Fun for a fiver in Amsterdam

An Amsterdam weekend can be pricey - but doesn’t have to be. There’s lots to do that’s free or under five pounds.

Stroll the side streets of the delightful Jordaan neighbourhood, a short walk from the packed touristic centre. Lined with historic houses, there are numerous art galleries with free entry. Several are on Hazenstraat alone. Quirky, tiny museum Electric Ladyland (Leliedwardsstraat 5; €5/£4.19; electric-lady-land.com; by appointment only) features fluorescent art - and naturally luminescent rocks.

Small children will love The Mouse Mansion (Muntplein 8; themousemansion.com; free) with its intricate, detailed papier mache mouse homes, a harbour, circus, fairground and more. The creators are happy to explain how it was all made and toys and books are for sale. A bigger mouse mansion for little ones to inspect is at The Central Library (Oosterdokskade 146; oba.nl), near Centraal Railway Station. There’s free exhibitions and fab city views from the top-floor terrace too.

At Centraal Station you can collect a bicycle for 24 hours (€4.55/£3.82) using the city’s OV-fiets (ns.nl) scheme. You need a free season ticket, arrangeable online.

Behind Centraal Station free ferries regularly go to Buiksloterweg in northern Amsterdam across the river IJ. Here you can explore impressive film culture centre the EYE Filmmuseum (IJpromenade 1; eyefilm.nl) and regenerated shipyard NDSM Wharf, which has street art and sculptures made from recycled materials. Bike paths lead to green expanses and charming villages - it’s a world away (and minutes away) from crowded Amsterdam centre.

To leave the crowds enter one of Amsterdam’s beautiful secret gardens built around almshouses. Called hofjes, you get a kind of Tom’s Midnight Garden feeling walking past the plain door from the street into these pretty oases of calm. Some are open to the public for free, but be respectful, as they are people’s homes.

Most impressive is the immaculate Begijnhof located off the Spuiplein has a picture-postcard garden lined with 16th-18th century houses and churches.

Almost 20 more are in Jordaan. A pretty, narrow corridor of Delft blue tiles leads you to little St Andrieshofje (Egelantiersgracht 107-114), completed in 1617, whilst Zonshofje (Prinsengracht 159-171), has an old clock depicting animals entering the ark. Hofje van Brienen (Prinsengracht 89-133), dating from 1797, features a twisting tree over manicured greenery whilst Karthuyzer Hofje (Karthuizersstraat 89-171) boasts two 17th century water pumps and pretty lawns and flowers.

Great lunch spots are Noordermarkt and nearby Lindengracht Market. Amongst the antiques, vintage clothing and jewellery for sale are fruits, breads, cheeses, meats and delicious stroopwafels (pancakes with a caramel filling). In the evening, head for Elandsgracht for budget Surinamese, Indian or Thai food.

Head for Leidesplein for nightlife. Packed with bars and fast food restaurants, it also has live music venue Bourbon Street (Leidsekruisstraat 6-8; bourbonstreet.nl; free on Mon, €5/£4.19 Sun, Tues-Thurs, €7.50/£6.29 Fri/Sat), with excellent bands belting out old classics and Jazz Cafe Alto (Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 115; jazz-cafe-alto.nl; Sun-Thur €5/£4.19, Fri/Sat €10/£8.38).

Diamonds have been part of the Dutch heritage for centuries, and at Gassan Diamonds (Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 173-175; gassan.com), a free tour shows how diamonds are sourced, shaped and polished. When nearly €100,000-worth of gems are spilled out in front of you it’s quite a thrill.

Each day at the National Monument on Dam Square and a few other places there’s a choice of walking tours available from several companies. Although free, an obligatory €1.50/£1.26) entertainment tax is charged and a small donation expected.

They can be surprisingly good. For example the alternative tour I took offered by Free Walking Tours Amsterdam (freewalkingtoursamsterdam.com) was conducted by a professor of history. He explained how Amsterdam changed from a conservative city in the 1950s to the liberal one today. We stopped by a ‘smart shop’ selling magic mushrooms - located within a church of all places. We saw a ‘coffee shop’, not a place to get a flat white, but instead legally permitted to supply patrons with marijuana. He led us to examples of the thriving street art scene, and learnt of how squatters took over parts of the city in the 1950s.

It was a fascinating end to an inexpensive visit to a city crammed with a surprisingly large choice of great cheap or free things to do.