Possible visit to Amsterdam

citygirldc

Hi all. My husband and I have the opportunity to visit Amsterdam the week of Easter and would like to some advice as to where to stay and go in terms of neighborhoods, shopping, museums, bicycle rentals, and vegetarian restaurants. Time is short and decisions will have to be made quite quickly, but I'm excited about the travel. All opinions and advice welcome.

8 years ago

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11 replies

Latest reply was from citygirldc

Angie

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Fashion Stylist

I can tell you exactly where to go (and eat), but how long will you be staying? PM Fabber Approprio (Liz) too - she lives in Amsterdam. We saw her when we were there!

If you haven't been before - I'm warning you that although it's a fabulous city - it's very touristy and seedy in certain parts. Those are the areas to avoid in my opinion.

8 years ago

citygirldc

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Veteran

Thanks for replying Angie. We will be traveling from March 26 - April 7, so about a week. We will not have a car and will need public transport to city center. At this point, there are plenty of hotels available although I wouldn't mind a B&B, inn, or AirBnb on or near a canal. Also, we may visit Edam too.

Amsterdam is one place that has eluded me in my European travel so I have no ideas of what to expect.

Also, what do you mean by seedy? Like red light district seedy? or just bad part of town seedy?

Thanks for your help.
N

8 years ago

approprio

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Veteran

Public transport is no problem at all. There are regular trains to and from the airport and you can rent bikes at Central Station.

Try to stay on the west side around the 9 Straatjes or Jordaan. This is easily the nicest part of the city for shopping, strolling and eating and there are plenty of boutique hotels and rental apartments around there.

I wouldn't call our Red Light District seedy exactly. It's not unsafe, just very tacky and full of the worst kind of tourist. Not worth seeing for itself, but there are one or two nice places in it, such as the Amstelkring museum, which is a little treasure, and one of our best craft breweries.

The main museums are located south of the canal ring and all are worth seeing. Allow at least a day for these, if not two.

Let me know if you'd like to meet up. But no pressure.

8 years ago

citygirldc

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Hi approprio,

I live in Washington, DC so I definitely know what seedy is(unsafe part of town) and I know what touristy is because we get plenty of tourists here. Hah hah!

Thank you for your help and I will look at those neighborhoods to see if we can find a good option.

Would love to meet up if we have time.

8 years ago

Angie

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Fashion Stylist

We stay in an air B&B, which I think is best. By all means go shopping with Liz, Naz! Great fun.

There's lots of weed, and a drunken party scene in the touristy areas so be mindful of that. Also, people are NOT friendly like they are in the US, and the service in not what you are used to either. Again, I'm just warning you so that you can relax into your Amsterdam experience.

Head to de "Negen Straatjes" in Amsterdam. Nice streets that are really fun to peruse. Graze along the way. Best macaron of my life - the lemon flavour - at Urban Cocoa. Hire bikes! It’s hairy in Amsterdam so be very careful. Anne Frank House, Von Gogh Museum Shop are great, so is the Canal ring. Walk further out through Amsterdam - into de Jordaan and de Oud Zuid. Those are my favourite parts.

You MUST book ahead to see the Anne Frank annex. You will not get in otherwise.

Restaurants:

Shop the markets for breakfast and lunch
MUST have Friet, apple taart and Albert Hein stroopwafels
Sampurna - GREAT Indonesian food
Van Kerkwijk - GREAT modern Dutch food
Bistro Bij Onz - great traditional food
Goud Fazant - GREAT fancy restaurant food. Avant-garde interior.
De Hallen - fun international food court with lots of stalls

8 years ago

Beth

Veteran

We were in Amsterdam in October and really loved it. Such a beautiful city with amazing architecture. We'd go back in a minute.

The Vermeers in the Rijksmuseum are glorious and the Van Gogh museum is a must see if you're a fan. They also had a Munch exhibit when we were in town.

I think we were the most impressed by the Anne Frank House though. It's so well done and very little in the annex is behind bars or glass, so you get a very personal sense of the place. Angie's so right, though...the lines are absolute madness. If you book ahead on their website, you can completely bypass the line. Instead, you go straight to an unobtrusive door and ring the bell and they'll let you right in. The house is covered by the Museumkaart, which you can buy when you get to the house.

The nine streets area is very pretty and has great shopping. If you're into lingerie, don't miss the Marlies Dekkers store. The SAs there are lovely and the undies are so unique.

And watch the bicycles. OMG. My nightmares featured the "brrrrriiinng, brrrrinnggg" of bicycle bells for days afterwards. You will get mowed over if you don't keep your eyes (and ears) peeled!

8 years ago

citygirldc

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Veteran

Angie - Thank you so much for the information. What do you mean by "not friendly"? And how is service different than in the States? I have to learn these cultural differences sooner than later.

Beth - Bikes. We are used to that, well kind of. I already have to deal with traffic, pedestrians, other bicyclist on my bike commute to work although I have a feeling it will be quite a different experience.

I'm still in my process of searching for an area to stay in, I've looked into Jordaan and canal ring and hope to find something soon. Wish me luck.

8 years ago

Janet

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You've already gotten the suggestions I would have shared, as we were there last summer, in a bit of an impromptu visit. If we had planned it, I would have arranged to meet Liz! But we had a blast just wandering and seeing the city. We really had no agenda. We were not interested in most of the tourist attractions (the lines at the Anne Frank house were indeed daunting, and we stayed away, but we enjoyed the Van Gogh museum). I loved wandering the canals in the Jordaan. Loved the 9 Straatjes! Also the little shopping area I found not far from the museum district (where I found the Nikkie and Buise shops amongst some other interesting places) -- that was a quieter neighborhood that reminded me a bit of the residential part of Georgetown.

I honesty never felt like people were unwelcoming or unfriendly. Just the opposite. Heck, J and I befriended a couple of young women (one Dutch, one Norwegian) because they offered to take a picture of us -- we all ended up going to have a drink in a cool little speakeasy, which turned into a whole long night out, culminating in dancing at a techno club at 4am!

I hope you have a blast!

8 years ago

elpgal

Veteran

Idle curiosity but can someone explain how the customer service and bicycle-riding experiences are different compared to the US.

8 years ago

approprio

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Sorry for not getting back sooner.

Naz, I had to check on the dates and there's an outside chance we might be away for some of them, but I know for sure I'll be around for most of that week and I'm always up for a stroll around the shops.

Vegetarian food is available in most places. The Bolhoed on Prinsengracht and the Golden Temple on Utrechtsestraat are both good specialists.

PM me if you need any help with anything.

elpgal: The Netherlands is the most bike friendly country in the world. Bike travel is an integral part of our transport infrastructure and everybody rides them. Paradoxically, there are so many bikes that it can be quite daunting to cycle around if you're not used to it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycling_in_Amsterdam

There are two types of customer service in Amsterdam. It's either outstandingly good or absurdly sloppy, often in the same establishment. Not much in between.

8 years ago

citygirldc

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Veteran

Hi Janet. I'm just excited to get away from DC for a while. No major plans except we are meeting another couple (friends from DC) and plan on bicycling to Edam and other small towns and possibly spend the night somewhere. Van Gogh Museum is on my to-do list but that's about it.

approprio - I totally understand if you are not available but it will be nice to know that I can get in touch with you (in case of emergency).

Customer service is hit or miss in the States too depending on the establishment. I'm not too worried about that. I'm just hoping people are friendlier than was stated.

8 years ago

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