Must sees and dining in Amsterdam for a two-day visit.

[audreyh1]

As a frequent Amsterdam traveler (I have family there) I was asked about must-sees", as well as any outstanding dining experiences for someone visiting for 2 full days before boarding a vessel.

I thought I'd answer publicly so that other folks could weigh in since we have many on this forum who have visited Amsterdam. Since we spend so much time with family, we haven't done a thorough sampling of all the tourist sites.

Amsterdam canals are lovely with all the beautiful historic (1600s) canal buildings, bridges, and moored houseboats, so a canal boat cruise is definitely a must do.

If you like art, then the Rijksmuseum is a must see. We visit it every time. You won't have time to see the whole thing, so pick a floor or two, and don't miss the great masters. The Van Gogh museum is also worthwhile if you are a fan - and there you want to see all the paintings.

We like walking around - Jordaan district, the flower market, nice for strolling and looking around. The area around the Museumplein is good too, where the Rijksmuseum is, and the famous I amsterdam sign. Just wandering the streets along the canals is nice. Really watch out for cyclists!

Vondelpark is a favorite - this is enormous city park and wonderful in the summer.

Dutch food is not that inspiring to us. It's mostly weird meat and fries with mayo on the side, and stroopwaffels which are way too sweet for our taste. But Amsterdam has a lot of great ethnic restaurants, in particular Indonesian, but many other countries as well. We've had fabulous Italian there - sorry don't remember the name. And many visitors love the stroopwaffels if they get them freshly made.

Being a (near) coastal city, there is lots of great seafood. I'm a big fan of the herring (haaring) street stands, the fresh herring as well as the smoked mackerel which I think is to die for. The only specific restaurant recommendation I have is the Seafood Market (Seafood Bar), a favorite of my DB and SIL. I think we go to the one in the de Pijp. It serves huge platters of mixed seafood, really lovely and delicious. http://www.theseafoodbar.com/en/

The ferry crossing the huge river IJ to North Amsterdam from Amsterdam Centraal is free and nice sightseeing of Amsterdam from the water. On the north side there are some cafes/bars to relax at before returning.

There is a daily (Mon -Sat) street market, the Albert Cuyp Market in de Pijp (pronounced "pipe"), that we plan to return to someday soon, we caught it once as it was shutting down. It's famous for noshing.

 

[Breedlove]

Amsterdam is our second home . I play music there a couple times a year at Melo Mellow. We are not tourist guides but the Rijks. is great ..go to the top floor . There you will find the masters and truly greatness.
Anne Frank house is a must , but sometimes lines can be long. Albert Cuyp is great . Visit our friends at the Double Dorji , Nepal clothing and just nice people. ( Do not let anyone talk you into the New Market ) stay out of there !
If you are there at night go to Leidesplein , lots of restaurants and lots of entertainment in a small area. Any type of food and entertainment you could imagine. Check out Boom Chicago a good meal and lots of fun . Amsterdam has lots of History and art and you do not have to look for it , it will find you ! We spend our time walking the back streets hitting the little bars , shops and coffee shops . We like to just sit in the sun on the canal at Susie's Saloon drinking and smoking with friends .

Oh of course the number one attraction for tourists the Red light District . probably the safest area in town ..really .really touristy . always fun to walk through LOL

 

[audreyh1]

We like Leidseplein. We visit the Apple Store there with its amazing glass staircase. It's not that far from Museumplein, but across a canal.

 

[Onward]

I love the Jordaan, and the Royal Palace is magnificent inside.

But, above all, the canals at night, esp around the red light district.

 

[audreyh1]

And the Dutch are masters of dairy, in particular cheese. So you'll want to spend some time exploring a cheese shop or stall and trying samples if you like cheese.

BTW - Gouda is pronounced "How-da" not "Goo-da". To get it completely right you have to pronounce the Dutch "g" which is a clearing of the back of the throat like the "ch" sound in loch.

Van Gogh is not pronounced like you might think either.

 

[audreyh1]

I love the Jordaan, and the Royal Palace is magnificent inside.

But, above all, the canals at night, esp around the red light district.

Hmmm, we haven't been inside the Royal Palace! Dam square can be unbelievably crowded.

You do have to be careful of pickpockets in the crowded major tourist areas. Not as bad as say, Paris, but you do hear about it.

 

[Breedlove]

Dam Square and the palace area can become crowded . We went to King Wilhelm's 50th birthday in April . It was really packed there . A friend of ours is a judge and they live at the Keukenhof , that is an incredible little area .

Hey how about the Beverwijk , interesting market .

 

[Meadbh]

If you enjoy classical music, try to attend a concert at Concertgebouw. The acoustics are excellent.

https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/

 

[NW-Bound]

We were in Amsterdam in 2004. It was in fall, as evidenced in the photos I took. Yes, we went to the Rijksmuseum, the flower market, and our hotel was just barely outside the red light district.




We made a day trip to Edam,



and also to see the few windmills that were left standing (we could go inside), and a shop that still made clogs to sell to tourists. When I go back, will go see Marken, a reputedly neat small town.






We took a train to The Hague to see Madurodam, a miniature world.

 

[audreyh1]

We haven't done day trips out of Amsterdam yet, but will this summer. Most of the things on your list we plan to do.

But if someone only has two days there is no reason to leave Amsterdam proper.

 

[audreyh1]

If you enjoy classical music, try to attend a concert at Concertgebouw. The acoustics are excellent.

https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/

Another thing we plan to do this summer! Hopefully several times!

 

[Lsbcal]

We will be in Haarlem and Amsterdam for about 12 days. Here are some of our plans. The order we do these in might depend on the weather and which days are best for some things.

The blue fonts are day trips from the city we will be staying in. Page numbers refer to the Rick Steves guide.

 

[kcowan]

Try the Black and the Blue restaurants.

 

[REWahoo]

Try the Black and the Blue restaurants.

Interesting choice for a restaurant name. Makes you wonder if they took a beating to open up the place...

 

[brokrken]

I work for a Dutch company so have been maybe 50 times over the last 8 years. Here are some good restaurants.


Blauw - Indonesian, best in the city, I think. It is on Amstelveenesweg on the south end of Vondel Park
Café Loetje - The only decent cut of beef you'll get in the whole country - go for the Biefstuk Bali with a spicy sauce. Located on Johanes Vermeerstaart behind the Rijks
Momo - Asian Fusion/Sushi. Located on Stadhouderskade near the Leidseplein.
New King - Chinese. Located near the red light district on Zeedijk
de Klos - If you are missing our American portions, stop into this hole in the wall bar near the leidseplein on Kerkstraat where you can get a huge plate of great ribs, they have two types, regular and smoked. I prefer the regular, The smoked are a little salty for my taste. But, also, the Lamb shank is amazing.

 

[H2ODude]

Anne Frank museum tip. If you fly from US likely arrive in downtown very early in the morning. We did, wandered around and just happened to stumble on the museum, where folks were starting to que up; it was pretty early. We got in line and spent less than 30 minutes waiting. Went by later and there was NO WAY we'd have waited in a line at least two-three blocks long.

 

[Nemo2]

1969 was possibly the last time I was there...came in from Nairobi on my way back to Toronto.....IIRC I had a flight out ~ 01:00 p.m.

Went down early to the Heineken Brewery (do they still have tours?); long line started to form, teamed up with a guy from Oz....toured, had 'some' free beers in their employees' canteen...caught the plane at Schiphol...woke up in Toronto......(they must've checked me through because I believe there was a plane change in Montreal).

If they still run the tours it might be worth a visit.

 

[Koogie]

If you enjoy classical music, try to attend a concert at Concertgebouw. The acoustics are excellent.

https://www.concertgebouw.nl/en/

For regular music shows, the acoustics at the Heineken Music Hall were also really outstanding. It is on the suburban train line, right next to the national football stadium.

We went to see a-Ha play there. Amazing show.

 

[Breedlove]

I almost beg people to go to Anne Frank house and a short 15 min by train trip to Haarlem to Corrie Ten Boom . We took our son to Anne Frank when he was in the 8th grade . It was a great experience . At the end of the tour they have Anne Franks letters posted in nearly every language and displays around the room . To walk the same steps and view the shadow boxes is
something to see.

Take the train it is a short trip to Haarlem , walk to the Corrie Ten Boom house and do the tour . The Corrie Ten Boom story as told at the house is incredible and so powerful . One of the stories was when Corrie and her family were found to be helping people fleeing Holland . A Nazi officer asked her father if it was just the 4 of them . He told the officer there are 5 of us . The officer asked where is #5 Corrie's father told the officer my god is #5. Corrie's family held Christian services in the concentration camp underground with a hidden bible . Years later 2 prison guards from the prison camp came to Corrie and accepted Christ. Corrie was the first female Dutch watch maker . I think Corrie is still alive and still speaks publically. The Ten Booms hid people in the walls of their house and when you see the space ...............

 

[Breedlove]

If you make it to Molly Malone's behind Prinz Hendrik , good food GOOD people . Fun to watch the Irish when this song comes on .

It is kind of rough but Christy Moore is one of Irelands best folk singers . " The weekend that we spent in Amsterdam "
When they play this song in Molly Malone's , everyone knows the words.


https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...8f902d019000cb57fa74b503862957f8&action=click

 

[donheff]

Audrey mentioned that they have a lot of good Indonesian restaurants. I recommend you try Rijsttafel ("rice table") sort of a huge pile of Indonesian tapas with rice. Lots of good options in Amsterdam.

 

[brokrken]

Oops, forgot one more. Casa di David on the Singel canal for Italian

 

[Gotadimple]

Anne Frank House. I think you need to book ahead. We were there in early May and there was a sign about booking ahead. You can do this online easily, and can book at least 90 days out.

Keukenhof is fun if you are there in April or May (a huge display garden). As is the Flower Auction near the airport (you can do this by bus from the Centraal district) - also April and May to see the variety of flowers.

Day trips: Delft is my favorite! Especially if you like Vermeer. There is a Vermeer museum there. Delft is also the home of the blue plates. These are hand-painted items, and you'll find a few workshops still in operation where you can watch the artists doing the painting (most of the blue Delftware now comes for the far east).

Eikenhusen: a small village with a great village green, good restaurants, a windmill, and a great history.

 

[NW-Bound]

We haven't done day trips out of Amsterdam yet, but will this summer. Most of the things on your list we plan to do.

But if someone only has two days there is no reason to leave Amsterdam proper.

Oops, forgot about the 2-day limit. And it makes a big difference whether it's a 2-night stay or 2 full days.

About food, I forget what we ate. Looked up my photo collection, and only saw one where we were eating "moules frites", which we did again a few times in Belgium. Did not think of trying Indonesian food.

You inspired me to look up the correct way to say "Van Gogh". And speaking of him, I saw him at d'Orsay in Paris recently. Sorry for the crooked photo. There was a big crowd in front of him, and I could not get a straight-on shot.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Amsterdam is special place to me as it was the first European city I ever visited when I was able to schedule a few days connecting back to Vancouver after a work trip to the ME. The city just blew my mind away. We've been fortunate to be able to go back a few more times but I haven't been in close to a decade now while the missus has visited more recently during a pre-cruise with her family.

Favourite thing to do is just walk around central Amsterdam and the neighbouring districts just enjoying the canals, architecture, parks, and markets. The city is so walkable.
Being a bit of a Ricknik, we had to visit Haarlem. But we also continued on to Zandvoort which we found to be a pleasant beach town. We didn't find a lot to do there but it was nice walk along the beach. Likely not on the list for a first visit.

One quirky thing I like doing in Amsterdam is grabbing food at a Febo. I think it was the first place I ate a croquette from. The food can be hit and miss but it's kind of something different that you don't typically see in North America.

I love the frites with mayo and crazy sauces (cue the Pulp Fiction quotes) and the haaring too.

We splurged on an Indonesian rijsttafel meal. Loved the concept with a bunch of small dishes/plates but we didn't find the dishes completely hot. I'm not sure if it was just the place we chose but I can see it being somewhat difficult for a restaurant to try to keep a dozen + different small dishes hot on the go. In depth restaurant research was so much harder back then!