If you’re reading this post because you’re headed to Amsterdam, I’m jealous. What an AMAZING City!

Although I wanted to stay longer, we were able to see and do a lot in just two days. I could walk around Amsterdam all day staring at the beautiful buildings and eating all the sweet, fresh waffles (yum!) Aside from its beauty and charm, it’s a model city in terms of freedom and sustainability. I actually wrote two separate blogs 1. on how Amsterdam has become one of the Greenest Cities in the world and 2. The peaceful culture with  legal drugs and Red Light District.

But for now, I’ll stick to the basics you should know about while planning your trip and what we did 🙂

Getting To Amsterdam

Living in London, Amsterdam is an easy 45 min flight or 4/5 hour train ride. The train is meant to be less expensive; 50- 260 GBP depending on what class and time you book. The Euro Rail leaves from St. Pancras station and arrives in Amsterdam Centrum (city center.) The same applies if you’r hopping around Europe as it’s very close to Belgium, Germany, France etc.

However, pending on the train prices I think it’s better off to fly there. You can get very cheap flights with Ryanair, EasyJet and Level.  Just beware that they aren’t known for their good service and it’s least expensive with carry on luggage- they charge for everything! We took British Airways because we used points and my boyfriend wants to maintain his ‘Gold Membership.’ Flights are available from most English airport’s (Heathrow, London City, Gatwick.)

Schiphol Airport, is the main international airport of the Netherlands. From there you can either take an Uber/Taxi (approx.  20-30 min drive) or you can take the train (15 min ride) to Amsterdam Centrum. I recommend the train as you can access it from inside the airport and it’s the cheapest option.

Where to Stay

I personally stayed a bit out of the center, nearby Museum Square. It was a 20 minute walk in to town.

Most hotels are very European style. Meaning twin size beds pushed together to make a queen. Our room actually had a third bed we didn’t even use! Bathroom was small but it was inexpensive.

There are many nice hostels that I would recommend to look at therefore you can stay in city center and save money.

What to do

Although I was only there for two days, I feel we did a lot! Since Amsterdam is a great city to walk or bike around, it enables you to see all of its quirky stores,  beautiful architecture, canals, waffle shops etc. So, be sure to wear comfortable shoes!

Most of the hotels offer daily bike rentals (14 euros,) otherwise there are a ton of sites you can rent from such as this.

Canal Boats

What better way to see Amsterdam and all it’s beautiful canals then by boat! There are many options to choose from such as:

Canal Tour: These are enclosed glass boat tours (with an outside as well) that cruise around the canals with a guide sharing most of the popular scenery and history. I believe you can join one with multiple languages and they typically last about an hour for about 17 Euro.  A few popular companies are:  Amsterdam Canal Cruises  and the Blue Boat Company.

Dinner & Lunch Cruises: I recently did this in London and had a fab time so I can imagine it’s even better in Amsterdam!  I found this company that offers both lunch and dinner options 🙂

Public Transportation: I was shocked when we took a FREE ferry to dinner one night. Amsterdam has many options via public waterway transportation. I found a site explaining the routes available etc. Check it out here.

Amsterdam Parks

Being such a green city, Amsterdam has so many pretty park. We spent a sunny afternoon walking around Vondel Park- it’s huge. On a nice day such as ours, you’ll see loads of people sprawled out on the grass (smoking weed, listening to music) it was a really peaceful experience.  They also have a few cafes next to a river that we really enjoyed. There was actually a random white horse that was grazing there.

Museums

Museum Square: Well done Amsterdam, you made it easy for tourist to see all the museums. Museum Square (aka Museumplein) is an area in Museumkwartier, that contains three large museums: Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk museum. There are also a few large grass areas that host festivals and concerts. The ” I Am Amsterdam” installment used to be there however it was moved.

Smaller museums are also located in the square. I really wanted to go to the MOCO (Modern Contemporary) museum because they have a large Banksy exhibition there. I love Banksy for his powerful messages and  his anonymous status.

Ann Frank House: Unfortunately I didn’t get to go here because tickets are sold out for months! So if you’re interested in going I recommend to book this as far in advance as possible.

The Moco Musuem also introduced me to Daniel Arsham’s work. I think his work is brilliant- I love his use of crystals! This was one of my favorites…

Food

Amsterdam has a wide variety of international food available. Staying true to their culture, you can’t miss all the delicious Stroopwaffle shops. I don’t even want to admit how many waffles and crepes I had!

(P.s. I recommend getting the fresh Stroopwaffles, they tend to be older towards end of day.)

French fries or Pomme as they say in the Netherlands are SO good. I get why they are famous for their fries… not only are they big but  you can actually still see it was a potato. Not sure it that helps you understand ha, but you’ll see.

For dinner, I can only really recommend one great place having gone for only two nights, but luckily it’s a really good one 😉  Madam is a stunning bar & restaurant with panoramic views of Amsterdam and one of their largest canals. It’s located in the A’Dam Tower which is a sight to see in it’s self.

The A’Dam Tower is across the canal from the Amsterdam Centrum train station. There is a free ferry you can take over to it. Once over, you will see the newly moved “I Am Amsterdam” installment and the A’Dam Tower.  Aside from a few restaurants they also have the 360 Look Out where you can actually swing on the top of the building. I didn’t get a chance to go but it closes pretty late at 10 pm.

The Rated R Version of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a very free and progressive city. There seems to be very low crime despite having legalized marijuana, shrooms (truffles) and also prostitution! Hint, Hint to the rest of the world!!  To be honest, walking around the red light district (the main prostitution hub) I felt completely safe and was impressed by how clean it was!

I’ve written another blog titled “The Rated R  Version of Amsterdam” going over all tips and recommendations about the Coffee Shops, Shrooms, and the Red Light District. These are main attractions that I personally really enjoyed so wanted to share separately.

Regardless if you smoke weed or not, walking in the Red Light District or popping in a Coffee Shop is still a touristy activity and a large part of their culture. I highly recommend checking it out 🙂

 

Additional Tips

• Wear comfortable shoes because you walk everywhere! Sneakers are very stylish there.
• Their currency is Euro
• Their Language is Dutch
• TULIPS!! Amsterdam is known for their flowers. They are in full bloom from Mid March – Mid May. From Amsterdam you can take a 45 min train to Keukenhof. Most hotels sell tour tickets but you can also head there on your own. SO sad I didn’t have enough time to go. Next time for sure!
• If it’s popular, check ticket availability online ahead of time (Anne Frank House)
• Check our other Amsterdam Travel Guide, as told by Sashi Ohara for another view point on her trip to Amsterdam!