VacationSelector
A canal bridge in autumn, Amsterdam
AmsterdamA canal bridge in autumn
Ferries off the Kordon promenade, Izmir
IzmirFerries off the Kordon promenade

Photos: Amsterdam by Hans, Pexels License; Izmir by Toygar Par, Pexels License.

Amsterdam or Izmir?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Amsterdam for

  • live music and the arts
  • culture and sights
  • getting around

What lies behind each score is written up on Amsterdam’s own page.

Choose Izmir for

  • prices
  • beaches
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Izmir’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Amsterdam 25, Izmir 62: Izmir leads by 37 points.
Food & drink. Amsterdam 58, Izmir 72: Izmir leads by 14 points.
Culture & sights. Amsterdam 82, Izmir 55: Amsterdam leads by 27 points.
Nightlife. Amsterdam 77, Izmir 60: Amsterdam leads by 17 points.
Nature & outdoors. Amsterdam 47, Izmir 66: Izmir leads by 19 points.
Day trips. Amsterdam 87, Izmir 86: Amsterdam leads by 1 points.
Good for families. Amsterdam 72, Izmir 55: Amsterdam leads by 17 points.
Getting around. Amsterdam 86, Izmir 63: Amsterdam leads by 23 points.
Shopping & style. Amsterdam 68, Izmir 55: Amsterdam leads by 13 points.
Affordability. Amsterdam 22, Izmir 66: Izmir leads by 44 points.
Live music & performing arts. Amsterdam 78, Izmir 48: Amsterdam leads by 30 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Amsterdam 42, Izmir 57: Izmir leads by 15 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Amsterdam and Izmir.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Too close to call, level with your weighting

Amsterdam
62match

Wins on live music and the arts and culture and sights with your weighting.

Izmir
62match

Wins on prices and beaches with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Amsterdam in July

22 °Cdaytime high
14 °Cnight-time low
84 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
17 °Csea
16 hdaylight a day

Izmir in July

34 °Cdaytime high
24 °Cnight-time low
1 mmrain in the month
13 hsunshine a day
23 °Csea
15 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°40°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
AmsterdamIzmir

Where the figures come from

Amsterdam has no rain gauge within 25 km of the centre, so its rainfall comes from a gridded climate dataset read at the city rather than from a gauge further away.

Amsterdam's sunshine is measured 35 km from the centre, at De Bilt.

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Amsterdam: 1991-2020 normals, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (12 km from centre). Izmir: 1991-2020 normals, Izmir (3.4 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureAmsterdamIzmir
Official languageDutchTurkish
CurrencyEuro (EUR)Turkish Lira (TRY)
SocketsCF230 V, 50 HzCF230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideRightRight
Time zoneUTC+1, UTC+2 in summerUTC+3
Emergency number112112
Elevation-2 m2 m
Main airportAmsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS)12 km from centre287 non-stop destinationsAdnan Menderes International Airport (ADB)13 km from centre120 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year11 days14 days

By the numbers

MeasureAmsterdamIzmir
City population921,4684,493,242
People per km²4,2084,760
Museums within 10 km10129
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km50
Swim season, months above 21 °CNone5 months

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Amsterdam or Izmir somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Sea surface temperature from NOAA OISST v2.1, NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.