For a first time traveler to any city, finding top notch accommodation becomes a crucible task, especially if you're operating on limited budget or scheduling an extended stay. The best way to proceed is to carefully plan the entire visit from hotel to sight seeing, transport and leisure time.

Amsterdam is a place for unlimited outdoor action as well as more cerebral activities. It helps to consult travel agents, city brochures and hotel Web sites for cheap hotels that are set in center of city close to major attractions and offer reasonable facilities and service. Cheap here does not mean colorless dcor or mucky washrooms but sleep-able beds and useable bathrooms with or without breakfast. Such hotels are popular with tourists on "shoe string" budgets.

Amsterdam has a good supply of hotels in this category a few meters from Leidseplein, Amsterdam's leisure area, which includes that Van Gogh Museum and Anne Frank House as well as Rijksmuseum Park, all within a walkable distance. The famous "Red Light" district, coffee shops, the flower market, shopping malls and Rembrandt Square are approachable through train services or waterways.

Most cheap hotels are used for sleeping or to spend a few leisurely hours in between sight-seeing or business. If you are not very particular about privacy, or if you're traveling alone, then you might look at hotels with dorm arrangements with 2, 3 or 5 beds. Studio apartments or rentals in old houses may also be available. Some of these hotel houses date back to 1660s and Napoleons maid is rumored to have stayed in one of them.

Amsterdam has something to offer to every tourist, ranging from museums, pubs and shopping malls, to its rich heritage and culture. Along with cheap hotels, apartments, condominiums, hostels, campsites, villas, inns and bed & breakfasts, there is also a choice of luxurious "5 Star" hotels.