Take a whistle-stop tour through Dutch history at the Rijksmuseum. Highlights of the colossal collection are being exhibited while the museum is renovated – don't miss the intricate silverware and works by Rembrandt, Van Hals and Vermeer. Across Museumplein is the Van Gogh Museum, with its incomparable collection of works by our favourite one-eared artist. For a contemporary art fest, take in the Picassos, Mondrians and Kandinskys at the newly refurbished Stedelijk Museum. In 2009, look out for the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam, annex to the renowned Saint Petersburg museum.

For a slice of Dutch life, huddle up in tiny eetcafés for a late-morning coffee, hang out with Amsterdammers on bar terraces overlooking the canals or down a kopstoot gin chaser with your beer at Museumplein's unfeasibly trendy Café Cobra. Take a friend to share an Indonesian rijsttafel multi-course banquet - just go easy on the chilli. Cool off with a late-night lager in tiny traditional brown café, 't Smalle, tucked by the side of a canal on Egelantiersgracht in jumping Jordaan.

Canal boats follow three main routes around Amsterdam's web of canals and you can hop on and off at all the major sights. In sunny weather, sit outside and watch the majestic 17th-century mansions slip past on Herengracht, then chug under the magical Magere Brug (skinny bridge) and revel in the sheer romance of the waterways. After nightfall take a candle-lit cruise along the serene canals and under illuminated bridges to the strains of jazz while sipping champagne.

Stalk crowded Leidsestraat and Dam for department stores, unearth young designers in cool Jordaan and scour boutiques in the Red Light District for clubwear. You can splash out on rocks at Coster Diamonds on Paulus Potterstraat, or find more affordable buys like blue-and-white Delft china, waxy red Edam cheeses and unusual household accessories. Early morning is best to see the blaze of blooms flowering at Singel's Bloemenmarkt and to grab vintage bargains at the sprawl of stalls in Waterlooplein's flea market.

Much of Amsterdam's history took place behind closed doors. In the 17th century, the Catholic faith was banned in Amsterdam and worshippers gathered in secret. Wind your way through the lavish interiors of the Amstelkring Museum on Oudezijds Voorburgwal before discovering the minute but grandiose mock-marble chapel hidden away at the top of the house. Prinsengracht's evocative Anne Frankhuis includes the cramped quarters where Anne and her family hid before being deported to Bergen-Belsen during WWII. Get there early, queues are massive by 10.30am.

Our kids loved the scary Indonesian puppets and the noisy Bombay street scenes in the Tropenmuseum. There's a special trail through the museum for kids and it has got a jungle-themed restaurant called Ekeko with a sunny terrace where we all sat after our visit. Steve and Lucy Douglas, Edinburgh

Where: Tropenmuseum, Linnaeusstraat 2, 1092 CK Amsterdam, +31 (0) 20 56 88 200

Tropenmuseum website

If you've got young children, be careful of cyclists in Amsterdam – the streets are teeming with locals who know where they are going and don't want to stop for tourists. We saw a little girl get knocked over outside the Anne Frankhuis by a cyclist who did not even stop. She wasn't hurt but very shocked and her parents were really upset. I should think it spoiled the rest of their day. Having said that we did hire bikes from Mac Bike one afternoon but instead of chancing the main streets (trams are another hazard!) we went to the Vondelpark and cruised around the lawns and lakes. Much safer! Lisa, Wiltshire

Where: Mac Bike, Marnixstraat 220, 1016 TL Amsterdam, +31 (0) 20 62 66 964

Mac Bike website