I would like to take a short trip to Amstersam August/September. I was wondering if anyone could give me ideas on cheap flights and places not to miss besides Ann Frank and red light Distric & Brewery- already on my l ist. Thanks in advance

First things first, avoid Amsterdam from 10-15 September. there is an huge annual conference and exhibition, the IBC, which takes place then. Rooms will be scarce and expensive.

The Van Gogh museum is an obvious suggestion. There a many museums in Amsterdam if you enjoy museums.

What sort of things do you like? Your age range? If you like music see what is on at Paradiso while you are visiting. www.Paradiso.nl. There are nearly always tickets available at the door, (plus temporary membership) unless they have a big name on.

Buy tickets to the museums you want to visit online, to avoid queueing, certainly advisable for the Anne Frank house.

It's me an best friend travelling. We are early 30's, but feel like mid 20s ...LOL

We like adventure, fun and FOOD.

Already you helped a lot with the info on Conference.

How many days?

The most 5days

I enjoyed seeing the Rembrandt museum on my last visit there. I seem to recall a couple of other museums in the same vicinity as the Van Gogh. Check into those. You might enjoy taking a canal boat ride, too. You really get a feel for the city that way. And don't hesitate to take public transportation. It's pretty easy to figure out and the conductors are generally pretty helpful. My last stay was waaay too short so, I'm afraid I'm not too much help. But, do take time to get a bite or a drink at an outdoor cafe and chill out and people watch. It really is a neat city. Have a great trip!

Here's what we did with 3 days, just a couple of years ago:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...om-mrms-go.cfm

A very enjoyable city, in nearly every way.

For an interesting meal, choose one of the Indonesian restaurants and order "Rijsttafel"... a multi-dish sampling of Indonesian foods from the times when Indonesia was a Dutch colony.

Get on bikes... either renting one and going around on your own or with a bike tour of the city (such as "Mike's"). Also, there are bike tours of the countryside that leave in the morning and get back in the late afternoon. We liked this one:
http://www.letsgo-amsterdam.com/UK/indexUK.htm

If you're so inclined, visit a coffeeshop and get buzzed before you see the Van Gogh Museum.

mr_go : Thank you so much for your link...VERY, VERY helpful

Love indonesian food... yum!

I'm adding Bike tour and Canal

The coffee shop is must i'm guessing

I have great places to eat, visit, activities, hotel options... now all is left is booking the flight..still looking for cheap flights

Thanks all who responsed tomy questions

Cheap flights - from where?

BaltoTraveler speaks of special "coffeeshop" I believe ;-)

You do not buy coffee in a Dutch coffee shop. I think warias understands that

better hurry for the Red-Light District which the Mayor of Amsterdam has promised to do away with and turn the area into posh offices and condos, etc. Cleaning out the trash - and the British lager lout tourists as the mayor pointing out the current type of tourist the city attracts but don't want to anymore.

Der Blonde Hollander is a good place to eat - stay away from the Green Lantern Fondue (we went there our first night and between the jet lag and the time to cook fondue, it seemed an eternity). While I don't remember the street name...if you are standing in Dam Square and facing the large hotel, there is a street that runs along the right side of the hotel. On it, there is a tiny tiny pancake restaurant up a very steep flight of stairs. It only seats about 16 people and closes around 3pm; the ceiling has all kinds of teapots hanging from it. We stumbled on it looking for a quiet place to take a phone call. Really good pancakes - there is just one guy who does all the cooking, seating, cleaning up, etc. If you continue down that little street, on the left is one of the original gin shops - tons and tons to taste in all different flavors. We visited Van Gogh, AnnFrank, Rijksmuseum, Our Lord in the Attic(not on many of the 'must see' lists but we found it fascinating), Canal cruise, oldekuirk, newkuirk, vondelpark, went to Keukenhof gardens which will be closed when you get there, and did a half to 3/4 day tour of the northern areas of Holland (skip it!!!!). My trip report is somewhere on here if you search under "queens day" - we had 4 days and packed them full. Cannot wait to go back!

For food, make sure to visit FEBO, preferably after a long night out. Nothing like bitterballen or krokets when drunk...

Do you know where you are staying yet?

for casual gourmet food - we also liked Le Zinc et les Autres. prix fix menu with 3,4 or 5 courses. really good food and atmosphere.

You're very welcome, warias. Have a good time, and let us all know what you enjoyed most.

Honestly, the red light area seemed kind of nasty to me. I'm no puritan... not by any means. It just felt skeezy. Especially compared to the rest of that lovely town. There were a few more laid-back, chill coffee shops in the pretty residential areas around the canal rings that would have seemed more inviting to me (had I been so inclined). There was one called Amnesia on the Herengracht that looked downright cozy.

But you'll have no trouble at all striking up some good conversations in the local pubs, over a pint or three. Definitely worth doing!

Red Light district didn't do much for us either; its actually a little sad to see. there are 'bouncers' near every window who will stop you if you try to take a picture (our hotel warned us, not that we had an interest); there are a lot of toy and porn stores on the streets as well. We didn't go late at night - I think our stroll through was more like 7pm on the way to somewhere else. Our Lord in the Attic is in the Red Light District or just adjacent to it so if you go there, you'll have to "walk the streets"!

We were in Amsterdam for 5 days last September. We took the Mike’s bike tour of the country side which was a lot of fun. You ride through farmland and eventually stop at a cheese “factory” and a shop that carves wooden shoes. Ok, these stops were a bit tacky and seemed to be an excuse to sell cheese and wooden shoes but the overall ride was enjoyable. After the tour you are eligible for a significant discount on bike rental. Our favorite was riding along the canals that ring the city. Of course you have to be careful of bikes, trams and cars but the canal roads are comparatively quiet.

About the Red Light District. My companion found it seedy considering the quaintness of the rest of the city. I must admit I was fascinated by the entire experience. It was fun watching large, gawking tourist groups escorted by guides walk through the alleys. What a bizarre experience!