Amsterdam rewards a thin wallet: the ferries across the IJ are free, the Jordaan's almshouse courtyards are open doors, and Wednesday brings a free Concertgebouw concert. Three days of hofjes, street markets and public rooftops for under €20 a day.
Enter through a low door on Spui into a walled 14th-century courtyard of almshouses, still lived in by single women. Het Houten Huys at No. 34 dates from 1528 and is the city's oldest house. Open 09:00-18:00, entry free.
Every Wednesday at 12:30 from September to June the Concertgebouw opens a hall for a free 30-minute chamber concert or open rehearsal. No tickets are sold and no reservations exist; the queue simply forms at the side entrance.
The Jordaan hides a dozen almshouse courtyards behind plain street doors: Karthuizerhof on Karthuizersstraat with its twin 1650 pumps, Sint Andrieshof off Egelantiersstraat, Suykerhofje on Lindengracht. All free to enter.
The Openbare Bibliotheek on Oosterdokskade costs nothing to walk into: seven floors of white stone and escalators up to a top-floor reading terrace over the IJ, Nemo and the rooftops. Open 08:00-22:00 daily, coffee about €2.80.
Amsterdam's longest street market runs a kilometre through De Pijp with around 260 stalls, Mon-Sat 09:00-17:00. A stroopwafel straight off the iron is €2.50-3, a cone of kibbeling €5.50, Dutch gouda from €8 a kilo.
A hole-in-the-wall fry counter in an alley off Spui, frying since 1957, selling exactly one thing: double-fried Belgian frites in a paper cone. Small cone €3.60, sauce €0.90 — oorlog with mayo, satay and raw onion is the local order.
A 250-stall neighbourhood market along Dapperstraat in Oost, Mon-Sat 09:00-17:00, where Amsterdam does its actual grocery shopping. Turkish flatbread €1.20, a kilo of tomatoes around €2, Moroccan olives and Surinamese peppers by the scoop.
A Surinamese counter on Eerste Van Swindenstraat, five minutes from Dappermarkt, where a roti with chicken, potato and long bean runs about €8 and a bara costs €1.50. Canteen tables, quick queue, closed Mondays.
Ferry 906 leaves the pier behind Centraal every 15 minutes for a 14-minute crossing of the IJ to the old NDSM shipyard — free, no ticket, bicycles included. On the far side: crane graffiti, the STRAAT hangar and Pllek's sand beach.
Nemo's green stepped roof is a free public square reached by the outdoor staircase, no museum ticket needed, open roughly 10:00-17:30. From the top edge you get the IJ, the back of Centraal and the Oosterdok marina laid out below.
An 1882 indoor riding school behind Vondelpark, a Neo-Renaissance hall by A.L. van Gendt. Climb the stairs to the first-floor café balcony, order a coffee for around €3.20 and watch dressage lessons under the chandeliers.
The Houthaven waterfront west of Centraal ends under the Pontsteiger building's arch, where wooden decks and benches face straight down the IJ into the sunset. No entry, no bar minimum, and the light lasts past 22:00 in June.