Amsterdam for the weekend
 

I am off to Amsterdam for the weekend and I was wondering if anyone has any 'must' sees - is the Anne Frank house worth a visit and which museum would you choose? Thanking you in advance

well, having been in amsterdam just 3 weeks ago,since you only have the weekend, i'd recommend the van gogh museum, palace, ann frank house (the ann frank house is a must if you have read the diary and were touched by it ... it's also quite small, unfurnished and won't take long ... the museum and memorial is well done) and if you have time, you must go to the rijkmuseum ... however, it is HUUUGE, so if you just plain run out of time, ask if they will let you in (for free) just to run upstairs to the gift shop and when you do, right from there you could see the museum's most famous resident, the nightwatch by rembrandt, and you're done. also, if you like beer, especially heinecken, go on the tour of the brewery, it's cheap and you can have all you can drink beer at the beer hall at the end of the tour :))) <BR>(this is an australion hot spot)! <BR>... if it's a long weekend, take a day trip to haarlem, a nice little town w/a lovely square .... basically, stop by a bookshop and review the amsterdam section in a travel book like lonely planet, before you go so you know what to do.

Must sees: <BR>1. Van Gogh Museum <BR>2. Anne Frank House <BR>3. Rijksmuseum <BR>4. Canal boat tour <BR>5. Stedelijk Museum (modern art) <BR>6. Walk around in the Jordaan district (many small shops, restaurants and bars) <BR>7. Museum Onze Lieve Heer Op Zolder (small church on an attick) <BR>8. Vondelpark (when it is nice weather) <BR>9. Concert in Concertgebouw <BR>10. Walk around in Canal District ("7 straatjes" area) <BR>

hi Sjoerd , <BR>clearly, you're more local than i am to amsterdam, so tell me why everybody seems to not bother with the palace,seems nobody visits that place (except me) i thought it was a highlight of the city.

Well, I must admit I also like the Royal Palace. (the inside of it) Perhaps many people don't visit because it is so ugly from the outside.

I liked the Amsterdams Historisch Museum and taking a walk through the Begijnhof behind it. <BR> <BR>A really charming Canal House Museum is at Herengracht 497, the Katten Kabinet. This address is in the famous "Golden Bend" of beautiful Canal houses, good for walks. The museum houses a small art collection, the central theme of which is the cat: paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures which show the role of the cat in art. There were two large house cats at the museum which patrons could pet.

If you cut and paste http://www.channels.nl/ <BR>you can go for a little virtual walk around the city and it will link you to museum sites, restaurants, etc. I love this site! There is one for Barcelona, Paris and London, but I haven't checked them out yet. <BR> <BR>Re: Anne Frank house. If you feel you want to see it, it is worth it. My 11 year old daughter and I went last December. She had recently read the Diary and other materials....she felt she knew Anne and the house was full of meaning for her. But I didn't see it the first time I went to Amsterdam and if you are there for just the weekend maybe you won't either.

My favorite things in Amsterdam: <BR>1. Van Gogh Museum <BR>2. Canal boat ride <BR>3. Anne Frank House <BR>4. Sitting outside at a cafe and people-watching. <BR> <BR>I know everyone raves about the Rijksmuseum but I liked the Van Gogh museum better -- I found the Rijksmuseum overwhelming. <BR> <BR>The Heineken Brewery tour is OK but not a must by any means. <BR> <BR>Have a great trip!

Be sure to have your accommodations reserved for any weekend in Amsterdam, even in the off-season. Have been going to Amsterdam yearly for 30 years without accommodation reservations without problem but in recent years, due to the fact that Amsterdam, for a variety of reasons, has become a favorite weekend getaway for folks from surrounding countries, have found that most weekends every accommodation if full, even the scores of flophouse hostels - last September not a room was available in town. Zaandvort-on-Zee, 45 minutes by rail from Amsterdam, has lots of hotel vacancies outside of the July, August season should could always find a place there. Cheapest place to stay in Amsterdam with a private room - the Formule 1, a 30-minute bus ride from Centraal Station, rooms for up to three people run about $25!

we enjoyed the Rembrandthuis--the house where R. lived, which also home to some vintage print-making equipment and exhibitions of prints and etchings.

I think Sjoerd's list is perfect. I have been there maybe six times. <BR> <BR> Rijksmuseum, of course you don't have to do the whole thing, go see the Vermeers & the Rembrandts, and then for my money the Asia collection & the wonderful big dancing Shiva & Buddhas.

The Katten Kabinet is, in my opinion, a HUGE waste of time and money. It is basically a classic A'dam canal house with cat-related art. I took my kids there in July -- it cost $18 and we saw the whole thing in about 10 minutes -- it's only 1 1/2 floors of a narrow canal house and the furnishings aren't much either. I say, stay away. Want to see a classic Dutch canal house? Go to the Museum Van Loon or the Willet Holthuysen Museum. Both are beautifully restored house museums and far better value then the stupid cat museum. Plus, if you purchase a museumjaarkaart (gives entry to almost every museum in town, but not the Kat Kabinet) you can wander in and out of Willet Holthuysen and Van Loon for nothing. Plus, both are within a ten minute walk of each other so it's easy to do both. There's a reason the Katten Kabinet isn't on the museumjaarkaart -- it doesn't really rate as a museum. It's an eccentric private collector's idea of one.

Whether Anne Frank house is worth it or not depends on who you talk to. Everyone of course thinks it's a sobering sight but due to huge crowds may not enjoy it that much. Expect long long lines to get in, even in the off-season, which just doesn't seem to exist anymore in Amsterdam, especially on weekends.

And do the canal boat tour at night... saves you some daylight hours for touring museums and is actually much prettier than during the day!