← Amstelveen Spring Marathon·Day trip

Amsterdam: A Seated Museum Day After Amstelveen

A flat museum quarter with lifts, a seated canal cruise and a paved park, all within a short walk of each other and a tram ride from the Amstelveen finish.

DurationDay trip
TransitGVB tram 5 or metro from Amstelveen, about 20 to 30 minutes
DepartsAmstelveen Stadshart

After the Amstelveen Spring Marathon: Amsterdam

The Route: Amstelveen Stadshart → Museumplein → Vondelpark → Amstelveen Logistics: GVB tram 5 or the metro, tapped in and out with a contactless bank card. The day is a loop of three flat pieces within one square kilometre. Marathon Month: March Duration: Day trip

Amstelveen Stadshart ──(20-30 mins, tram 5 / metro)──> Museumplein
                                                           │
                                          Rijksmuseum ── Van Gogh Museum
                                                           │
Amstelveen Stadshart <──(20-30 mins)── Vondelpark <──(10 mins on foot)

The Amstelveen Spring Marathon finishes on Stadsplein, in the middle of the Stadshart shopping centre, and runs on a Sunday in March. Amsterdam is the obvious Monday: the tram leaves from the same neighbourhood and the museum quarter is flat from the first step to the last.

March in Amsterdam: daytime highs sit around 9°C and rain is as likely as sun. Daffodils and crocuses start to show in the Vondelpark in some years, though the tulips that the city sells on postcards are weeks away. The queues at the big museums are shorter than in April and May, but the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum both sell timed tickets, and the morning slots go first. Book a week or two ahead at rijksmuseum.nl and vangoghmuseum.nl.

GVB tram 5 runs from Amstelveen through Amsterdam Zuid and stops on Van Baerlestraat, a few minutes' walk from Museumplein. Check the GVB planner for the stop nearest your first museum, because weekend and Monday works change the routing. Tap in with a contactless bank card or OVpay and tap out at the end. There is no day ticket to buy and no paper to lose, and the fare for the whole journey is a few euros.

Museumplein

The Rijksmuseum is the better choice for legs that refuse stairs. Entry is approximately €25 and there are lifts to every floor, so the Night Watch gallery on the first floor is reachable without climbing. Benches in the Gallery of Honour are frequent and nobody minds you using them. Two hours is enough for the Rembrandts and the Vermeers.

The Van Gogh Museum, a minute's walk across the square, costs around €25 and has lifts and seating on each floor. The collection is chronological, which suits a slow day. The Museumplein itself is a paved, level lawn with benches, and the cafés around its edge are the place to sit down for coffee.

The Canal Cruise and the Park

A seated canal cruise is the least demanding way to see the seventeenth-century belt. Boats leave from several jetties around the Leidseplein and the Rokin and take 60 to 75 minutes. Expect around €20 to €25. Most boats have glass roofs, so rain matters less than it does on the street.

The Vondelpark is a ten-minute walk from the museums. It covers 47 hectares of flat, paved and gravelled paths with a lake, benches and several cafés. A circuit of the main loop is about 3 km, which is too far on the Monday after 42 km. Walk to the Vondelpark pavilion, sit, and turn back.

Trams back to Amstelveen run frequently through the evening. Check the last service on the planner if you stay on for dinner, and allow time for the Stadshart's own cafés if the legs have had enough.