Bicycles jingle and clatter across red-brick bridges — some carrying “wheelbarrows” filled with children, others with passengers riding side-saddle on the back.

While locals confidently tear through the streets at ferocious speed, a group of tourists riding convoy pedal nervously, hand signalling every turn.

Canals are equally busy with boats gently slicing through the sun-dappled water, while on land riverside bars have strewn blankets and cushions over concrete ledges to create surprisingly inviting daybeds.

Window boxes are bursting with sunset-orange flowers, the tulip season is in full swing, and spring has arrived in Amsterdam.

This lively snapshot of a city in motion could very easily have been a subject for Dutch Master Rembrandt, whose works of art have come to typify the heart and soul of the Dutch capital.

At the beginning of April, national gallery the Rijksmuseum, home to the world’s largest collection of Rembrandt paintings, reopened to the public after an epic 10-year renovation.

Costing £300 million and heralded as one of the world’s most ambitious gallery projects, it’s set to make Amsterdam one of this year’s most exciting city break propositions.

The building has been restored to its gleaming 1885 glory, but inside Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz have diverted the path of a canal to create a light-filled auditorium .

Getting there

British Airways operates a service from London Heathrow to Amsterdam 55 times a week from £106 return; from Gatwick 22 times per week from £76.91 return, and from London City 28 times per week from £146.61 return. To book or for more information visit www.ba.com/Amsterdam or call 08444930787.