Amsterdam recommendations?

Scented Meat

Scented Meat

Power User
Headed there for a few days in 2 weeks with my wife and 20 yo daughter. What shouldn’t we miss?

For starters, I’d love a recommendation for a good Indonesian rijsttafel.
 
Well, the red light district is kind of interesting ... but it's tamed a lot lately. Maybe a bit weird for a family visit, but it's still one of the main attractions there.
"Manneken pis" near the main central station is THE address for good fries, but it somehow was closed last week.
 
red light district was the first time i enjoyed window shopping lol. ...but just shopping.

id say dont miss the bakeries. but that's virtually impossible. theyre literally every 20'....and i didnt miss one!

a 20yr old in amsterdam? oh man! have fun
 
  • Avoid the coffee shops and the red light district.
  • Visit de "Jordaan", de "Pijp", "9 straatjes" area.
  • Take a boat trip.
  • Walk through the Vondelpark.
  • Visit EYE and NDSM.
  • Go to the food halls.
  • Visit Rembrandtplein.
  • To see cover bands, visit "The Waterhole" at the Korte Leidse Dwarsstraat, or "Bourbon Street" at the Leidsekruisstraat.
 
Not affiliated with any of them but 3 places I really enjoyed last time I was there very much as a tourist in 2019:

Winkel 43: great apple pie
Bar Oldenhof: great cocktails in a speakeasy
Van Gogh Museum: great art

As an 11 year old I also remember being really moved/overwhelmed by the Anne Frank House but have not been back since.

They all have websites but I can’t post links yet.
 
Bought tickets for Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum, dinner cruise; sadly, Anne Frank house sold out. Food Hall and recommended bakeries also on the agenda. Thanks to all!

Me after all I'll be eating in Amsterdam:

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Depending on your musical taste:
Melkweeg, Paradiso for pop/rock/alternative
Bimhuis/muziekgebouw for jazz/contemporary classical music
Concertgebouw for classical music.
Splendor is also a great place, artist run house with great concerts.
Rijksmuseum for great art.
All of Yeks recommendations are great, Vondelpark is nice, albeit a bit touristy, if you wanna chill a bit without the tourist masses, maybe Osterpark and Westerpark.
Also, at Westerpark is a great exhibition: https://www.fabrique-lumieres.com/
Anne Frank house is very tough but absolutely worth a visit!
Enjoy Amsterdam! It's a great city! Bring sunglasses and a rain jacket though! And watch for bikes, the tie fighters of the Netherlands!
 
Same here with Anne Frank house... Hard to imagine what they went through. We went to the Rembrandt, Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh (I think) museums, took a canal ride. I was working so hard to do a lot. Went to red light just to say I have done that, but it was very sketchy. This was also 20 years ago. Beautiful city, everyone rides bikes. The bike parking lots cracked me up. Ate at the Hard Rock (always visit these). Would like to go back and spend some time.
 
pharmd07 said:
I have a dumb question about Amsterdam:

If “coffee shops” are cannabis dispensaries, where does one go to get coffee?
Click to expand...

Still coffee shops. Though I can't remember how you figured out whether they sold weed or not. Maybe there was sign or something. I normally got it at the cafes you'd find in every square.

I'm sure some things have changed, but man, I ate some amazing food in Amsterdam. I used to go over for an audio engineering convention, so kind of had a routine of where to stay, where to eat, etc. It's been 15 years, so I'd have to dig to figure it out.

Not that you can really avoid it, but definitely partake of the Heineken if you drink. Getting it fresh it's fantastic. Not like whatever we get here in the US. That was a shock to me. "This is the same beer?"
 
Not sure of your budget but for a hotel the Pulitzer is great. I always stay there when I visit.
If you drink beer, I recommend two breweries: Troost, and Oedipus.
If you are open to a bit of quick local travel, go to Delft. It is to my American eyes what Americans think of when they think of a Dutch town.
I second both of the museums, I always visit them also.
Avoid the Centraal district at all costs.
And yes, watch out for bikes!
Enjoy, I LOVE The Netherlands, and love Amsterdam for sure, although I am also partial to Delt and Rotterdam.
 
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