Will be going in late April with wife for short spring getaway. Please feel free to comment and add suggestions and ideas. Am particularly interested in knowing if enough time has been allowed for what we would like to see/do.

Flight arrives FRIDAY 6:55 am ? drop bags off at apartment. Apartment is next to Seven Bridges hotel, two blocks south of Rembrantplein and has views of two canals. Walking tour of old city including museums, churches and red light area. Day includes a few long stops at pubs/cafes. Maybe free concert at the Vondelpark.

SATURDAY ? extensive walking tour of canal belt to include Anne Frankhuis, Van Gogh museum. Break at apt. then a walking tour of Jordan. Day includes a few long stops at pubs/cafes.

SUNDAY ? 10 am Anglican church service at Christ Church at Groenburgwal 52. Rent bikes and take bike trip to Ouderkerk aan de Amstel. Return bikes in Amsterdam late afternoon . Afterword, DW wants to try a coffee shop (it?s been 25 years for either of us, so we?ll take it easy) ? then a canal boat tour (leave the thinking to others) ? more wandering, pubs/cafes, evening concert or music club.

MONDAY - Keukenhof Gardens ? early as possible. Late afternoon walking tour of Jewish quarter including fair amount of time at flea market. Grand ?last night? type dinner. Day includes a few stops at pubs/cafes.

TUESDAY ? shopping to stock up on goodies to bring home (suggestions?) ? be at airport by 11 am for 1 pm return flight.

Although being at the airport by 1100 for a 1PM flight is probably OK I wouldn't cut it any closer than that...from my recent experiences at Schiphol. Of course, it can also depend on which airline you are using (my last trip was with Delta and 2 hours would have been plenty as not many were traveling on that same day it seemed).

You can choose to do a lot of souvenir shopping at Schiphol or in town..some finmd it easier just to do it at the airport.

Are you art lovers at all? If so, I would recommend the Rijksmuseum as a possibility unless you are totally into Van Gogh (which is fine). The reason I medntion this is because the Rijks has to rank with the top three or four museums IN EUROPE (Prado and Louvre amongst others), if not the world in terms of the wealth of well-known and recognized as "great" art works contained...notg as overwhelming, or as large, as the KLouvre, either.

I'm amused at the "coffee shop" idea but certainly can relate to it..totally..go for it...ask to see "the menu" and believe me, the stuff you can get is VERY potent!

Enjoy Amsterdam!!!!

We are indeed art lovers - definately plan to see Van Gogh museum. Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum are both CLOSED until 2005

bardo-

Rijksmuseum is closed, but their "400 masterpieces" including the "Night Watch" at the Phillips Wing.
http://rijksmuseum.nl/index.html

bardo-

Rijksmuseum is closed, but they are still showing their "400 masterpieces" including the "Night Watch" at the Phillips Wing - which is open to the public.
http://rijksmuseum.nl/index.html

As I've recommended here several times, a half-day bike trip is great at that time of year. Check out "Let's Go Tours" for trips into the out-lying areas. For a bike tour of the city and close-in suburbs, try "Mike's Bike Tours" or "Yellow Bike Tours". We'll be in A'dam in later part of April as well, and we're doing the Let's Go bike trip through the commercial tulip fields. Holland is VERY flat, so biking is quite easy. (We're in our early 50s and in so-so shape, but it was no problem.)

Another tip... as long as you've decided to sample the wares of a coffee shop, why not catch a buzz before going into the Van Gogh Museum. We found that it put us in the perfect frame of mind to fully appreciate the art.

Have a wonderful time...Be careful if it has been 25 years...It is much more potent than it was back then..But enjoy! You will probably have time to stop at shops as you are walking the canal belt..There are some really neat stores in Amsterdam...

Any thoughts on whether itinerary is resonable, logical, do-able, enough, etc.????

Sounds like fun. We were there in December and were surprized at how much there was to offer.

Suggestions, YOu wany want to look into the local museum pass. They sell 1/2/3 day passes and it includes public transportation which is very convenient and will get you across town as necessary. You can pick the pass up at the TI office. The one major site the pass doesn't include is the Anne Frank House which is worth the trip no matter what.

We took the train into Amsterdam from the airport and it couldn't have been easier. Every tram stops at the Central Station and it will be easy to get the tram to your hotel.

You idea of travel coincides with ours. See a bit, stop and relax in a cafe, move on, stop at another cafe, etc. You will find great little spots all over town (although the area around Dam Square and the Central Station is kind of seedy and touristy IMHO. There are lots of good restaurants near your hotel. One place we loved, and just happened upon was: Restaurant 'T Fornuis
Utrechtsestaat 33 020-626 19 39

It reminded us of the great bristo on Marais in Paris. Great food, reasonably priced, great cozy atmostphere.

Definitely go to the Rjeiksmuseum. They've got every major work in one wing, as noted above, and you can see the entire collection in an hour or two.

Get a feel for the coffeeshops. Again, they appeared to be more "mature friendly" the further you got away from the Red Light/Dam/CC area although being with my 8 year old we didn't partake. Maybe for my 50th ?

Have fun and good luck,

Brian

Aaahhh....Amsterdam in the spring....I wish we were going with you. If I may offer a few suggestions...

After you get through customs at Schiphol, go to the main lobby where you can purchase your train ticket to/from Amsterdam. You might as well pick up a Strippenkaart at the same time, which you can use on the tram (#4 or #9) from Central Station to the Rembrandtplein. Two people can use the same Strippenkaart - just remember to "punch" it twice.

Since you are arriving at 6:55 am you will probably be in downtown Amsterdam by 9:00 am (before most things open). Our first stop (after stashing our luggage at the hotel) is a coffeeshop, which helps us adjust to jet lag. After that, we stroll around the centrum (which is very compact), check out the Waterlooplein Flea Market (starts to open around 10-11), and eventually make our way over to the Flower (Bloemen) Market where we buy some flowers for our hotel room. If you're hungry for dutch pancakes, I would recommend het Singeltje, Singel 494, at the flowermarket. Don't forget to stroll through the Begijnhof (just off the Kalverstraat).

I would also highly reccommend the Amsterdam Pass, good for 1/2/3 days, which also includes a pass for the trams/buses. You can pick the pass up at the VVV across from Central Station, which we have found to be very busy. Or, there is a VVV on the Leidseplein, which usually is less crowded (perhaps part of your walkabout on the first day.) From what I can recall, the Amsterdam Pass included free admission to most of the museums in Amsterdam, except for the Anne Frank House (a must see) and the Sex Museum (Damrak #18; E2.00) another must see. After our third trip to Amsterdam we finally got up enough nerve to check it out, and found it to be hokey, yet still provocative.

Last year we purchased the two day Amsterdam Pass and utilized it for "free" admission to The Amsterlkring, the Oude Kerk, Amserdam Historich Museum, the Theatre Museum (boring), the House Boat Museum and a canal cruise the first day. The second day we used it for the Rembrandthuis, the Resistence Museum, the VanGogh, the Rijksmuseum, and another canal cruise. All this, and unlimited transportation around town!!!

Our favorite little museum in Amsterdam is the Amsterlkring, and I hope you will consider it in your plans. It's a church hidden in an attic. It doesn't sound like much, but it blew us away the first time we saw it. It was much more than we expected. It also gave us an understanding of Dutch tolerance (something I wish Americans had more of).

If you go to the HouseBoat Museum, visit their webpage first (sorry, I don't have the web-address in my journal), and download the coupon for a free poster of Amsterdam.

If you're in the Netherlands in April and don't go to the Keukenhof Gardens, you would be a fool. It is absolutely glorious (I can sense-smell the hyacinths as I sit here and type). You can purchase a package deal at Central Station which includes the round-trip train ticket to Leiden, the bus to and from the Keukenhof, and entrance to the Gardens. Perhaps, when you are in Leiden you might want to tour the Windmill Museum (E2.50), right around the corner from the train station. Last year the sails were turning when we visited - what a treat.

As far as eating, pubs/cafes are everywhere, just like coffeeshops. However, we always have to eat chinese when we are in Amsterdam, and keep returning to my favorite restaurant, Nan Kee, Zeedijk 111.

Our favorite coffeeshop is the Bluebird on St. Antioniesbreestraat (it opens at 9:30am - helps with the jet lag). It's more like a neighborhood coffeeshop. However, the Grasshopper on NZ Voorburgwal or the Greenhouse on Oude Brugsteeg cater more to the tourist, and you might feel more comfortable there. The Dutch roll hugh joints (with tobacco and a filter) so we always bring our ZigZags with us. When you visit the VVV ask/look for the coffeeshop map, which not only lists all the "recognized" coffeeshops, but is a really good map of the centrum. Before going into a coffeeshop, look for the green and white sign in the window which indicates the shop as a registered, honest business. The coffeeshops tend to be more pleasant in the morning and early afternoon, before the younger generation take it over. Since you haven't smoked in 25 years, you would probably only need to buy 1 gram. Some places sell it by the gram, others have it pre-packaged in bags of 1 1/2 - 3 grams for about E12.00. Don't be afraid to ask the dealer for advice. Beware, if you buy a dutch joint, it will be mixed with tobacco (and remember, tobacco is addictive and can kill).

Hope this gives you some ideas and helpful hints. If you could, do me one favor - have a toke for us when you visit the coffeeshop.

Robyn & B.J.

"Message: Any thoughts on whether itinerary is resonable, logical, do-able, enough, etc.????"

I am a more relaxed sort of traveler and find it hard to imagine doing half of this stuff in twice the time.

What are your "late April" dates. If they include April 30 you are in store for one of the best parties on the planet, Queen's Day in Amsterdam. If April 24 is your Saturday, the Bloemencurso flower parade from Noordwijk to Haarkem would be well worth visiting - if you like parades and flowers.

You'll love Holland no matter what or how much you do.

ttt
Thanks to all who have offered help to date, especially Robyn & B.J.