robyn - yes indeedy Zaanse Schans should definitely be on the list - I've been there several times and always loved it. Thanks for the input - Spaarndam I am only briefly familiar with so next time in Haarlem I'll get off at Spaarndam and walk to Haarlem.

Muiderslot is actually on my yet to do list! Will also do it next time after you brought it up!

Thanks!

# Days in Amsterdam for a First-Timers

Day 1 - Ann Frank House - check out the nearby Westerkerk as well (http://www.westerkerk.nl/) and walk along some of the most quaint canals in Amsterdam - head south from the Anne Frank and perhaps go over west a canal or so - head farther into the famous Jordaan. At night take a boat ride thru the canals (from one of several places - try to get one that goes into the port area as well - better at night IME because the bridges are are sublimely illuminated.

Walk thru Amsterdam's pedestrian shopping street to Dam Square and the Royal Palace, which can be visited but IMO there is not much there really as royal palaces go.

Visit the famous Red-Light district just on the east side of Dam Square if visiting that tawdry area is in you plans

Head to the Mint Plein and visit the famous Flower Market

Day 2 - Museum Day

Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh and Modern Art all major world-class museums sitting like three ducks in a row on Museum Plein - check out the heavily fortified American Consulate (Embassy?) on Museum Plein. A stroll thru Vondel Park - near the museums is always fun - Amsterdam's Central Park or also near the museums is the Heineken Experience - where you see how the beer is made on videos and get tastings (this is on the site of the former Heineken Museum, which was torn down a few decades ago - all that is left is the Experience part - very popular with younger folk.

Day 3 - Visit some lesser museums - like the unique Our Lord in the Attack - the Hermitage (branch of the famous one in Saint Petersburg - take the free ferries from behind the main train station to see Amsterdam from over the water as sailors did for years when approaching it and also to witness the zillions of bikers using these boats as they make a mad dash off them when docking. Do some shopping - wander around canals or go to the famous Flea Market opposite the Stopera or City Hall (if you have had something stolen in Amsterdam the old motto is that you can probably buy it back here!)

Oh well three days is perfect for Amsterdam, a rather smallish town in its city center - eminently walkable.

I'll suggest:

Take the ferry across and have lunch at NDSM shipyard,

or

Take the ferry across and take the local bus to Durgerdam

menachem - I am in Amsterdam right now for some days - can you give me (and others) more info on lunch at the NDSM shipyard - sounds neat - and Durgerdam - a cute village - please elaborate and many thanks for posting this.

NDSM is an old shipyard "above" the IJ. You get there with a free of charge ferry from Central Station - it takes about 20 minutes to cross. Look out for the Russian submarine near where it lands. There are a couple of good spots for lunch: IJkantine, immediately opposite where the ferry docks, and on NDSM proper: Noorderlicht and PLLEK (the latter only in summer). Noorderlicht is the reincarnation of De Houten Kop, which was a strawbale building, and sadly burned down. Noorderlicht is in the same spot and has a great view across the IJ towards the central Amsterdam.

The area has many artists' studios, and is still home to a number of eccentrics who live in old tram carriages. Its industrial, gritty nature makes it a favorite of art directors who need industrial, gritty exteriors for their film and photo shoots. European MTV has its offices there and a host of smaller "cultural creatives" has NDSM as a base. Be there on friday when Shiloh Soundsystem play their reggae vibes and serve up dinner to anyone who comes.

http://www.janeverink.com/articles/durgerdam.htm

Nice spot for lunch if you do a biking tour through Waterland: Durgerdam, Ransdorp, Holysloot. A great day out in a quintessentially Dutch landscape, ridiculously close to the city. A distinguishing feature of Dutch city planning is that there are no large areas of urban sprawl. Dutch cities are set in a park like rural landscape, so getting to "the countryside" happens immediately when you leave the last rows of city housing behind.

Apple cake & coffee at Winkel every day you are in Amsterdam

I second that. Winkel is the best.

http://www.winkel43.nl/

At Noordermarkt - one of the prettiest parts of Amsterdam.

I saw people drinking beer with their apple cake at Winkel.

http://www.ndsm.nl/en/

NDSM shipyard official site and again many thanks to menachem for turning me on to this!

<The area has many artists' studios, and is still home to a number of eccentrics who live in old tram carriages.>

as a tram and rail buff this attracts me so so much - again thanks for the info!

Tot Ziens!

I returned form Amsterdam three weeks ago...my fifth visit.
Although I like the city, the avalanche of bicycles ( and speeding idiots) drove me crazy.

Went to Amsterdam on a home exchange in July, and we had a blast.

We also took a 20 minute bus to Muider to see the Muiderslot (castle). What we didn't expect was to totally love Muider as well. Totally cute, probably all for the tourists but not obviously so.

We had our daughter with us, and loved how the museums all had interactive spots or children's audio tours. Awesome city.

thanks so much for posting about Muider Castle - one place I've never been to even though practically on Amsterdam's doorstep - will put it on my list for my hopefully forthcoming Amsterdam sojourn this winter.

Dank u very wel!

http://goamsterdam.about.com/od/wheretoshopinamsterdam/tp/topshopping.htm>

The Nine Little Streets is a chic shopping area for small stores and boutiques - I actually had never heard of it before someone mentioned it - even though I have been going to A'dam annually about for decades. Shopping is not my bag!

But for others here is a low-downb on Amsterdam's top shopping venues.

Keuken van 1870 - a unique iconic Amsterdam restaurant serving cheap old-fashioned meals from the 1800s is indeed closed it seems for good so ignore any mention of that above.

Anyone got any neat Amsterdam restaurants you liked?

Eastern Docklands Redevelopment and the IJ Tram

http://www.easterndocklands.com/east2.html

A nice area of redevelopment just east of the main train station is the Eastern Docklands where a new town has been created with an imitation Ventian (to me at least) architecture with canals, etc. The IJ tram (dank u very wel for the correction menachem!) goes right there and beyond to even more vast all-new towns.

Strange that Amsterdam in its ancient center is a bastion of centuries-old facades - and often only facades with the ancient buildings behind them being gutted and now thoroughly modern - but the old center is ringed by some of the finest IMO modern architecture in Europe - thus a dichotomy exists where Amsterdam is the rare city in Europe with both the neatest untouched city center (at least from a facade point of view!) with an unfettered modern ring around it.

You can take a train all around Amsterdam and be constantly amazed by the new architecture.

PalenQ: Did I miss something?? Couldn't wait to read your thoughts on GREAT DAY TRIPS FROM AMSTERDAM. Planning a driving trip around Holland and Belgium and didn't want to miss anything. Your commentary has been a great help. Trying to figure out where we should base ourselves to minimize the hotel/B&B changes. We'll probably fly into Amsterdam (although there aren't any direct flights from Mia) and return from Brussels. I'm planning on 3 weeks, probably in Aug/Sept. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

thanks for the nice comments loving2retirement!

No I never did the day trips part so I thought well why not - I put a list together last night of the major day trips and some lesser ones to boot.

So I'll start again on that.

Popular Day Trips (in no real order)
HAARLEM
ALKMAAR AND ITS CHEESE MARKET
MARKEN & VOLENDAM & EDAM
ROTTERDAM
DELFT
DEN HAGUE
GOUDA
KINDERDIJK WINDMILLS
ZAANSE SCHANS WINDMILLS AND ZUIDER ZEE MUSEUM
UTRECHT
THE FLOWER FIELDS AND KEUKENHOF
BICYCLE EXCURSIONS
KROLLER-MULLER AND HOOGE VELUWE NATIONAL PARK
ZANDVOORT & NORTH SEA DUNES
ISLAND OF TEXEL
MUIDEN AND MUIDER SLOT (CASTLE)
AALSMEER FLOWER AUCTION

Just for starters...

again thanks for the nice comments!

Thanks for your suggestions PalenQ. We plan on spending two full days in and around Amsterdam and two more days doing excursions to and from. I was thinking of doing a drive to Zaandam/Zaanstad, Volendam, Edam, and Alkmaar in one day trip and Broek-in-Waterland, Monnickendam, Marken, Hoorn, and Enkhuizen on another full day. On the last day, we would be leaving Holland enroute to Rotterdam. On the way, we planned on stopping at Lisse, Leiden and Den Hague. Will probably spend one night in Rotterdam. After exploring the city the next day, we would continue onto Antwerp where we'll spend two nights. That should give us at least 2 full days to do excursions from there before moving onto Belgium. Is this plan way to ambitious?

Great thread with lost of great suggestions.
Thank you for sharing. We are planning a trip for April next year wanted to visit for the tulips and gardens. But worried about it being Kings day and finding accommodation.