At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season Two different months. The first three weeks are the emptiest and cheapest stretch of the year outside January. From the last week, once the Light Festival switches on, both the crowds and the hotel rates change sharply.
Amsterdam in November — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
Amsterdam in November offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for museums, sinterklaas & low prices. Expect temperatures of 5–10°C, around 13 days of rain, and low crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around €95–145 for mid-range travellers. Rooms are easy to find last-minute and hotel prices stay noticeably softer through the season.
Contents16 sections
#At a Glance
November is Amsterdam with the tourists taken out. For three weeks the city is grey, wet and at its cheapest outside January, and it fills that gap with its own indoor season: Museumnacht, when the museums stay open into the small hours, and IDFA, the world's largest documentary festival, from 12 to 22 November 2026. Then the month turns.
Sinterklaas arrives in mid-November, and on Thursday 26 November the Amsterdam Light Festival switches on along the canals, bringing back the crowds and the room rates with it.
#Weather in Amsterdam in November
Amsterdam in November averages 5–10°C (41–50°F) with around 13 days of rain, and crowds are low.
| November | |
|---|---|
| Daytime high | About 10°C / 50°F |
| Overnight low | About 5°C / 41°F |
| Wet days | About 13 |
| Sunset | 5:11pm on the 1st, 4:48pm on the 15th, 4:32pm on the 30th |
Figures are KNMI 1991–2020 normals for Amsterdam Schiphol; sunset times are calculated for the city centre, after the clocks go back on 25 October.
What that actually means for your trip:
- The afternoon is short and it shrinks fast. By the last week the light is going soon after four, so put anything outdoors before lunch.
- Expect rain on most days, but rarely all day. Thirteen wet days is mostly showers blowing through on a westerly wind, with dry hours in between.
- It is mild for northern Europe. Frost is rare this early, and the cold you feel is wind off the water rather than the temperature.
- Autumn storms arrive now. A gale can stop the ferries and make cycling foolish for a day; check the KNMI warnings, which are colour-coded.
Is November a good time to visit Amsterdam? Yes, if you came for museums, films, cafés and low prices, and can live with grey skies. The first three weeks are the city's quiet season; from 26 November the Light Festival makes the evenings worth being out in, at higher prices.
#Two Months in One
From the 1st to about the 25th the city belongs to the people who live in it. Hotel rates are close to their lowest of the year, restaurants that turn people away in May will find a table, and the big museums have room to move on weekday mornings.
Two events give these weeks a shape: Museumnacht, reported for Saturday 7 November 2026 but not yet confirmed by its organiser, and IDFA, which takes over the cinemas around Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein for eleven days.
From Thursday 26 November the Light Festival puts its artworks along the canals and runs until 17 January 2027, the Christmas lights go up, and weekend rates climb towards December's; our guide to the Light Festival has the route and the boats. If you want empty museums and cheap rooms, come early in the month; if you want the illuminated canals, come at the very end.
#What to Do in Amsterdam in November
Solo Travellers
IDFA is the event to build a solo trip round: films from morning to midnight, Q&As with the makers, and a public that comes to talk about them afterwards. Buy a few tickets in advance and fill the gaps on the day.
On a dry morning, walk the Jordaan canals before the shops open, then take the afternoon at the Rijksmuseum, booked for a timed slot.
Couples
Museumnacht is a night out for two: start at the Stedelijk, cross Museumplein to the Rijksmuseum for the Gallery of Honour after dark, and finish in one of the small canal-house museums on the programme. In the last week, take a covered boat for the Light Festival once it opens on the 26th.
Families
Sinterklaas is the month's family occasion. The national arrival, broadcast on television, is Saturday 14 November 2026 in Grave; Amsterdam holds its own boat parade along the canals, usually on the following day, with the date published by the city in the autumn.
NEMO, the science museum shaped like a ship's prow, and Micropia, the museum of microbes beside the zoo, fill a wet day with children.
Groups
Split up for IDFA or Museumnacht and meet afterwards; both reward choosing for yourself, and for dinner an Indonesian rijsttafel, a table covered in a dozen small dishes, works for six better than for two; afterwards, Paradiso and the Melkweg have their autumn programmes at full strength.
#Getting Around
Trains from Schiphol reach Centraal in about 20 minutes. A contactless bank card or phone works as the ticket on trains, trams, buses and metro; check in and out at the gates.
The free IJ ferries behind Centraal cross to Noord for the Eye Filmmuseum. November is a tram month: wet leaves on the bike lanes and wet tram rails are slippery, and the wind across open bridges is hard work.
If you do ride, lights are compulsory from dusk, which by the end of the month is around half past four.
#Budget & Costs
| Travel style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | €95–145 | Hostel or simple hotel, café meals, trams |
| Mid-range | €200–310 | Canal-ring hotel, a museum, a restaurant dinner |
| Luxury | €480+ | Top hotel, tasting menu, private boat |
Costs worth knowing:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| City tourist tax | 12.5% of the room price |
| Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk | About €20–25 each |
| Light Festival walking route | Free |
| IJ ferries from Centraal | Free |
Where the money actually goes:
- The first three weeks are the cheapest of the autumn for rooms, with only IDFA's weekends busier.
- The tourist tax is a percentage of the room, so a cheaper November room costs less tax too.
- The last week costs more once the Light Festival opens.
- Museumnacht is one ticket for the night, far cheaper than two museum entries.
Book the dates that suit your plans and the price follows: a week in mid-November costs a fraction of the same week in July, and the city is better for it.
#Food & Dining
November brings out the cold-weather menu: Erwtensoep, split-pea soup thick enough to stand a spoon in, and stamppot, mashed potato with kale or endive and a smoked sausage, return to café menus. From mid-month the bakeries fill with Sinterklaas sweets: pepernoten and kruidnoten, small spiced biscuits sold by the bag, chocolate letters, and speculaas, the spiced shortbread that is also baked into thick, almond-filled gevulde speculaas.
This is the easiest month after January to get into the restaurants that are booked solid in summer, particularly from Sunday to Wednesday.
#Nightlife
The dark comes early, so evenings start early: a drink in a brown café from five, dinner, then a film or a gig. IDFA screenings run late, the concert halls are deep into their season, and the club nights are full of locals rather than stag parties.
Museumnacht is the month's one big late night, and its after-parties run on well past the last gallery.
#Shopping
Between showers, the canal-side boutiques of De 9 Straatjes are close enough together to shop in short dashes. Sinterklaas drives the shopping from mid-month, so the department stores and the toy shops are busier than the streets. Covered markets are thin on the ground, but the Noordermarkt on Saturdays, organic produce and cheese, carries on in any weather. Christmas markets start appearing only at the very end of the month.
#Culture & Etiquette
- Sinterklaas is a children's festival. Enjoy it, but do not explain to a Dutch child where the presents come from.
- Respect the bike lane. It is a road, and the person on it in the rain is not going to stop.
- Book online. Museums, many restaurants and even some cafés expect a reservation.
- Directness is politeness. A blunt answer is not rudeness; round up a café bill and leave about a tenth in a restaurant.
- Wipe your feet. On a wet day, shops and cafés appreciate it.
#Essential Local Phrases
| Dutch | Meaning | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Wat een weer | What weather | Small talk on any November day |
| Pepernoten | Sinterklaas spiced biscuits | From mid-month |
| Een kaartje voor de film, graag | A ticket for the film, please | IDFA box offices |
| Gezellig | Cosy, convivial | About a warm café on a wet day |
| Is er nog plek? | Is there still room? | Walking in out of the rain |
| Fijne avond | Have a nice evening | Leaving anywhere after four |
#Packing List
- A windproof, hooded rain jacket; umbrellas turn inside out on the bridges
- Waterproof shoes with grip for wet cobbles and leaves
- A warm layer for evenings and canal boats
- A hat and gloves for the last week
- A contactless card, which is also the transport ticket
- A phone light for unlit quaysides after dark
#Backup Plans (Rain or Storm)
If it rains all day: start with one of the big three on Museumplein and save the afternoon for smaller places: the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, formerly the Tropenmuseum, the photography museum Foam and the Willet-Holthuysen canal house are quieter and just as good.
If a gale stops the ferries: stay south of the IJ, take a covered canal boat if they are running, and leave the Eye Filmmuseum for a calmer day.
If you need warmth: the glasshouses of the Hortus Botanicus are tropical all year, and an IDFA screening is two dry hours in good company.
#Safety & Health
Wet surfaces and water are the risks. Leaves on bike lanes and bridges are as slippery as ice, canal edges are unfenced and dark from late afternoon, and storms bring falling branches. Watch for trams, which are quiet and do not stop quickly, and cyclists, who will not expect a pedestrian in their lane. Pickpockets work Centraal, Dam Square and crowded trams, and the emergency number is 112.
#What's New for November 2026
- IDFA runs from 12 to 22 November 2026
- The Light Festival's 15th edition opens on Thursday 26 November 2026
- Sinterklaas arrives nationally on Saturday 14 November 2026, in Grave
- The Tropenmuseum is now the Wereldmuseum Amsterdam
- The tourist tax is 12.5% of the room price in 2026; the 2027 rate is still before the city council
#About This Guide
By Harry Nara (founder of WhenToWander), first written in September 2026 and rewritten in October 2026 for November 2026. Climate figures are KNMI 1991–2020 normals for Amsterdam Schiphol. Dates and prices verified against:
- IDFA for the festival dates
- Amsterdam Light Festival for the opening date
- Museumnacht Amsterdam for Museumnacht
- Gemeente Amsterdam for the tourist tax
- KNMI for the November averages
For the season either side, see Amsterdam in autumn and Amsterdam in winter, and for the month after, Amsterdam in December.
You might also like
Destinations picked for travellers with similar taste or climate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is November a good time to visit Amsterdam?
Yes, if you want museums, films and low prices more than sunshine. The first three weeks are among the cheapest of the year, with Museumnacht and the IDFA documentary festival, 12 to 22 November 2026; from 26 November the Light Festival lights the canals and prices rise.
When does Sinterklaas arrive in 2026?
The national arrival is on Saturday 14 November 2026, in Grave, and is broadcast live. Amsterdam holds its own boat parade along the canals, usually on the following day, with the date published by the city in the autumn. Pakjesavond, the evening of presents, is Saturday 5 December.
How dark does Amsterdam get in November?
Sunset moves from 5:11pm on the 1st to 4:32pm on the 30th, so by the end of the month the light is going soon after four. Plan outdoor sightseeing for the morning and keep the evenings for films, museums and cafés.
When does the Amsterdam Light Festival start in 2026?
On Thursday 26 November 2026, running to 17 January 2027. The walking route is free; boat tours are ticketed and are easier to book in the festival’s first week than on December weekends.
What’s the weather like in Amsterdam in November?
Amsterdam in November typically sees temperatures of 5–10°C with around 13 days of rain across the period. Pack warm layers, a waterproof coat, and sturdy shoes — days stay chilly.
How much does it cost to visit Amsterdam in November?
Budget-conscious travellers can expect daily costs of €95–145, covering accommodation, food, and local transport. Quieter periods usually push prices toward the lower end of this range.