Where Is the Tourist Office in Amsterdam?

The city tourist office in Amsterdam is located directly across the street from Amsterdam Central Station, at Stationsplein 10, in the lovely Noord-Zuid Hollands Koffiehuis (North-South Holland Café). Look out for the triple "V" (VVV is the abbreviation of the tourist info service) or the lowercase "i" on the café facade.

The staff is on hand to provide tourist information and make reservations. They also sell essentials such as books, maps, public transport cards, and tourist discount passes—not to mention a variety of "I Amsterdam"—branded souvenirs.

Stationsplein 10 1012 AB Amsterdam

The café itself is of special note: it's late-Art Nouveau architecture dates to 1911 when it served as a port of call for a commuter ferry. It is one of the few non-residential projects from Amsterdam-born architect Willem Leliman, who also invented the clever, mushroom-shaped posts that indicate directions on the country's cyclist and pedestrian trails.

There is indeed still a café on-site (albeit separate from the tourist office): the café has operated under the auspices of Loetje, a full-service café, and restaurant (kitchen open until 10:30 pm), since 2015. Loetje took over from the former Smits Koffiehuis, an Amsterdam institution that served customers at this spot for 95 years, since 1919; when the last member of the Smits family retired in 2013, the tradition of the Noord-Zuidhollanse Koffiehuis passed on to Loetje, already an established café chain in Amsterdam.

Visitors who fly into Schiphol Airport can stop at the Holland Information Center, located at Schiphol Plaza in Arrivals 2.

Arrivals Hall 2 1118 AX Schiphol

Most Dutch don't even know the answer to this since the acronym is now the only name used for these Dutch tourist information centers. But VVV once stood for the Vereniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer—a mouthful that means "Association for the Traffic of Foreigners." Thankfully, it has been retired as the official name in favor of "VVV Nederland."

The VVV has assisted tourists since 1885, when the first office opened in Valkenburg aan de Geul, in the southern province of Limburg, an ancient, walled city renowned for its Roman catacombs and its castles. Today there are nearly a hundred VVV offices across the country.