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If you intend to visit and only sit in coffee shops, smoking, then this is not the Amsterdam Travel Guide for you. Whilst the city does have this dark side to it, it should in no way be the defining feature of your visit. Instead, choose to spend your time exploring the beautiful side of Amsterdam. Learn about the city’s rich history and eat some excellent food! I believe you can only truly love Amsterdam if you experience this side of the city. The infamous side is then heavily outweighed by the architecture, the parks, the cosy cafés along the river bank and of course, the relaxed nature of the very friendly locals.
Currency Converter – €1 = £0.86/$1.15
Getting In
Getting to Amsterdam is easy. Schiphol Airport is located just outside of the city. This huge international airport has regular flights departing and arriving from all over the world. On arrival, you have two choices of public transport to get to the city. Firstly, there is the airport express bus. Bus 397 goes from outside the main terminal building and terminates at Leidesplein. The bus will take you past Vondelpark, Museumplein and the Rijksmuseum before reaching its terminus. Tickets cost €6.50 and can be bought online or at the bus stop. The full-length journey will take approximately 35 minutes.
The second option is the train. Regular trains run between the airport and Amsterdam Central Station. The journey is considerably quicker than that of the bus and cheaper too. Tickets cost €5.30. Expect a train to depart approximately every ten minutes. Amsterdam Central will most likely be the final stop for that train. Base your decision on which of these two convenient options to take on the location of your accommodation. The right choice should leave you within walking distance of your hotel or hostel. Taxis are also available but not recommended.
Where To Stay
When choosing your accommodation, I suggest getting yourself a map of the city. You will quite clearly see the canal belts spreading across the city outwards from Central Station. When that stops, around the Vondelpark and Museumplein area, you have the edge of the city centre. It is inside this area that you want to stay. Right in the centre of this section is the Red Light District, the bulk of bars, shops, etc. In my opinion, avoid this. Move slightly further out, closer to the museums. Or better again, the Jordaan area, just to the west which is still very central but a lot quieter. This area will give you a more local experience in Amsterdam instead of the tourist-filled centre. Amsterdam has as many beautiful areas as it does downright tacky and overwhelming. The Jordaan area is definitely one of the more charming parts of the city.
When To Go
Like most of the region, Amsterdam experiences moderate to warm summers and cold winters. In the winter months, it is not uncommon for snow to fall and even on rare occasions for the canals to freeze over. The temperature starts climbing in April and remains warm until October. Tourist season peaks in July and August. The quieter Amsterdam is, the more beautiful it is. I would suggest avoiding the peak season but beyond that, there is not a bad time to visit the city. If possible, I would suggest visiting during the week as opposed to weekends. The number of tourists in the city skyrockets from Friday to Sunday and a lot of these visitors are not the kinds you wish to share a city with.
Useful Phrases
Hello = Hallo (Pronounced Hah-low)
Good Morning = Goedemorgen (Pronounced khoo-der-mor-khern)
Good Evening = Goedenavond! (Pronounced khoo-der-aa-font)
Please = Alsjeblieft (Pronounced als-yer-bleeft)
Thanks = Bedankt! (Pronounced ber-dahnkt)
Do you speak English? = Spreekt u Engels? (Pronounced spraykt uw eng-erls)
How much is that? =Hoeveel kost dat? (Pronounced hoo-feyl kost dat)
Although some basic phrases can come in useful, it is very unlikely you will meet a Dutch person who does not speak good English!
What To Do
Anne Frank House
By far the most popular attraction in Amsterdam. There are not many people who don’t know the story of Anne Frank and her famous diary. A young Jewish girl who, with her family, hid in an attic for just over two years in an attempt to evade capture during World War II. Anne Frank was eventually captured and died in a concentration camp. During her time in hiding, she wrote a diary. This diary upon discovery was converted into a book and became world famous. The Anne Frank House offers visitors an opportunity to learn more about their time in hiding and is not to be missed. It is advisable to book tickets in advance, you can do so here.
Vondelpark
Nature is at its finest in Amsterdam’s huge Vondelpark. The park opened in 1865 and has remained hugely popular with locals to this day. Exercise is a common theme here, especially during the winter months. It is also not uncommon though to see groups of friends or couples using the park as a place to have a quiet stroll in a beautiful setting. When the summer months begin and the weather improves, the park really comes alive. That is when the grass will be full of people enjoying the good weather and eating a picnic. There are also music and dance performances regularly at the open-air theatre.
Rijksmuseum
This is the most famous art and history museum in Amsterdam. You will see paintings from notable Dutch artists like Rembrandt and Vincent Van Gogh. There is a collection of historic items on display from the time when the Dutch ruled in other parts of the world, such as Indonesia and Suriname. Even if you are not an art fan, I recommend that you visit the Rijksmuseum. Some of the paintings are incredibly dark and striking. The art I saw here was unlike anything I had seen previously. Tickets cost €19 and can be bought online. The queue can get quite long so I recommend you click here to buy tickets.
Canal Tour
A Canal Tour is one of the best ways to appreciate the sheer beauty of Amsterdam. There are many tour companies in the city that offer similar style tours. I chose to go with Lovers, and I couldn’t recommend them highly enough. I do feel that most tour operators offer the same thing though. The tour lasted for an hour and twenty minutes, moving slowly through the canals. The accompanying audio guide gave details and the history behind certain bridges and buildings as well as facts about the canals. It is a peaceful way to see Amsterdam, an opportunity to sit back, relax and take in the city. The standard price for a canal tour was €16.
Van Gogh Museum
Another art museum, this time dedicated to the work of, you guessed it, Vincent Van Gogh. There are hundreds of paintings on display from both the famed Van Gogh and many other Dutch artists. Similar to the Rijksmuseum, in no way do you need to be an art major to visit this museum. Van Gogh has some incredibly interesting pieces of work that even a casual visitor would take an interest in. Tickets can be bought online from the official website by clicking here. Tickets cost €19.
Amsterdam Cheese Museum
Across the canal from the Anne Frank House is a museum dedicated to Dutch cheese. Cheese has been largely produced in The Netherlands for over 600 years. This small museum is, at ground level, a shop with free tasting. Then visitors can make their way downstairs where they will find educational information about the history and production of Dutch cheese. There is also a photo corner where visitors can dress up as Dutch farmers. All of this is free of charge, making it a fun and alternative way to spend some time in Amsterdam.
Red Light District
Whatever your opinion is on the Red Light District of Amsterdam, there is no doubting it is a huge part of the city. The old area of De Wallen has been home to the prostitutes of Amsterdam since the late 1800s. The Red Light District has tamed in recent years with many windows closing and it has become more of a tourist attraction than anything else. The Red Lights are neighbored by bars, coffee shops and sex shops. It can be quite a seedy area as you might expect, especially at weekends. The busier the area is, the tackier it can be. I think every visitor to Amsterdam should take a walk through this area, even if you firmly disagree with its existence. Just remember, there are rules to be followed when there, no staring and no photographs.
For my full list of Free Things to See and Do in Amsterdam, click here
Where To Eat
I was pleasantly surprised by how good the food in Amsterdam was. By no means the world’s best city for foodies, there is still enough delicious food available to keep you satisfied. For my full list of What to Eat in Amsterdam and Where to Eat it, click here.
What To Avoid
Taxis
I found Amsterdam to be a pricey city. A lot of locals that I talked to didn’t see it that way. However, they did advise that to keep costs down, I had to avoid taxis. The truth is, saving money is not the only reason to avoid taxis. Amsterdam is a beautiful city to walk around. The further out you go, the nicer and quieter it gets. If you need to take a taxi, it is more than likely to an area that would be perfect to walk through. Skip the taxi and enjoy the tranquil nature that exists outside of central Amsterdam.
Coffee Shops
It is all too common for people to travel to Amsterdam and spend the majority, if not all of their time there inside a coffee shop. Coffee shops in Amsterdam are the name for establishments that allow customers to buy and smoke weed. If that is your sole reason for coming to the city, then you cannot be helped. Why waste an opportunity to explore a city as beautiful as Amsterdam to sit inside getting high all day. Any sightseeing you do end up partaking in will be through the skewed eyes of an altered mindset. At that rate, you may as well have just stayed at home, in my opinion!
Rembrandt Square
Rembrandt Square is the centre of tourist nightlife in the city. The square is full of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and nightclubs. As always with these places, prices have been raised. There is nothing special about any of the clubs or bars in this area so why pay more for your drink? There are plenty of better cafés and bars to get some food or a beer. Stick to where the locals eat and drink and avoid this square.
It is better to leave Amsterdam with the memory of the quiet streets, the canal through the centre and locals cycling their way through daily life. This is the Amsterdam you would have imagined. There are certainly two sides to this city. This immense beauty and charm and then on the other side, the tourist-ridden centre of the city. Busy, dirty and the wrong kind of crowd, this area is all that is wrong with Amsterdam. It is almost impossible to avoid this altogether but spending a prolonged amount of time there is not essential. Most of the good food, the beautiful sights and unmissable attractions exist elsewhere. Both this Amsterdam Travel Guide and my food guide will keep you away from here as much as possible, giving you the chance to truly enjoy the beauty of Amsterdam.
To read more about Amsterdam, including the perfect way to spend a weekend there, click here.
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I’d love to go to Amsterdam. Great post ans some good tips. I need to get myself to that cheese museum though!
Great read. I don’t smoke so the coffee houses never appealed to me when I visited and consequently I agree with you that spending all of your time in them would be a waste of a trip.
This post brings back good memories though, I’m overdue a return to this beautiful city!
I’d love to explore the quiet side of Amsterdam! The museums really appeal to me. Thanks for an informative post. And your photos are gorgeous!
I can’t wait to visit Amsterdam! Great tips here and thank you for being very clear on what a Coffee Shop is, I didn’t know!!
Great post – makes me miss Amsterdam! Wish I’d known about the Cheese Museum when I was there – might just have to go back… 😉
Wonderful post and it really makes me want to go back to Amsterdam! It’s such a lovely city with so many things to offer!