so we could cram as much as possible into the card.

So, what did we manage to do with the card, and how much value did we get out of it?

Canal cruise

You can’t visit Amsterdam without seeing the city by canal, and as it was J and Karl’s first time I knew I wanted us all to do a cruise. There’s plenty of options for cruises on the card, booking in advance is recommended and we managed to find one that took us out behind Centraal Station too, which is further than I’ve been on a cruise before. Really interesting, and a must do in Amsterdam. A cruise will cost between 15 and 20 euros per person (subtotal from the City Card 15 euros)

Rijksmuseum

Karl really wanted to see the Rijksmuseum, and although I’m not normally an art gallery sort of person it was nice to do something different. J and I spent about three hours in there including lunch, Karl and Rosa spent more time looking around and really appreciating the art. Entry was free with the City Card, but you do need to reserve a slot online in advance. The Rijksmuseum Library, below, was a particular highlight for me. The Rijksmuseum normally costs 22.50 euros per person (subtotal from the City Card 37.50 euros)

MOCO Amsterdam

When it comes to art, I prefer mine modern, and knowing that Robbie Williams had a new exhibition around mental health at MOCO made a quick visit a must for me. Again, entry is free but you need to reserve a slot online first. We were only here about half an hour, it’s small but worth the visit if you’re at Rijksmuseum anyway, as it’s just behind the building. The Robbie Williams exhibition was brilliant and I loved the infinity rooms too, especially the one in the photo below. Tickets are 21 euros per person, (subtotal from the City Card 58.50 euros) So far, is the Amsterdam City card worth it? I’m not sure yet…

House of Bols Cocktail Experience

This isn’t actually included on the City Card, but you do get 25% off, so I’m counting that discount as part of the value. We’d had the House of Bols Cocktail Experience recommended to us by a couple of friends and it was a nice way to chill out after a couple of museums.

You’re given a shot of Bols in a little bottle and you go round three different rooms, learning about how Bols is made using sight, touch and smell. It’s hard to describe without giving much away but one of the rooms, where you could smell different scents and guess the Bols flavour, was really fun. You’re given a cocktail at the end too-choosing your own from their online menu and printing out the recipe to take to the bar, or you can make your own at the other bar. Tickets to the Bols Experience were 19 euros 50 cents, and we saved 5 euros with the City Card. (subtotal from the City Card 63.50 euros)

Eye Filmmuseum

Our second day of using the card started with a free ferry across to Amsterdam Noord, and a visit to the Eye Filmmuseum. We thought this was more for Karl but actually I really enjoyed it too, especially the more interactive parts where you could star in a greenscreen video, make a flipbook and create a short stopmotion film. We did need to book slots online in advance (are you noticing a pattern here?) but entry was free with our City Card. Tickets are 12 euros 50 per person (subtotal from the City Card 76 euros)

A’Dam Lookout

The A’Dam Lookout has been on my list for ages, but in all my trips to Amsterdam I’ve never made it over to Amsterdam Noord. I know. This trip was the perfect excuse to finally go in the funky lift (photo at the beginning of this post!) up to the famous viewpoint, and check out aerial views of the city. We could have been brave and gone on the swing out over the side of the building, but I hate heights so I kept both feet on the floor. If you’re better than I am with this stuff, it’s a real experience I’m sure.

Entry was free to us, again, and we didn’t need to book a slot for here. We spent about an hour and a half looking at the view, having some photos taken by their pro photographer and then posing with the ‘A’Dam’ sign and the big red horse at the top. There’s a nice cafe up there too. Tickets are 18 euros 50 per person and it’s more expensive if you choose to go on the swing or their VR experience. (subtotal from the City Card 94.50 euros)

At this point our tickets ran out, and we needed to catch the ferry back for Rosa to get to the airport anyway. So, is the Amsterdam City Card worth it?

What’s the verdict?

We managed to get just under 95 euros worth of tickets and experiences from our 84 euro card, and that’s not including the free public transport (which we didn’t end up using, but that’s our choice) For the weekend we had, cramming in a few different museums, it was definitely worth it.

Will you buy the Amsterdam City Card again?

Before this trip I’d said to J that we won’t need to buy one in the future, but actually I think we will. On a future trip just the two of us, we won’t be revisiting any of the places we’ve already been but I have my eye on the Jewish Museum (20 euros) FOAM Photography Museum (14 euros) Houseboat Museum (17 euros) and if we’re clever about the time we start the card, we should be able to fit ARTIS Zoo into a 24 hour card too (26 euros). That’ll be 77 euros worth of activities for a 60 euros 24 hour card.

Have you used the Amsterdam City Card? Was it worth it for you?