Erica Bush explains how to do Amsterdam the right way – by doing what you want:

There’s a certain unrivalled charm about Amsterdam that lingers long after the forty-five minute flight back to England.

It’s not the sort of charm you may find in Paris or Venice. Amsterdam is different. There is an earthiness, a roughness almost, juxtaposed by wonderful style and art. It’s endearing.

One canal boat trip by night and you will be nodding your head in agreement.

Old and crooked buildings stand tall along the water, whilst inside there are grand chandeliers, wacky abstract paintings and scarlet red curtains. Creaking canal boats with chipped woodwork and fading paint line the water, transformed by cool modern interiors.

The women ride on brightly coloured bikes, a slick of red on their lips; the cobbled pavements are lively with locals and tourists alike. Mopeds beep, bikes ring and best of all, every other turning brings you to another canal; its bridge lined with locked bikes, boats moving seamlessly across the water, cosy cafés and vintage shops on every other corner. Get lost in the maze of it.

The Anne Frank Huis is an absolute must-see – the original secret bookcase door and worn scribbles of children’s heights on the wall make the infamous story heartbreakingly real and absorbing – as well as the Van Gogh museum and the wonderful Rijksmuseum.

Eat a huge helping of whipped cream in Café Winkel, hire bikes and cycle to your hearts content to the Vondelpark and back, go to the floating flower market on the Singel canal and see tulips in colours and sizes you didn’t think possible, eat an infamous waffle smothered in white chocolate and marshmallows, go to Dam Square and people watch from a café, eat some cheese!

Do what you like. That’s what Amsterdam does best. Go to the Red Light District. Go to a coffeeshop. Go to the sex museum if you’re feeling really reckless. The vibe is chilled and the people are better: smiley, helpful, happy.

If you want to do Amsterdam right:

Get an I Amsterdam card. Do it. Honestly the most cost-effective way to see the city, with all travel (except trains), the vast majority of museums and art galleries free and a whole host of discounts in bars, restaurants and attractions. It really is worth it.

Travel like a local: hire bikes for at least one day, make use of the trams and get on a canal boat – the best way to absorb the city and get around.

Go to a market. The Albert Cuyp market, the Waterlooplein flea market, the floating flower market… from bikes, to cheese, to old vinyl records to cannabis lollipops – whatever you want, you will find it in one of Amsterdam’s many markets.

Don’t get run over. Easier said than done when, in your eager and excitable rush to find your hotel, you end up unknowingly in a tram lane with a suitcase wheel stuck in the track. Oh, and there’s three bicycles coming towards you too.

Make the best of the city’s culture. With more museums than you will have time for, it will be hard to find something you don’t like. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum and the Anne Frank Huis are the ones you can’t leave without.

Put Amsterdam at the top of your ‘places to visit’ list and thank us later. The infectious bohemian vibe is sure to be a winner.