we will be in london in june and we were wondering if we should go to amsterdam. we do not like museums, but we do like to immerse ourselves in pretty "walking" cities.(we love paris and prague). suggestions please......

I consider Amsterdam to be one of the very best cities anywhere for walking. Very densely built along a series of concentric canals with scores of bridges and historic buildings, it has a lot of charm and it is all on a very "human scale". I am also a big fan of Paris and I will tell you that Amsterdam is almost nothing like it, but it is a special place all the same.

Ditto what Flyboy said.

Ditto

Amsterdam is beautiful, an extremely photogenic city! Here's a link to my Amsterdam pics on www.dotphoto.com:
http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=Mar...062311&T=1

I love Amsterdam but not everyone feels the same. At first glance it can appear dirty and grungy. It's reputation for "coffee" shops and the red light district has some visitors approaching with predeveloped biases. Having worked there and gotten much more familiar with the city, I found that the more I scratched the surface the more my admiration for the City grew.

I love the canals, the many bridges, the casual restaurants, the beautiful canal houses, the ease of the tram system, the friendliness of the people... On top of all that, the bike friendly character of the City puts it high on my list of European places.

Mary Fran - the website you posted requires your username amd password to view your photos.

In my eyes, Amsterdam transcends the 'pretty' category and is ranked in 'astonishingly beautiful'. It's one of those few places that is easy to feel its layers of history -- from marshy fishing outpost to medieval jumble to Golden Age excesses to agrarian idyll to survivalist in world conflict to modern metropolis and powerhouse. The footprints of all those past times (and more) are still readily evident.

It's too bad you don't like museums as this city is guardian of many world-renown art treasures.

I love Amsterdam for all the reasons that everyone above has said.

But I do favor Haarlem for all the same reasons. Plus it is not so touristy and is more gentle on the mind. The town square, <i>Grote Markt</i>, is one of the best in all of Europe. Have an outdoor beverage at the Cafe Brinkman. If all the tables are occupied, but there are chairs available, pull a couple chairs together and sit at a table with some locals. Ask, in English, if you can sit and they surely will not mind. You'll love it.

If it is a really warm day, go over to Zandvoort and beach yourselves.

&gt;amsterdam- a pretty city?&lt;

There are those who have found it not unattractive.

I agree Amsterdam is a perfect city for the kind of thing you like to do. And I was there in mostly terrible weather - horrid rain and wind in March last year. But I still liked it and on the last day the sun came out and it was beautiful. Can't wait to go back in later spring or summer. If you want to look at some photos I have mine posted here: www.pbase.com/annforcier/amsterdam

Nice pix. Thanks for the link to them!

We love Amsterdam too. It is so walkable and you really can't get lost. I have pics that have some &quot;street scenes.&quot;

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/92402/index.html

I hope you enjoy yourselves, it is a grand lace.

I was there 3 weeks ago and I loved it. The tram system is good and it is a very easy city to walk around. History everywhere. The Anne Frank House is one of the most compelling places that I have ever been too. That time I spent in that house will stay with me for the rest of my life. Amsterdam is definitely worth a visit.

I didn't think I was a &quot;museum person&quot; either... until I went to Amsterdam!
I urge you to give museums a chance - the Van Gogh is fantastic, and of course the Rijksmuseum, as well as smaller museums such as the Rembrandt house. You won't be disappointed!
And yes, Amsterdam is a beautiful walking city!

My son loves Amsterdam and tries to get there everytime he flies through Europe. My daughter was there last spring and loved it.
I have just seen the film Oceans 12 and Amsterdam was beautiful !! So it is at the top of my list of where to go next

Isabel,

Your photos are wonderful! They're luminescent. What kind of equipment do you use to take them? I need to learn to take pictures like that. Makes me glad the link to my photos didn't work. Oh, well, maybe I'll save a little face if I post a link that works.

ttp://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=MaryFrances&amp;P=&amp;AID=1062311&amp;Pr es=Y

Loved it! Amsterdam is on my #1 list of places to return to. It has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to it, and it's very easy to navigate by foot or by trams -excellent public transportation.

Mary Fran, thanks for the compliment but I just went to your site and your photos are great too. I use a Nikon 5700, what do you use? I also bookmarked your Spain photos as I'm currently planning a trip to Barcelona next summer. My Amsterdam photos are not what I wish they could be due to the lousy lighting most of my visit. As I said, terribly dark and rainy the whole three days. Woke up the last morning to blue sky but had to catch a plane so I ran around for an hour and shot as much as I could. Not the best way to get great photographs. Oh well, I'll have to go back.

IMO Amsterdam seems to be one of those love it or hate it destinations. I found the central area around The Dam and the train station extremely unappealing, gray and grungy, with a bit of an uncomfortable edge.

That said... the canal rings, Leidseplein and around Vondelpark I thought was absolutely lovely. It IS definitely a good walking city.

I'm not a museum person either (although the Tropenmuseum made for a good rainy day activity and the Sex Museum was entertaining), but easily spent 5 days there at the beginning of a Europe trip a few years back.