4 days in Amsterdam review
 

Hi, all.

I think I finally have four full days in Amsterdam proper mapped out. I'll be there July 28-August 2nd. I'll be staying at the Citizen M Amsterdam, with Aug 1-2 at Citizen M Schipol. I will have a Museumkaart, which I think should help with all the lines except for Anne Frank House, right? If so, how do I bypass these lines? Is there a special line at the big museums (Van Gogh, Rijkmuseum, Stadelijk) to go into?

I think the biggest advice I will need is just the timing of certain places. I imagine many will be mobbed as it's summer, and it's all gay pride week. Being gay, I would like to watch a little of the parade on Saturday. I hope museums will still be open.

I'm 32 and move quickly and try to see a lot in one day. I will primarily walk or take trams.

Anyway, here goes:

Wednesday:

Museum Ons'Lieve
Oude Kerk
Basiliek St. Nicolaas
[walk around red light district - will the route above and to skylounge suffice anyway? I realize this isn't at night, but it seems like the best time for my schedule]
Skylounge for light lunch and drink
Walk around Joordaan [where specifically should I walk?]
Westerkirk
HomoMonument
Amsterdam Tulip Museum
Anne Frank House [I do not have tickets, and I know the line will be long. I was told to come mid-day. Hopefully if I arrive by 4, I can be out by my dinner reservation at 7:45?]
Daalder at 7:45 pm
Prik bar

Thursday:

Vondel Park
:Rijksmueum - arrive maybe 9:30 or 10 to avoid opening. Stay 3 hours?
Resistance Museum - Verzelsmuseum [could maybe miss this as it out of the way?]
Museum Van Loon
Amsterdam Canal Cruise perhaps 4 or 4:30. I have already bought online tickets
Lombardos - eat around 6 pm
Stadelijk Museum till 10 - this allows about 3 hours

Friday:

Amsterdam Museum
English reform church
Begijnhof
Nuewe Kerk
Koninkijik Paleis
Dubbel eaten and drunken: 6 pm
Van Gogh Museum till 10 - allows about 3 hours, maybe I don't need as much time
Spijker Bar

Saturday:

Hortus Botanicus at 10
Rembrandt House
Hermitage [will these and other museums be open in the morning? Mobbed?]
Watch gay pride parade outside the Hermitage about 1:30 or 2 for maybe a couple of hours. Not sure if I should mill around after or go to a gay bar or something
Beatrixpark
Strandzuid for dinner and hanging out around city beach
Back to Citizen M South, cab to Citizen M Schipol

[only comment here - I'd like to have done Beatrixpark and Strandzuid one of the mornings on a weekday, as perhaps it would not nearly be so crowded, but I worried about missing too much of the sightseeing day with this. Hopefully folks will still be around the pride/central area, and in any event this is very convenient as I'll need to be back in this area anyway].

Thanks!

It REALLY depends on YOUR interests! I would urge you to plan out a route that seems reasonable from what you know in advance, while also identifying your priorities in advance so you can adjust your time on the fly as necessary.

FWIW, I thought 3 hours at the Van Gogh Museum a bare minimum. And I spent the better part of a day at the Rijksmueum. But them, I LOVE spending time in art museums. We each have different priorities and interests -- and that's a good thing, IMO!

Enjoy!

To skip the queues at the Anne Frankhuis you need to go to the website asap and book a timed visit. You can use your Museum card but you still need to book a time. You may not be able to find a free block at this late stage but you should try. You do not want to waste many precious hours standing in a long queue for the house. If you can't get a booking I would skip it all together this trip.

You don't mention the Stedelijk museum in your list but if you like Matisse it will be worth a visit: http://www.stedelijk.nl/en/exhibitio...sis-of-matisse
Maybe something to do if you don't manage Anne Frank?

Last July, we visited the Ann Frank House (with tickets) around 4pm and the line snaked out the museum and down the street. I would also recommend timed tickets.

I've looked for timed tickets and they don't have them at all for months on Anne Frank. Will keep checking. I love love art museums and yes those are my priorities. The Stedelijik is on my list, as the last thing on a Thursday.

What do I do about lines at the other museums with my Museumcart? Do I skip them at, for example, Van Gogh or Stedelijik, somehow?

Okay just paid 5 Euros for Matisse supplement at Stedelijik, so that will help me with priority line and the MuseumCard.

Looks like at Rijkmuseum I don't have to go to the ticket counter at all so I can totally bypass. Cannot find this out about Van Gogh.

>>I've looked for timed tickets and they don't have them at all for months on Anne Frank. Will keep checking.<<

Then you are pretty much out of luck The queue to get in w/o timed tickets will be (literally) blocks/hours long.

But is it worth waiting maybe 2-3 hours to get in, if I'm free from maybe like 3 until dinner at 7:45?

Honestly, no it isn't Joe.That queue is long and the house will be crowded. It is hard to appreciate it with so many other people in there with you.

For the Van Gogh, to skip the queue you need to book a ticket online, even with your museumcard. It is for a timed entry. https://tickets.vangoghmuseum.com/?_...640.1432673234

Actually - I didn't find it to be too crowded inside -- they do seem to manage the queue so only a few are allowed in w/ each group of timed tickets. I hate crammed sites but had no issues w/ the crowd inside the Anne Frank House.

But the general admission line moved very slowly. I made note of a family I could see from upstairs in the visitors center before I entered the family quarters. When I exited and returned to the cafe more than an hour later -- I looked outside and the same family was still in the queue and had only moved forward a short distance since when I saw them earlier. Maybe 100 feet. So my 'guesstimate' is they had to wait probably 3-4 hours in line.

Here's my two cents...I was there in the summer so the city was generally crowded; I only spent about 90 minutes in the Van Gogh museum (while i can spend hours in museums, this one didn't appeal to me). OTOH, I loved the Resistance Museum and happily spent over 2 hours there. Their displays and whole approach address these 3 questions: collaboration, resistance or nothing, which is a different way of looking at the situation. Lots of exhibits (all have English translations); when I was there, they had a special exhibit on the experience in Indonesia since it was a Dutch colony - something I never even thought of! As you say, it is slightly out of the way, but the tram drops you off about 2 blocks away; I got there before the museum opened and enjoyed walking a block or two down the street, over the canal, looking at houseboats moored there and around the block in this residential area.

Thanks! Booked for Van Gogh too at 7, so this gives me a good chunk of time. Starting to wonder if maybe I should just skip Anne all together and go to the Resistance Museum - I think I will need to cut this out of Thursday to allow more time for the Rijkmuseum. I appreciate your comments.

Other residual questions:

Is there a specific "route" for Red Light and Jordaan districts I should take to do a bit of walking?

Will it be okay to watch gay pride parade outside of Hermitage around 2 pm or so? I think the Amstel portion is probably likely to be quite crowded, in which case maybe I just need to relax earlier at Beatrixpark and Strandzuid!

With taking the trams, I presume I'll probably just want single tickets, since I doubt I will be using very much. Is there some sort of reloadable smart card I need to buy? Do I need to punch them somehow - probably on the tram itself?

Sounds like your visit is shaping up nicely! I'm glad you've been able to book some of the museums.

Thanks to all the comments; I didn't realize that I would need to, so hopefully this will expedite things at the three biggies.

For the trams go to the GVB office across from Centraal Station.
They can advise you on which ticket is best for you, an anonymous OVchipkaart or a multiple day card.

http://www.reguliers.net/english.php

Regulierswarstaat - near the Flower Market was the venue of a street party nightly during Gay Pride Days when I wandered into it - very packed and at any time this is Amsterdam's gay nightlife street after museums close!

Is there a specific "route" for Red Light and Jordaan districts I should take to do a bit of walking?>

The Jordaan is mainly canals and all are cute - just wander around them - the Red-Light District has two main areas and lots of mini ones around the centrum - O.Z. Voorburgwal is a canal at the heart of the Red-Light ddistrict - for a most intimate look at things go north on it to the Bulldog, a iconic coffeeshop and take the small alley just to its south - take it east and you come across lanes so so tiny with red-lights and accouterments with them - most tourists do not see this part of the red-light district - inside is a small shopping mall for those interested in partaking - on the narrow lanes you can't help literally bumping into the gals as you go.