Walking Tours
The Amsterdam Tourist Office (VVV) (tel: (020) 551 2525; website: www.visitamsterdam.nl) publishes a number of brochures detailing informative and interesting walking tours of the city.

Bus Tours
The De Opstapper minibus is run by GVB (tel: 9292; website: www.gvb.nl). The hop-on hop-off bus circles away from the Centraal Station and curves around Prinsengracht towards Waterlooplein and then back. It leaves every 10 minutes and, as there are no dedicated stops, passengers just tell the driver where they want to get off. Standard public transport strippenkaarten for one zone are valid, as are day cards (see Getting Around), otherwise, tickets are available for purchase from the driver.

Boat Tours
Probably the best way to see Amsterdam is from one of the many canal tour boats available. There are a number of companies operating these tours. The hour-long itinerary varies little but the price and delivery of information does. Visitors should choose from The Best of Holland, Damrak 34 (tel: (020) 624 6340; website: www.asiacompass.nl), Lindbergh, Damrak 26 (tel: (020) 622 2766; website: www.lindbergh.nl) and Lovers, opposite Prins Hendrikkade 25-27 (tel: (020) 530 1090; website: www.lovers.nl). The tours run throughout the year, at regular intervals during the day. Passengers can choose either to go once in a loop or use the boats as a hop-on hop-off way of getting around the main attractions. Other boat tours that combine the cruises with visits to various museums or take in the canals by night are also available.

Bicycle Tours
Yellow Bike, Nieuwezijds Kolk 29 (tel: (020) 620 6940; website: www.yellowbike.nl), operates tours between April and November, including tours of the Vondelpark and the Jordaan district. Tours are conducted in Dutch or English but German, French, Spanish or Italian speaking guides can also be arranged on request. All tours depart from Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, which is a five-minute walk from the Centraal Station.