A Saturday on foot, from the Jordaan market down through the centre to the museum quarter, ending on the water. Saturday matters: the Noordermarkt is on and the City Archives open at noon. The only money you need is for transit and food.
Walk from Centraal along Brouwersgracht, 15 minutes. Taste your way round the farmers' stalls, then leave the square by Prinsengracht heading south.
Zigzag south through the side canals for an hour. From Westermarkt, cut east along Raadhuisstraat and down Spuistraat to Spui, about 15 minutes.
Enter by the gate on Gedempte Begijnensloot. Afterwards walk down Kalverstraat to Muntplein and on into Vijzelstraat, 10 minutes.
Go down to the vault first, then look at the bank hall. Continue south on Vijzelstraat and cross Weteringschans to the Rijksmuseum, 12 minutes.
Eat a supermarket lunch on a garden bench, then walk through the passage. Vondelpark's nearest gate is 8 minutes west along Stadhouderskade.
Walk to the rose garden and back. In summer there is a free show at the open-air theatre. The walk back to Centraal takes 40 minutes via Leidsestraat and Dam.
Board the Buiksloterweg ferry behind the station for the five-minute crossing at dusk, look into the Eye building, and ride back.
Nothing free comes close to standing in the rooms behind the bookcase, with the pencil marks of the children's heights still on the wall. Tickets are sold online only for a fixed time slot and go weeks ahead, so book before you book anything else.
Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.
