One of our favourite places to visit in Netherlands is Amsterdam. Amsterdam is known for its stunning architecture, beautiful canals, stunning tulip gardens and quirky things to see and do. While traffic jams doesn’t seem to be an issue here, expect for a lot of bike traffic.
Amsterdam canals
Bike parking at Amsterdam Centraal
So when should you visit Amsterdam?
You can visit Amsterdam all year round! However, if you want to see the flower bloom, then the best time is during spring (March-May).
Tulips in Amsterdam (Image credit: shutterstock)
How many days should you spend in Amsterdam?
Depending on what you plan to do and where you plan to go, each persons itinerary may differ. We suggest that you spend at least 3-5 days here, so that you can fully explore and experience the Amsterdam lifestyle.
Rent a bicycle in Amsterdam
How to get around Amsterdam?
Since most of the attractions in Amsterdam are close by, you can either walk, rent a bike or take the metro, bus, train, tram and ferry to get around the city. When travelling in Amsterdam, we do recommend you to get any of the visitor passes such as City SightSeeing Amsterdam or I amsterdam City Card. These visitor passes offer unlimited use of the public transportation system, enabling you to save money and time when getting to each of the attractions. For us, we used the 24 hour (Hop On-Hop Off Bus and Boat) pass to get around. Click here to download the free map.
Our online ticket
Hop On-Hop Off Bus and Boat
Since we were travelling from London to Amsterdam, we had to exchange our UK currency from pound sterling (£/GBP) to Euro (€/EUR). If you want to avoid all the hassle of changing currency while travelling, why not use Big Pay. We have used it for almost all our purchases during our travel in Europe and found it helpful. You can save on the currency conversion fee when you use the apps. Just make sure to select the local currency of the country you are in to get cheaper rates. Click here to sign up. Don’t forget to use our referral code GB1RB1XMDE to receive a bonus when you activate the card.
If you haven’t read our previous post on WHY EVERYONE SHOULD VISIT LONDON: 3 DAYS ITINERARY , we highly recommend you to check it out. Our journey from London to Amsterdam took us about 4 hours via the Eurostar train. If you’re coming from London, don’t forget to adjust your timing since Amsterdam is (GMT+1), which is 1 hour faster than London. The train ride was quite comfortable and scenic as we passed by the countryside on the way to Amsterdam.
Our Eurostar online ticket
Having lunch in the train
Day 1 – ‘Hallo’ Amsterdam
Once we arrived at Amsterdam, we took a 20 minute taxi ride from Amsterdam Centraal (train station) to our hotel in Slotermeerlaan. If you want, you can stay closer to the city as most of the attractions are within walking distance. We decided to stay a little bit further out from the city to save money on accomdation.
Beautiful Lavender flower
Street art
Exploring the neighbourhood of Slotermeerlan
Doing a bit of grocery shopping
By the time we were done checking into the hotel, it was already getting dark. We did a bit of exploring at Slotermeerlaan and headed to the nearby supermarket to buy some groceries before returning to our hotel. We had our dinner back at the hotel and went to bed early. The next day was going to be a tiring one as we had a lot of places to explore.
Lizard wine anyone?
Day 2 – Exploring Amsterdam
After we had our breakfast, we took the tram (which was just in front of our hotel) to Amsterdam Centraal. We then, hopped on the boat tour at Amsterdam centraal and got off at the first stop of the day, Rijksmuseum.
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is a museum which represents the Dutch arts, culture and history in Amsterdam. Founded in 1798, this museum boasts a total collection of over 1 million objects from the years 1200 till 2000. Only 8,000 of the objects are displayed at the museum, which include famous masterpieces by Frans Hals, Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer.
Inside the museum (Image credit: Erik Smits)
Rijksmuseum Library
After checking out the museum, we walked to the nearby park at Museumplein (5 minutes walk). The Museumplein is a public square used to host major events, festivals and demonstrations in Amsterdam. Also part of the Museumplein are the 3 popular museums; the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum and Van Gogh Museum.
We were photobombed 😆
Museumplein garden
Outside the Van Gogh Museum
We then continued our journey on the boat tour to the next stop, Anne Frank House. You might wonder who is Anne Frank? Born in Germany, Anne Frank and her family was Jewish victims of the Holocaust during Word War II. During the Nazi ruling, she and her family fled to Amsterdam and went into hiding for 2 years to avoid persecution. It was then, when Anne kept a diary and wrote all her hopes, fears and experiences. Her diary maybe the only one exposure most people have to the dark history of the Holocaust. Today, the stories in her diary are included in essays, articles and story books.
Anne Frank House
Her diary
Anne Frank hiding place (Image credit: annefrank.org)
By the time we were done checking out Anne Frank House, it was time for lunch. We had lunch at a nearby café and then continued to walk along the canals until we reached Noorderkerk. We didn’t plan on exploring Noorderkerk, but we got caught up with the picturesque view of the buildings and canals till we ended up there. The Noorderkerk is popular for its 17th century Protestant church and unique design.
We were famished!
The boat tour
Picturesque view of Amsterdam canals
Noorderkerk
Since there was no bus or boat stops at Noorderkerk, we had to walk another 15 minutes to the next destination on our list, the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is 1 of the 3 palaces used by the royal family to welcome important guests, hold gala dinners and celebrate New Year receptions. Located on Dam Square, the Royal Palace is over 350 years old and one of the most important buildings in Netherlands.
Dutch National tulip Day celebrations
The Royal Palace
Dam Square
We didn’t enter inside the Royal Palace as it was almost closed when we got there. After wandering around Dam Square for about an hour, we proceeded to the last destination for the day, the infamous Red Light District. The area is known for its strip clubs, brothels and sex shops, so perhaps you might want to give this a pass. But if curiosity got the better of you, here is a rough idea of what to expect.
Red Light District comes alive at night
You can expect a huge crowd at The red Light District at night, so be careful with your wallets as there are a lot of pickpockets here. It is also forbidden to take photos or film the women behind their windows. Some of them will get aggressive if you do so. Coming here is definitely a unique experience and should be approached with an open mind.
Day 3 – Visiting paradise: Zaanse Schans
Tulip season in Zaanse Schans
If there is anywhere called paradise, this is it. Zaanse Schans is exactly how we always pictured Amsterdam to be; windmills and beautiful tulips. Zaanse Schans is known for its collection of traditional windmills, warehouses and workshops. To get here, you can either catch a train or a bus from Amsterdam Centraal. On which is the best option, we’ll leave it you to decide. Click here to plan your trip.
1) By train – It takes around 17 minutes to reach the train station. from there, you will need to walk another 10 minutes to reach Zaanse Schans.
2) By bus – It will make multiple stops along the way. Journey time is approximately 40 minutes. The bus will stop right in front of Zaanse Schans.
Just arrived Zaanse Schans
We started our journey early (9am) and took the bus as we wanted a more relaxing trip. It was our last day in Amsterdam, so we decided to take our time to explore Zaanse Schans. There is no entry fee here. However, if you intend to visit any of their museums, windmills or workshops then you will have to incur extra charges.
Scenic view
One of the traditional windmills still operating
Giant Dutch shoe
Dutch clog workshop
Bring back some souvenirs
Unfortunately for us, during our stay at Amsterdam we were not able to see the tulips blooming as we came in late September (Autumn). Still, there are plenty of things to see and do here. If you’re visiting for the first time, expect to spend at least half a day here. You can join the Dutch clogs workshop to see how they produce them. These Dutch clogs are usually worn by gardeners or farmers as they are suitable for use a swampy areas.
Enjoying Dutch ice-cream
Cheesy Nachos
Spoilt for choice!
Buy the Gouda in bulk if you can’t decide
If you love cheese, then we have found one of the best places to get them. The world famous cheese made here is known as Gouda, which refers to the creamy, sweet and yellow cow’s milk from Netherlands. There is so many different types of Guoda here, and we were spoilt for choice. We ended up buying the Guoda set as we couldn’t decide. We went back to our hotel around 3pm and spent the rest of the day packing as we had an early journey the next day.
Day 4 – ‘Dankjewel’ Amsterdam
Our tickets to Paris
We took the train from Amsterdam Centraal to Paris Nord using Thalys train. The journey took us around 3 hours 25 minutes to the final leg of our journey in Europe. We’ll cover more on Paris, on our next post VISIT PARIS: THE CITY OF LIGHT AND LOVE – 5 DAYS ITINERARY
Photo of us in Paris
To sum up Amsterdam, it is a beautiful city with scenic views and friendly people. It was definitely an interesting and unique experience for is. If you have the time, be sure to give Amsterdam a visit. For us, Amsterdam is probably at the top of the list of places which we would come back to visit, especially during the Tulip flower season.
Have any experience or tips on travelling in Amsterdam? Or are you planning a trip soon? Let us know and share your thoughts and questions in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you guys!
