You’ve got 24 to 48 hours in Amsterdam. What can you do?

First day

Start with the big ones: Head to the Museum Quarter (Google Maps) to see the masterpieces at the Van Gogh Museum (Google Maps) and Rijksmuseum (Google Maps). It will be crowded, so make sure you book your tickets in advance. Modern art lovers might want to check out the Stedelijk Museum (Google Maps). The three major museums are all within walking distance of each other.

Spend the afternoon in the medieval city centre from Amsterdam. Have lunch at De Drie Graefjes (Google Maps). Explore the secret courtyard and gardens of the Begijnhof (Google Maps). Walk up Kalverstraat (Google Maps) and walk straight through to Dam Square (Google Maps), where the Royal Palace (Google Maps), Nieuwe Kerk (Google Maps), the large department store Bijenkorf (Google Maps) and National Monument (Google Maps) come together for a dose of Dutch history. Bend over and take your jenever (Dutch gin) like a local at Wynand Fockink (Google Maps).

Dine in elegant Dutch at Moeders (Google Maps) or Blauwe Hollander (Google Maps). Go to the Red Light District next. A stroll down Warmoesstraat (Google Maps) or Oudezijds Achterburgwal (Google Maps) offers a dazzling array of fetish shops, live sex shows, smoky coffeehouses and, of course, women in lingerie beckoning from crimson windows. Then settle into a cafe like Casablanca (Google Maps) or ‘t Mandje (Google Maps).

Second day

Take a look around the Albert Cuypmarkt (Google Maps), Amsterdam’s largest street market. It’s a great place to find cheese, fish, stroopwafels and bargain clothes. Then head to the Heineken Experience (Google Maps), where you’ll get to experience the brewing process first-hand on a tour of the brewery.

Have lunch like the locals do at the Wasserette (Google Maps), Coffee & Coconuts (Google Maps), or one of the other great places to eat around Albert Cuypstraat. Next, head to the Southern Canal Belt and take a stroll along the magnificent Golden Bend (Google Maps).

After that, you simply have to visit the Museum van Loon (Google Maps)! To catch a glimpse of a beautiful 16th-century canal house, or visit the Foam photo museum (Google Maps). Not far from here is also the famous Flower Market (Google Maps). You could also cruise the sparkling canals on a boat.

In the evening you can party on the hyperactive, neon-lit Leidseplein (Google Maps), surrounded by dance clubs and bruin cafes. Paradiso (Google Maps) and Melkweg (Google Maps) are the coolest spots.