fliss

Have booked 3 nights in Amsterdam at the end of April for myself and best firend,it'll be our first time in the city. Does anyone have any tips or recommendations of things to do places to see that 2 single girls might enjoy, Nothing too mad though have planned this to be a relaxing trip, ah but who knows!!

Singletail

If you're "into" art in any way, shape, or form, then you might consider a visit to the Rijksmuseum which is one of the greatest (western) art museums anywhere. There are others in the city which are more narrowly focused, too. Enjoy your trip.

debbie09

Hi fliss

My husband and I spent a week in Amsterdam 2 years ago. We were there in early May and had nice weather. It took us a week to get our bearings with all the canals, but we love the city. (This was my second time there). It is an easy city to manoever and we purchased tram tickets to get us around more quickly. They have pkg deals. Watch out for the bicycles!
Some sites/activities we enjoyed: The Heineken "museum". We took the last tour of the day and they gave us extra beer! (Canadians always like that).
The Van Gogh museum is wonderful and well organized.
A canal tour gives you a great view of the city.
The Rijksmuseum is huge. We spent quite a few hours there, but I would have been content just seeing the Van Gogh collection (the 2 museums are close to each other).
Took a "mike's bike tour" around the city and outlying area. Wonderful. They meet most mornings in front of the Rijks and the tour we took was only a few hours.
It is a great walking city and we did a lot of that. Don't miss the red light district! They have some interseting museums as well.
Indonesian food is delicious!
I went to the Anne Frank museum last visit. It was worthwhile, but you may encouter big crowds depending on what time of the day you go.
You'll see many sites!! Enjoy!!

artstuff

If you're in Amsterdam on April 30th you will be there for Queen's Day, which is one BIG party throughout the country. Expect madness, but fun.

If you're looking for culture, there are the 3 big museums - van Gogh, Stedelijk (modern) and Rijksmuseum (might be partially closed). Everyone should visit the Anne Frank House (IMO). My favorite little museum in Amsterdam is the Church in the Attic (Amstelkring), right in the middle of the red light district. And don't forget the Sex Museum and the Hash Marijuana/Hemp Museum.

If you're looking for night life, there are clubs/bars all around the Leidseplein and the Rembrandtplein. You can catch a band at the Paradiso or the Melkweg.

If you're looking to relax, take a canal ride, walk through the Flower Market and the Waterlooplein Flea Market, stroll through the Jordaan, watch a movie at the Tuschinski Theatre, stop in at a coffeeshop, lay on a blanket in Vondelpark.

There is so much to do and see in Amsterdam. Enjoy your travels. Peace.

Robyn

debbie09

Hi fliss. Amsterdam is great! We spent seven days there two years ago and had a blast. Some things we enjoyed:
The Heineken "museum". We took the last tour of the day and got extra beer (that always makes Canadians happy!)
The Van Gogh museum was wonderful as was the Rijksmuseum. The Rijks is huge and impossible to cover in a short time.
We took a bike tour around the city and the outlying area. Part of the tour included stopping at a windmill and a cheese farm/wooden shoe maker. It was only a couple of hours long. Mike's Bike Tour meets in front of the Rijks. We also did a Yellow Bike tour that took us outside of Amsterdam for a day, but I think they have city tours as well.
Take a canal boat ride-it's a great way to see the city.
Amsterdam is a confusing place to find your way around, but it is a great walking city. We also bought passes to use the tram system. Inexpensive and a good way to get around the city. They have multiple day passes. Watch out for the cyclists.
The red light district is a must see. Walk through during the day to get your bearings and be careful at night-stick to the busiest section.
Indonesian food is delicious!
I went to the Anne Frank house on a previous visit to Amsterdam. It can get pretty crowded, so if you want to go, go early or later in the day.
Have a great time!
If this is my second post to your question-sorry-having some technical problems.

suze

3 nights isn't very long. I'd suggest a visit to Vondelpark one day if the weather's nice, and a walk around the Leidseplein district one evening. A canal boat tour is a fun option. I'm not a museum person myself, so will let others comment on those.

If you haven't booked a hotel yet, again I'd suggest the canal districts, the Jordaan, Leidseplein because I found those parts much more beautiful and welcoming than around Central area of the Dam and Red Light District (more crowded, dreary, gray). The city's not that huge so fairly walkable with trams as an option for getting around.

illusion321

I LOVE AMSTERDAM!!! I was their for 3 nights for the first time this past jan. I love the open-mindedness of the place, and dont woryy about not being able to speak dutch, almost everyone speaks english, and they love to speak to you in english! Walkinf home from the bar me and my friend (we are both females in our early 20's) ran into some drunk dutch guys who asked us if we wanted to "shag", at first we did not know what they were talking about, then one of their freinds realized that we were american (not british) and thats not what we called it in america.. Haha I still laugh about it. BE warned you will approached by many people on the street who want to sell you XTC, coke, or herion. But they are not forceful.
I would visit the Ann Frank house and go early. Also i reccomend just walking around and checking out the various markets. I would buy cheese, dairy products, and fresh bread.

Danna

Even if you aren't "into" gardens being in Amsterdam in April and visiting the Keukenhof Gardens near Lisse is a must. It's a very easy train then bus trip. You will see flower fields on the way and and be simply amazed by the beauty. Enjoy yourselves. Amsterdam is an easy place to explore and love!

RalphK

Just Returned Amsterdam 3/31: Is it too late to change your plans? 1) The Rijks is closed for two years. A tiny section remains open, uselessly overcrowded. 2) The Van Gogh is also jammed, you cannot get near the surprising few Van Goghs. 3)The Anne Frank is just plain sad. 4) The hotels are vastly overpriced and undersized. And those are the good ones. There is nothing that can be found in A'dam that is unique, especially at $1.25 @euro

KS452

To RalphK,

Oh please. Nothing in Amsterdam you cannot find elsewhere in Europe warranting the princely sum of $1.25 to E1? How sad when someone looks to justify the highlights of travel based on a penny's-worth of experience. Amsterdam is one of the true treasures for those seeking the "olde world" juxtaposed with the modern world that is today. There were surprisingly few Van Gogh's at the Van Gogh? How strange, as it is the largest repository of original works by the artist on the planet. The Anne Frank was gloomy? Have you read any history at all? Were you expecting a lighthearted , sun-filled romp through the Amsterdam of 1940? You actually saw nothing monumentally moving, uplifting or inspiring in this phenomenal living history exhibit?

I'm of big advocate of "to each their own", and actually like it when one expresses a dissenting viewpoint, just don't expect it to go unchallenged.

Amsterdam is in a league of her own, admired by many for her people, architecture, art, freedoms and intelligence.

BaltoTraveler

Leisurely canal walks past an stunning assemblage of 17th century buildings, Indonesian food (and any other nationality you can imagine), incredibly good french fries, bike tours (check "Let's Go Tours" in addition to Mike's and Yellow), world's finest marijuana openly sold and consumed in dozens of shops, daytrip to the incomparable Kuekenhof Gardens, dance clubs that are humming well into the wee hours, the Van Gogh Museum, street markets.

As for the Anne Frank House... if you read the book and found it meaningful, by all means see it. If not, you'll find it over-rated considering the long wait in line.

Grasshopper

<i>&quot;3)The Anne Frank is just plain sad&quot;</i>

Gee, you think? Of course it's sad! But it's also incredibly uplifting and hopeful. An amazing testament to survival, hope and humanity.

Amsterdam is one of my favorite places in the world. You have to look beneath the surface; the dam square, the RLD, the coffee shops. But once it gets hold of you it doesn't let go. Have a great trip.

illusion321

I loved the Anne frank house, yes it was sad and my stomach was all tied up in knots (for a while i was actually sick to my stomach) I loved reading her diary and to think that all of what i had read actually took place right where i was, when i walked past the book shelf that they used to hide the entrance way i got chills. I remember what it was like to be 13 and i could not imagine being 13 and basically held hostage inside a tiny attic for 2 years. I had also wanted to visit the Ten Boon's (Sp?) place, where the hiding place was written but we did not have enough time.

suze

Don't let Ralph throw a wet blanket on your preconception of the city. For one thing you don't have to go to any of the places that oh so disappointed him. Just walking around the city is interesting enough.

Have you ever seen so many bicycles? Not to mention locals can ride them in high-heels and miniskirts, while talking on a cell phone, smoking a cigarette and carrying an umbrella!

My first trip was solo and for 5 days. The only museums I went to were Tropenmuseum (it was raining that day) and Sex Museum in RLD (a hoot). My hotel was cheap, charming and well located (59 euro).

Amsterdam did not touch my heart as some places do (try to explain love) but I sure wouldn't trash it entirely. Not to mention I enjoyed the 'coffeeshop' concept immensely.

TheTravelzine

Hello,

Amsterdam is funny. Our first visit years ago left us with a very gloomy impression - like the weather that trip. But last time we were there, we found the city uplifting.

You'll find lots of info at these two URLs:
http://www.thetravelzine.com/ejht1.htm
http://www.thetravelzine.com/ejht2.htm

Regards,
Don and Linda
TheTravelzine is non-commercial

debbie09

The Anne Frank House is worthwhile seeing, especially if you have any interest in the Holocaust. I had read the book, seen the movie and the play. Yes, it is sad. I remember wanting to go to a concentration camp while in Austria. An Austrian woman giving us directions to the train, was mortified when we told her we were going to Mauthausen. She concluded that we should never forget what happened so it doesn't happen again.
I had also read about Corrie Ten Boom and we took a side trip to Haarlem from Amsterdam. Unfortunately it was a holiday, so the house was closed. We rented bikes and drove out to the beach at Bloemendaal aan Zee. Gorgeous and uplifting!

BDM

Dear Fliss,

There are a ton of things to do in A'dam! We were there with our daughter in December and even with terrible weather we could have stayed longer than the week we had.

A couple of my humble observations:

Get the Museum pass and see as much as you'd like. If I remember correctly, the modern Museum is closed for a few years for renovations. The Rjeiksmuseum has all of the major pieces in the Phillips Wing and vdery enjoyable. We also loved the TroppenMuseum and the Shipping Museum.

THe museum pass also includes unlimited tram and bus use although you can walk almost anywhere.

Great Asian food, in fact we thought the food was great in general.

Fantastic people

Make sure you visit the exhibit from the Hermitage at the Neuwe Church.

let me know if you need any more info at [email protected]

Brian

Beth

fliss: I just returned from Amsterdam three weeks ago, and was deeply moved seeing the Anne Frank house. I had arrived by train from Praque, where I had spent one day touring the Terrezin concentration camp. I had hoped to also visit the Corrie ten Boom house, but info was sketchy on their open times. Also, the Rijks collection is fabulous. Even though only a small portion of the collection is on view, it is the BEST of the collection, and still took me over two hours to absorb.

Have a great trip.
Beth

Beth

fliss: If you are into art, about one hour out of Amsterdam is the Kroller-Muller Museum in Otterlo. It is an incredible collection located in a vast park. I got off the train at Arnhem, then took two city busses to get there, and it is well worth it. There are more than 50 Van Goghs in the collection, as well as a staggering range of impressionist and post-impressionist works.

Also, I got to the Anne Frank house at 9:10 AM on Sunday, and there was already a line, but I got in in about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!
Beth

hillview

To breeze right into the Anne Frank Haus - go early evening. We went @ 7:30 pm and had absolutely no line last week.