Amsterdam is one of the most vibrant, fashionable and diverse cities in the world. I had the luxury of living in Amsterdam in 2000-2001 and go back to visit as often as I can. Enjoy my “insider’s guide” on experiencing this idyllic European city. During my stay as a "resident alien," I learned Dutch, worked for a cutting-edge start-up firm and lived life as an an honorary Dutch girl. I spent my days riding my bike along the canals, shopping in the trendy boutiques, buying fresh bread, cheese, and produce in the markets, eating dinner in the traditional "brown" cafes and making some lifelong friends. Hopefully, Andrew and I will go to Amsterdam in 2009 for the wedding of our close friends, Jaap and Danielle, an amazing couple. I love the pulse of the city - the energy, flavors, history, fashion, curiosities and local eccentricity. Take my advice, once you visit Amsterdam, you’ll be hooked for life. Enjoy my travel guide to Amsterdam!1) STAY – There are many great options for lodging in Amsterdam. My favorite hotels are the smaller boutiques or B&Bs such as Le Coin, located in the Muntplein in the heart of the city. Chic & Basic Amsterdam is a new concept within walking distance to Centraal Station. Hotel Die Port van Cleve is good hotel located in Dam Square, formerly the Heineken brewery with original Delft blue tile in the brasserie. (My family stayed here and loved it for the convenience and location.) For a posh stay, the Hotel Vondel is an upscale hotel between the lovely, green Vondelpark and the Leidseplein, a popular tourist area. Try the Hotel de L'Europe on the banks of the Singel River, the stylish Dylan Hotel or the luxury Hotel Pulitzer, located on my favorite canal, the Prinsengracht. I actually prefer to rent a private apartment along a quiet canal or in the city center. I love living like a local with lots of space and privacy. My last rental was a huge 2-bedroom apartment in Dam Square overlooking the Royal Palace. It was perfect! I recommend CityMundo which is a very reputable, reasonable and friendly company with a great variety of rental properties, including houseboats.
2) EAT & DRINK – The Dutch dining landscape is diverse and delicious. When in Amsterdam, do as the locals do. Eat at the traditional “brown cafes” or “grand cafes” as they are the lifeblood of the city. Amsterdam’s cafes offer a cozy, hearty lunch or dinner with bistro-style fare and fresh local ingredients. Amsterdam is a culinary hotspot, with influences spanning the globe from Indonesian to French, Surinamean to Turkish, German to Italian. Order a bottle of wine or beer with your steak & frites, whole fish, chicken sate with peanut sauce, lamb, or rabbit, a popular dish.
My favorite classic Dutch “brown” cafes for lunch, dinner or a “borrel” (after work drink) are Dante Gallerie Café and Cafe Hoppe on the Spuistraat, Twee Prinsen, Finch and Café Thijssen in the Jordaan, De Kroon in Rembrandtplein, Cafe de Jaren, and Cafe in de Waag in the Nieuwmarkt. Be sure to order some local bar bites such as bitterballen (fried meat and potato croquets) with mustard or vlammetjes (“little flames” of meat-filled spring rolls) with sweet and sour sauce…pure heaven! Lekker! (Delicious!)
Enjoy a Grolsch, Bavaria or Heineken beer on tap…the real thing, fresh from a local brewery. You’ll be glad you did. If you are a gin drinker (I am definitely not!) then you have to try the Dutch jenever - fancied by sailors and explorers in 17th century, and now available at any local bar or pub. The house wines are also very reasonable, and with close proximity to France and Italy, you can always find a nice bottle. Prost! (Cheers!)
Highly regarded restaurants for dinner on the more upscale side - Bordewijk, Burgers Patio, November, Le Rive, and Le Garage/En Pluche. Be sure to indulge in any number of Indonesian restaurants such as Puri Mas, Kantjil & Tijger and Blue Pepper for a traditional Indonesian Rice Table, a gorgeous spread of fine Asian cuisine. (Detailed bar & restaurant reviews coming soon.)
For a contrast, I always tell friends to go to a casual café one day, and a high-end, fashion forward restaurant the next. Try these ultra modern hotspots for a cocktail or a late night lounge fest: Jimmy Woo and Suzy Wong, Werck, Lux, Vibing, Nevy, Supperclub, Hotel Arena, or Vakzuid, to name a few. As trends change so quickly, be sure to ask a local for the latest hotspots.
A few more tips to eat Dutch-style: Eat your french fries with mayonnaise, order your pannenkoken (large, thin pancakes) with pineapple and ham for lunch (it’s not a breakfast food!) at The Pancake Bakery, stop into the Albert Heijn grocery store for all of your picnic needs (fresh bread, cold cuts, cheese, licorice candy, wine and beer), and for a late night snack, hit the ever popular “snack bars” on every corner for a brodje kroket (deep fried cheese log served in a bun) with plenty of spicy ketchup. Yum!
3) CRUISE - Take a canal boat tour. It is the quintessential way to see Amsterdam. Go on your first day, so that you can get a feel for the city and plan where you want to go over the next few days. Tours depart daily from the harbor around Centraal Station. I suggest a typical 2- to 3-hour cruise, either during the day or early evening when the canals are all lit up with sparkly lights. (I don’t suggest a dinner cruise as the food is not typically very good.) Lovely by day and romantic by night, the waterways are not only beautiful but used for commerce and travel as well. You can even rent houseboats and party boats during your stay.
4) WALK & BIKE – Amsterdam is the ideal walking and biking city. The city is laid out in a series of rings in a horseshoe shape following the flow of the canals (called “grachts”). The tram (street car) and rail system is suberb. Maps are fairly easy to follow, pronouncing the names of the streets is another issue! (Luckily I speak Dutch.) However, I think the best part of traveling to a new city is getting lost and discovering fun places by mistake! Remember, bicycles are the main mode of transport for Dutch people. Bikes have the right of way, so be very careful in the streets. It is said that there are more bikes in Amsterdam than people…and it’s true! Dutch cyclists are true multitaskers – you’ll see people pedaling along with a kid on the back seat, a dog in the basket, a cigarette and cell phone in either hand, and groceries on the handlebars! If you do decide to rent bikes, Mac Bike is located near the Leidseplein. It is an amazing way to see the city and get some key tips on navigating the city.
5) SHOP - til you drop! Amsterdam is a shoppers dream. It has a great mix of high fashion with low fashion…with price points for everyone. Even though the Euro is constantly kicking the Dollar’s butt, I can always find a bargain no matter what country I’m in! I usually buy jewelry, purses and shoes when I travel, and Dutch fashion is truly colorful and unique. You will find Dutch department stores like De Bijenkorf (like Saks or Nordstrom), Vroom & Dreesman (with great food court), and Hema (a great store like Target) as well as international chains like Esprit and H&M along Kalverstraat, the Rokin, and Damstraat.
-Visit Magna Plaza, an indoor boutique mall close to Dam Square for one stop designer clothing such as Mango, Zara, Replay and yes, even Sissy Boy.
-For antiques shopping go to Speigelstraat, and for trendy boutiques head to the winding streets in the Jordaan.
-Another great shopping adventure are the street markets. Albert Cuyp Market is the most famous daily market, located along Albert Cuyp Street (in The Pijp). You have a diverse, multicultural series of stalls and table with everything from incense to t-shirts, cds to hookah pipes. Lots of fried food and lunch options, as well as fresh fruits and veggies, cheese and fish mongers. Waterlooplein Market is the largest flea market in the ‘Dam. It’s fun to walk through and people watch even if you are not in the market for pickled herring, a portrait of Velvet Elvis or a pair of pink glittery running shoes.
6) LAUGH & DANCE - Amsterdam comes alive at night. Go see Boom Chicago, Amsterdam’s only expat American Improv theater show. The group is run by US-born comedians poking fun at being an American in a foreign country. You will definitely laugh (and even cry) out loud. Get your tickets early to this ‘Saturday Night Live’ style comedy show. (In fact, Seth Meyers of SNL got his start here.) Audience participation is required. Years ago, I took my family and the cast did an impersonation of my Auntie Jane in their act! :)
-See live bands on any given night at Paradiso or Melkweg (Milkyway), two of the cities best enterntainment venues. On other nights, they have house or techno dance parties…If nightclubbing is your thing, Amsterdam is known for its wild nightlife, superclubs and top notch DJs spinning from around the world. As trends change so quickly in the dance music scene, there are always flyers in all the record shops and cool clothing shops. So ask the locals where the cool nights are, and be ready to dance all night.
-Another "unique" area of Amsterdam is the Red Light District. Yes, the world's oldest profession is still legal in Amsterdam. For the most part, the area is more of an oddity for tourists to catch a glipse of the real "Roxanne" in her window with the red light on. While this part of town is home mainly to establishments catering to the risque and XXX-rated, there are some decent bars and restaurants in the area. So, if you do want to see it with your own eyes, I suggest going in the daytime, as it tends to be a big crime area for pickpockets and unsavory creatures at night.
7) SEE ART - Visit the Dutch Masters in Amsterdam’s world renowned museums.
-The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam major art museum, home of Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” masterpiece, Vermeer and all the Dutch Masters)
-Stedelijk Museum (fantastic, modern art – my personal fave)
-Van Gogh Museum (Vincent and his friends on display)
-Hermitage Museum (fine art – located by Centraal Station)
-There are many more smaller galleries and museums throughout the city, including the Shipbuilder’s Museum, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, NEMO science museum, and the blush-inducing Sex Museum, to name a few.
-And be sure to visit the Cobra Café located in the center of all 3 museums in the Museumplein…a great spot for a beer or coffee after a long day of seeing great art!
9) REMEMBER HISTORY – Amsterdam is a city steeped in history. There are many war memorials and monuments throughout the city. Be sure to visit Anne Frank House and Museum. This very intimate tour of the actual house where Anne Frank and her family were hidden during the Holocaust is something you will never forget. Venturing inside the “Secret Annex” to see the original wallpaper with pictures Anne pasted up of artwork and film stars (including Greta Garbo) is truly moving. Go early in the morning to avoid lines.
-Visit the Dutch Royal Palace in Dam Square. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy with an active Royal Family. Queen Beatrix is in her 70s and is the ruling monarch. Her son, Willem-Alexander is the Crown Prince. While the governing headquarters is in The Hague, the family occupies the Royal Palace in Amsterdam for special events and annual holidays. There is a nice gift shop there as well. The Dutch really love their queen, and the biggest holiday is called "Queen's Day" which is held annually on April 30th, the birthday of the Queen Mother Juliana. It is on par with any "4th of July" celebration in the U.S. complete with parades, parties, live music, yard sales and happy drunken revelers...all while dressed in the royal family color of Orange. Hail to the Queen!
-The Netherlands is culturally and religiously diverse. Visit some of the city’s churches including The Westerkerk (West Church), Oude Kerk (Old Church) and Nieuwe Kerk (New Church). Explore historic synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship, as well.
9) BREATHE - Stroll through The Vondelpark, the lush, green “Central Park” of Amsterdam. This public park is by far one of the best places in the city to breathe in the local culture and visited by over 10 million per year. While especially lively in the spring and summer, the park is alive with families and friends enjoying a picnic or afternoon jog. Check out live music, theater, drum circles and many “colorful characters” playing hacky sack in the Vondelpark.
-There are cafes dispersed throughout, my favorites being Café Vertigo, artsy café housed in the Filmmuseum. It is located at the entry to the Vondelpark by the Marriott Hotel/Leidseplein. In the center of the park is The Blue Teahouse (Het Blauwe Theehuis), a multi-storied café with a space-agey feel and plenty of outdoor seating.
-Stop by the Floating Flower Market (The Bloemenmarkt) located in the Muntplein. It’s a great place to buy bulbs for spring - stop and smell the tulips!
-Naturally, there are other things you can "breathe in" while in Amsterdam...namely those things you can purchase and smoke legally in the infamous "coffee shops" scattered throughout the city. Just remember to be careful, act smart and follow the rules. If it tickles your fancy, you can find some eccentric and unique places along with some equally interesting customers. You will certainly have some stories to tell upon your return.
10) ENJOY! The Netherlands is an amazing country…full of life, beauty and history, and very easy to navigate on the train system. If you have more time, take a side trip to Rotterdam, Maastricht, The Hague, Eindhoven, Delft, Utrecht or to Aalsmeer to see the legendary world flower auction. Amsterdam is my favorite city, my European home away from home. Explore, take lots of photos, laugh, eat, drink and take it all in. Most of all, have fun! If you have seen the terrific tv ad for Amstel Light beer, it really depicts the vibe of the city…Check it out here!
