Amsterdam

It's easy to see why people keep coming back to Amsterdam year after year. There’s so much to see and do here, you can have a totally different experience on each visit. One of Europe's most laid-back cities, anything and everything goes here along its handsome canals and unique buildings. It’s also highly rated for its cultural attractions. You can get close to a famous painting in the Van Gogh Museum, see original Dutch masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum, and tour the secret annex where Anne Frank wrote her diary in the second world war.

If you fancy a bit of shopping, the most popular retail spots in the Dutch capital are the picturesque De Negen Straatjes ('Nine Streets'), where you can sift through independent stores and vintage boutiques. Elsewhere, the floating Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market) makes for an instagrammable experience, while the pedestrianised Kalverstraat is where you’ll find most big name brands.

Amsterdam's cosmopolitan dining scene reflects the Dutch influence on the world, and you’ll find everything here from Indonesian restaurants to Argentinian steak houses and more. There are also plenty of street food choices with cones of fries and mayo being a signature staple. Heineken, Amsterdam's beer of choice, can be sampled during a visit to the brewery with the Heineken Experience.

King’s Day in April is the city's biggest communal knees-up, where an orange-hued, citywide street party marks the official birthday of King Willem-Alexander. And over the third weekend of June, around 30 canal-side gardens are opened to the ticket-buying public, offering a side of the city that usually remains off-limits.