Amsterdam. Love it or Hate It ? Your opinion?
 

Amsterdam,you either love it or hate it it seems - opinions vary greatly. What's your impression of this one-of-a-kind place?

two of the best musueums in europe and we loved the food. sex show wasnt bad either. not really, but gave us a good story for our friends.

Thought I would detest the place. Then I had to go for a conference in 2001 . . .

Love it. Architecture, culture, pace of life, design, shopping, clattering along on a bike, café-hopping & drinking fluitjes (tiny little beers) at fantastic canal-side terraces. Not to mention the A'dam service ethic and sense of humor * )

Just booked my Thalys there for this year's conference! Terrifically exciting.

It's not all sex & drugs & rock'n'roll. Thought it would be a stag night/bachelor party hell -- & instead, its sophistication slapped me in the face. Great off-peak place to be, BTW.

So are you from the A'dam VVV?

My husband and I LOVED Amsterdam. It isn't a place I'd want to live but we loved the museums, the super-friendly people, the nighttime canal cruise, and just walking along the canals looking at the architecture and crooked buildings.

I'm a fan. Great airport, rail system. . . love renting bikes, looking at canal houses, ding-a-ling of bike bells, trams cruising by, no real language barrier . . .We often start our trips here.

I didn't think I wanted to go to Amsterdam but ended up going there to visit my daughter who was working in a hostel for the summer. I loved it and would like to go again. There is great art, there is lots of good food and the canals and architecture make it a very unique experience. I loved being in a canal side cafe watching the boats on one side and all the bicycles on the other. Its very possible to visit the city and not even encounter the vices that make it notorious.

Another vote and for many of the same reasons mentioned above.

I suppose one other nice thing about it is the fact that the people who live there aren't the least bit hypocritical about those "vices that make the place notorious" which is refreshing.

It took me a little while to decide how I felt about the place. It certainly wasn't love at first sight, but since I often fly KLM, I've grown accustomed to her face, so to speak, and now enjoy it very much. I've always said that the one thing it would be impossible to be in Amsterdam is unique. If it exists or has been done, it's been done there. Not sure how the locals put up with all the oddities but it certainly is interesting to visit once in a while.

Really can't see what the fuss is about.

It's a real European city. More fun than Stockholm. More public decorum than Manchester. Food doesn't hold a candle to Brussels or Lyons (and doesn't compare that favourably to the Commercial Hotel, Cowdenbeath). Cleaner than Birmingham (but so are most third-world rubbish-tips). Beer awful (surrounded by Germany and Belgium, and next door to England, how can they drink such rubbish?)

Art galleries really aren't in the first division, but in there with, say, Milan. But the streetscapes beat everywhere else its size in Northern Europe. And the people are universally nice (until you start having a real meeting with them, at which point all the stereotypes show themselves as true).

Just another real, medium-size, European city. No quirkier than Liverpool or Palermo.

Little to hate or love. It just is.

I love it. For a lot of the reasons mentioned above. I could easily live there if it weren't for the weather. It rains just a little too much. But that said, I may still park myself there for 6 months one of these days.

I liked the museums, especially the Van Gogh museum, and I was deeply moved by the Anne Franke house. The evening canal ride was great also. I've only been there once and I do not rule out a return some day, but I'm not in a huge hurry to do so. However, I am very glad to have visited Amsterdam.

We were there summer 2002, loved it and hope some day to return.

A lacklustre city, bland buildings, unexciting shops, excellent Van Gogh museum, that's about it.

No fabulous restaurants, the place is a dump!

I've spent a lot of time there at different times of the year. I have never thought of it as defined by its "vices" though I suppose one could.



Van Gogh Museum is terrific and important, but I also think of the Riijksmuseum as kind of big deal, myself, with its major Rembrandts and Vermeers, and general good collection of Dutch painting, and I think of Holland as the other major painting center of Europe besides Italy, though I guess the brilliant earlier stuff is technically "Northern" and not just Dutch.

I love the major canals and the quality the light has when there is so much water around. I love the multiculturalism of Amsterdam and in particular its long acquaintance with the East. Dutch food I could entirely forget about, but I like their Chinese food. (Agreed one wouldn't GO ther for the food.) And: they make a sublime cup of coffee, thanks to the Indonesia connection. They are really serious about their coffee.

I think a New Yorker is comfortable there as it matches our multicultural-ness and tolerance but is still pleasantly foreign.

Love it, and there are definitely fabulous restaurants there, two that come to mind off the top of my head are Chez Georges and Utrechtsedwarstafel.

I've always found Amsterdam to be a refreshing break with a unique ambiance. Bland buildings? I disagree. The 16th and 17th century structures densely lining Amsterdam's signature canals and narrow streets define the city and create a sense of place that is unique. Coffee shops, ethnic restaurants, funky shops, brown cafes and friendly pubs abound. The tolerant culture, welcoming atmosphere and the ease of with which visitors can take in all that the city has to offer make Amsterdam one of Europe's finest destinations. For me, returning to Amsterdam is like seeing an old friend again and I always look forward to it.

I've been seeing the slow decline of civility within Amsterdam for more than 30 years. Each time I visit, it gets a little dirtier, a little more rundown, a little more neglected, and a lot more expensive. Sooner or later, it will become the center of a nationwide revulsion and the good Dutch people will demand that it be cleaned up. Until then, don't hold your breath.

I happened to be discussing Amsterdam with a Dutch hotel receptionist who was dealing with a request, we were talking, and when I mentioned Amsterdam, she shuddered. Dutch people don't love Amsterdam, far from it!

I think our fav Brits and USNR have a correct current perspective.
M

I LOVE Amsterdam, primarily for it's TOLERANCE - a concept the Dutch have been living by for centuries, a concept we could all learn to adapt. (You can visit the Tolerance Statue in front of the train station in Hilversum.)

What makes Amsterdam a one-of-a-kind place? The history, the museums, the marketplaces, the flowers, the architecture, and just the fact that Amsterdam and the polder region was claimed from the sea! What ingenious technology!! The people are wonderful...the food is varied...good wine and beer are available (thanks to neighboring countries)...the coffeeshops are tolerated, and the weed is great...the public transportation system is clean and efficient...and there are so many other wonderful towns just a day trip away by rail.

Amsterdam...what a wonderful, tolerant town. Peace.

Robyn

I love it, always loved it. I love it so much that I've decided to buy a place on a canal there. Contrary to some reports, the food is fabulous (if you know where to look) and the people are wonderful. It's not like the rest of Europe - not always incredibly clean and pristine - and few grand squares dotted with ancient fountains and gold-laced gargoyles - but beautiful and majestic nonetheless.

If you google Elise Krentzel, you will find an American lady who lives in Amsterdam. She writes reviews and poetry. She also talks a great length about her love for Amsterdam after growing up in NYC.

love it love it love it
Cried in the cab on the way to Schipol.
love it love it love it

Absolutely loved it!!! It's beautiful (the museums, the canals, the open markets), so relaxed, and the city is very easy to navigate. Loved the clean and efficient public transportaton as well as friedly folks. And just like Robyn mentioned in her post earlier, its TOLERANCE.

I can't wait to go back; hopefully this Christmas or next summer.

Wow when i posed this question i was sure there would be a lot of Amsterdam bashers as i often hear people say yeh A'dam was nice but i was glad to get out of there, being put off by the sleazy types who may have accosted them, the drug or redlight district or even litter. Maybe its because this forum is habituated by veteran travelers who appreciate the great human comedy on show here backdropped by a surrealistic beauty only rivalved in my opinion in Europe by Venice (both canal-laced but Amsterdam, called the Venice of the North, actually has more canals than Venice!)as well as intriguing social policies that seem to be in the vanguard of human development (over-the-counter sale of cannabis, by any reckoning less harmful than alcohol, euthanasia and same-sex marriages just to note a few) makes this a VERY special place; a very special place where even more nicely, everyone seems to speak understandably English! Oh to be 20 again and be in today's Amsterdam, that's my reincarnation dream! So it's refreshing to see Fodorites at least appreciate this World Heritage Site, I don't know if UNESCO has officially designated it so, but I do! As for the one post saying terrible beer - don't let an Amsterdammer hear this as the Dutch love their Dutch bier, or "pils" as it is called. Amsterdam...dam...damned...damned...damned!

Amsterdam is a great city...Went there for the first time in 1985 and have been there 10 times since..There is just something about it, that keeps you coming back...I personally love the canals, canal houses, the food, the museums, the coffeeshops, the beer, the shopping, the tolerance.....But I do hate the weather...although last year we went in September and the weather was lovely..We ate dinner outside every day..Now, we don't only travel to Amsterdam...usually we combine our trip to Amsterdam with another European or international destination..I think next summer it will be Amsterdam and Prague...
Hope you all enjoy your next trip to Amsterdam...

Great city to visit! I will admit it didn't win my heart as some other destinations, just a little too dark & northern in feel to be a favorite for me. I found the central district a bit dreary, but loved Leidseplein and Vondelpark districts. Didn't encounter 'sleezy types' at least not in threatening situations, but did see some strange & memorable street performers, again in the Leidseplein main square. And disagree in my own experience that "everyone speaks English" as I had several encounters where Dutch was the deal (as well it should be) in small shops or my low-key hotel.

At least as of 2000, my wife and I loved it. Exceptionally beautiful around the outer 2-3 of the main canals. The Red Light District can always be avoided if you do not want to see it. Very good ethnic food. The people were very friendly and it is a very easy place for english speakers. Personally, we felt comfortable with the tolerance of the place, even if we did not agree with some of the results. It is not a judgmental place that is threatened by people who are different, which we found to be refreshing. We will be back in a couple of weeks as part of a family trip to Europe. We'll see if it has changed in the past 4 years.

This is a late reply to this thread, but I really wanted to register my vote for my passion for Amsterdam. We loved it all (and happy to say only glimpsed the red light district from our canal cruise ... zero interest in that part of the city!) If you asked me to sum up Dutch culture from our experience, I would have to say SOPHISTICATED. It is a tolerant society. The world needs more Holland.

Love it. Wouldn't want to spend my whole vacation there, but will be visiting it for the 5th time this September.

Have been there once--in June 1991. We arrived during a break in the weather after a long rainy seaon, but it still seemed bleak. I kept thinking, what if the dike breaks? I'd go to the two big art museum, plus the Anne Frank house, then take off.

One of my favorite European cities. It doesn't have the "oomph" of some other cities but it's COMPACT, FRIENDLY and has LOTS TO DO. I like the museums so much. I could spend a day in the Rijksmuseum easily. Shopping is nice, too. And the sheer ease and efficiency of Schiphol is another big plus.

One of the replies was that local people don't like Amsterdam, but sorry as a Dutch man who lives in this small town, I can tell you that almost everybody especially youth likes and even loves Amsterdam!. The city has everything (maybe a little too much shoe stores).

Probably the guy from the hotel you have spoken to who said locals don't like it, probably comes from Rotterdam. It's always some kind of 'fight' between Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

But being Dutch, I can tell you that it's good living out there and the oddities everyone speaks about are not that odd for us. We hardly even notice them.

PalQ,
Excellent timing for this question! I will be there the coming weekend! It has been some 20 years since I was there for the last time. Can't wait to see how it evolved.

I'm Dutch, and I love Amsterdam; most people I know do too. Dutch people who shudder at the thought of Amsterdam are mostly provincials, who have been there just once or not at all (believe me, in the village where I grew up, many people had never visited Amsterdam, but hated it nonetheless.)

We will be there Tuesday sept 14, on the way to our hotel from the airport,
I am stoping at the first BROWN cafe I see. LOL

Bigboy; go to Cafe Hoppe on the Spui; it's a classic. Next door Cafe Luxembourg is good too.

Dear Tulips,
Do I ever know what you mean! I live in San Francisco, a city which compares to A'dam in many regards. I can't tell you the number of folks I have run into in the U.S. who have never been to San Fran but will tell you emphatically that it is the modern day Sodom (or Babylon, or Rome, take your pick of ancient fun towns) and they intend to never to go there!

I didn't like Amsterdam at all. I found it to be full of drug addicts & wierdo's even during the day. At night the streets were very quiet & I didn't feel safe, not even around the centre of town.

Bigboy, based on your other Amsterdam inquiries, I just wanted to clarify for you that a "brown cafe" is not a smoke shop (just in case you didn't know...).

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