Amsterdam

Amsterdam is 66 minutes by direct train from Arnhem, with services roughly every 30 minutes. The 17th-century canal belt — a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010 — is the obvious starting point, but the concentration of world-class museums in the Museumplein quarter is unmatched: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum of modern art are all within five minutes' walk of each other.

The Rijksmuseum holds the core of the Dutch Golden Age collection: Rembrandt's Night Watch, Vermeer's The Milkmaid, and thousands more. The Van Gogh Museum has the largest Van Gogh collection in the world — 200 paintings and 500 drawings. Both require advance booking, particularly in summer.

The Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht records one of the most important personal stories of WWII. Tickets are released online every Tuesday at 10:00 AM local time for the six weeks ahead and sell out quickly — book before you leave Arnhem. The Begijnhof, a 14th-century enclosed courtyard just off the Spui, contains Amsterdam's oldest surviving house, dating from around 1420.