Truthfully, I wasn’t sure what to expect in Amsterdam. My friends asked why my husband (Steven) and I chose to spend a week there, implying that there wasn’t enough to do in the city to justify a week’s stay, and we would end up being very very bored. But we read lots of guidebooks and websites and refused to set any expectations. Here are ten tips for a fabulous week in Amsterdam…
1. It’s not just pot and porn…
As it turns out, Steven and I could not be happier that we chose Amsterdam as our vacation spot for six days last September. I was overwhelmed by the tremendous number of art museums (one of my favorite things to do), the wonderful restaurants featuring cuisines from every part of the world, or the opportunity to travel outside the city to more of The Netherlands. Red light district? We never had time to visit.
2. Getting to Amsterdam…or anywhere for that matter
We flew Air Canada nonstop from Toronto to Amsterdam. Even for late September, the flight was packed! I was surprised, because I think of late September as shoulder season for visiting Europe. But a full flight at this time of year just confirmed how popular a destination Amsterdam truly is. My husband and I collect air miles all year long on the Chase Sapphire credit card. I love this card for its generous benefits. For those who love to travel, there are several different types of the card you can use accrue miles to travel any time of year. I will add a specific post about this card (and its many variations) but for now, use the link to learn more.
3. We Loved The Linden Hotel
For our week in Amsterdam, we stayed at the Linden Hotel in the Jordaan neighborhood. Now, if you are looking for very large hotel rooms this is probably not the property for you, but size of room is not something I care about. I look at vacation hotel rooms like this: The hotel room itself is really just my bedroom– a place for me to crash. I don’t need a huge room to do this. My living room is really the outside of my hotel: the neighborhood, the sites etc. My kitchen is any one of the wonderful restaurants in Amsterdam. When I’m traveling, I really try to burn through my days so I am in my hotel room only a minimal amount of time. That said, there were plenty of reasons to love the Linden.
- The neighborhood is nice and quiet, yet we were close to lots of sights, including the Anne Frank house.
- The hotel has a lot of nice amenities like umbrellas for guests, and snacks and beverages throughout the day.
- There’s a cozy lobby where I sat every night to write in my journal. It was very pleasant, quiet, and I could enjoy those wonderful stroopwafels the hotel had out every day.
- Breakfast is a nice option to have. There is a charge for having breakfast at the hotel. If you like to eat a full breakfast, then it’s definitely worth adding breakfast to your reservation. If you just prefer something quick, more of a continental breakfast, than it’s probably worth skipping.
- The hotel will send your laundry out for 10 Euros (no matter the amount!) Far better to send out the laundry rather than sitting in a launderette waiting for it on your own– and it’s roughly the same price!
- Really great hotel staff– I don’t dare name them since I know I’ll forget someone but to a person they were all super helpful.
4. Leave Lots of Time To Walk Around
You can be held captive by the “schedule” and the sheer number of things to do. Don’t feel like you need to schedule every single minute of the day in a museum or a sight. Amsterdam is made for walking! And you will want to spend time just meandering by the canals, crossing the footbridges, and exploring whatever is around the corner. Accept that you won’t be able to see everything there is to see– and that you will return to Amsterdam another day.
5. The Anne Frank House
Schedule the Anne Frank House with this in mind:
- Purchase your timed tickets to the Anne Frank House online AND well in advance of your trip. This is the most popular site for tourists to visit and tickets sell out quickly. If you don’t purchase online, you can try your luck at purchasing the limited number of tickets made available first thing in the morning, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
- See the Anne Frank House first thing in the morning and allow a couple of hours to really take it all in.
- Whatever you do, be respectful during your visit.
- You will be emotionally drained after visiting The Secret Annex so give yourself some time to “recover.” We walked around a bit before we did anything else, but the next stop on our itinerary was…
6. The Heineken Experience
The Heineken Experience is a must during a week in Amsterdam. For just a few Euros more, considering taking in the VIP Tour at the Heineken Experience. If you plan this tour for midday, then the VIP Tour can also be your lunch experience as you can participate in a five-course beer and food pairing. Also, be sure to get the personalized Heineken bottles. These are included with the cost of the VIP Tour. Otherwise, you can pay for them separately.
7. Step Outside the City
Amsterdam has an AMAZING public transport system: bus, ferry, tram, train– you can get anywhere easily and efficiently. We took one day out of our week in Amsterdam, to travel to a three nearby towns.
Three Easy Side Trips from Amsterdam
- 19th Century windmills and houses have been relocated to Zaanse Schans to recreate an 18th or 19th Century village. “Relocated” and “recreated” are the key words here. If you have ever been to Olde Mistick Village in Mystic, CT- Zaanse Schans is a lot like it. To get to Zaanse Schans, take bus 391 from Amsterdam Centraal train station. Zaanse Schans is the last stop on the route and takes about 40 minutes to get there. It was not my favorite place to visit and we didn’t spend that much time there.
- Volendam is a fishing village on the North Sea. There’s a very nice business district with lots of souvenir shops. To visit from Amsterdam Centraal, take bus 316 to Volendam. You can take this same bus on to Edam. It’s touristic, but in my opinion, more enjoyable than Zaanse Schans.
- Edam. Yes, just like the cheese. In fact, the whole town is cheese. Cheese shops, cheese market– you get the idea. It is a lovely town and well worth a visit and a stroll. Do check the opening and closing hours of the cheese market in Edam.
The great news is that you can see all these towns in one day. It’s a nice change of pace from Amsterdam and a chance to see outside the city.
8. Indonesian Rice Table (Rijsttafel)
Indonesia used to be a Dutch Colony– the Dutch East Indies– and because of this, you can still sample this history by visiting an Indonesian rice table. Rice tables are all over Amsterdam and are a great way to sample a variety of food prepared all different ways and full of different flavors and textures. We had a rice table with several small portions (maybe 12 or so, though you can sometimes have up to 40).
9. Cash is (Not) King…
I was surprised at the number of places: cafe`s, restaurants, stores, etc. that had signs up saying “Credit Cards Only.” Be sure to have a working credit card (and a backup) for everyday payments.
10. Eat Up!
Rather than describe all the great food there is, just enjoy these photos of some wonderful meals we enjoyed. Yes, eat food specific to The Netherlands, but enjoy this very cosmopolitan city with diverse cuisine. Dutch? Yes. French? Spanish? Italian? Vietnamese? It’s all there…
Dutch Baby Pancake 
Tapas from Olivia in the Jordaan 
Heineken Bread 
Heineken. Nuff said. 
Edam Cheese 
More tapas
11. One More Tip…
I know I said I’d give you ten tips for a fabulous week, but here’s one more. We spent some time as some of Amsterdam’s lesser known sites and museums. After seeing the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum, consider visiting the Portuguese Synagogue, the Dutch Resistance Museum (documenting the resistance of the Dutch people during WWII), and the Hermitage Museum (an actual branch of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia).
