First Trip to Amsterdam
 

We are senior citizens. Normally we travel to France, Ireland or Italy.

We love art and cultural things including classical music concerts. My wife likes craft fairs. We plan to visit the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh to see the Rembrandt exhibition as well as the Ann Frank House.

We will be in Amsterdam at the Fita Hotel for seven nights starting on April 20.

Please suggest:

-One day train trips (besides one to Keukenhof Gardens).
-Interesting Amsterdam restaurants.
-Other things to see in Amsterdam itself.

Thanks.

Anthony

holland.com

iamsterdam.com

One day train trips:
Haarlem
Den Haag
Delft
Gouda

Other Amsterdam sites:
Stedelijk museum (modern art)
Droog Design (avant garde design)
Theatre Carre
Concertgebough (sp? for concerts)
Walk, walk, walk along the canals
Rembrant House
Regulierstraat where the 7 bridges cross the canals
Canal tour
Bejinhof
The Rough Guide to the Netherlands is a very good, opinionated and accurate guide to the country.

If the weather is nice... visit Vondelpark, it's beautiful.

Consider getting orchestra tickets ahead of time. The best performances may sell out. Here's the website:

http://www.concertgebouworkest.nl/en/

So interesting to read that (screen Name)Powell will be in Amsterdam at the Fita Hotel. My daughter and I(I am a senior citizen also) April 19-26.
I have also been researching what we want to do. Thanks for the suggestions which will also help us. Definitely the Keukenhof Gardens one day and the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum Museum and the Ann Frank House. I had also thought about another day trip-maybe to Delft or Harleem. My daughter will definitely want to go to the zoo one day-a grownup who loves her zoos. Also good restaurants near the Hotel Fita for evening time.
Maybe we will meet you one day at the hotel, Anthony.

You should east at one of the Indonesian Rijsttafel restaurants. They serves meals cojsiting of several little dishes.

For sight seeing, one of the oldest synagogues in Europe is in Amsterdam, the Porteguese Synagogue which you can tour.

Looks like a bunch of us will be in Amsterdam at the same time. I checked that concert site. I want to go see an orchestra but I could only find a couple of dates. What am I missing on that site?

Tamara,

You are right, the website is still showing the 2005-2006 season (which ends March 2006).

If you don't want to wait for them to update their website showing the April 2006- March 2007 season (which I'm sure they will be doing very soon), then simply order the brochure.

Click on "concerts", then "brochure" to order.

Thanks Bardo, but I leave next Thursday so there will be no time to get it. However, I'll pick up a local newspaper or event guide when I get there. BUt thanks.

FYI, just found this site http://www.hiptravelguide.com/amsterdam/php/index.php

I think you might like - and with seven days you could have time for - some of the less obvious museums, such as the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the nearby Begijnhof, and the Willet-Holthuysen Museum: http://www.ahm.nl/

or the Amstelkring:
http://www.museumamstelkring.nl/engels/enindex.html

You could do a day trip to Delft and The Hague by train, and visit the Mauritshuis: http://www.mauritshuis.nl/index.aspx?siteid=54

Haarlem has the Frans Hals Museum, and is only half an hour away by train.

Utrecht has the museum of mechanical musical instruments, which is much more fun than the name suggests:
http://www.museumspeelklok.nl/speelklok/uk/

The train ride to Brussels is great for spotting windmills and walking around in that city is such a treat! DD and I weren't impressed with Den Haag but had to pull ourselves away from Brussels in order to catch our train back to A'dam.

Madurodam can be a fun experience and I definitely second the museum of mechanical/musical instruments in Utrecht.

www.rembrandt400.com
Holland celebrates Rembrandt 400

Thanks to all for the advice. Fodorites are the best!

Anthony

We enjoyed a couple of hours in Zaanse Schans (despite rain) for "postcard" Holland. Some might think a bit touristy but it's only 20 min. by train to Zaandam, then about a 20 min. stroll to the village.

Artis Zoo is nice.

Went to a small but good quality art/craft show on Rembrandtplein last Sept. and I think they have them several times a year, so you might be lucky when you're there.

I would recommend you investigate the Museum Card (available at most museums that honor it - we got it at the Rijksmuseum). We found it more useful than the I-Amsterdam card for a longer stay since it is good for a year. You can also use it at some of the "house" museums like Amstelkring, van Loon, and Willet-Holthuysen. It's good at museums all over the Netherlands, so if you plan to go to museums in other towns as well, it might be a better bet for you. The Museum Card, strippenkarts for the trams, and a separate canal boat tour were much more economical for us for 9 days. (Assume you are aware that the Rijksmuseum is undergoing renovations and has only about 200 items on display, so you can easily do that and the Van Gogh the same day - maybe even the same morning. Stedelijk Museum is also being renovated.)

Not sure where the Fita Hotel is located, but there are interesting, moderately-priced ethnic restaurants near Leidseplein, around Lange Leidse Dwarsstraat and Korte Leidse Dwarsstraat. We particularly liked a Nepalese/Tibetan called Sherpa - much better than a Tibetan restaurant we went to near the Red Light District. There was a pancake restaurant, I think on Leidsekade, by the little park with all the bronze lizards, that was good and had a much greater variety of pancakes than most places. These are convenient to the Rijksmuseum. Worst meal we had was at a place on The Dam. (But I should have known better, shouldn't I?)

If you do a search on this forum for restaurants in Amsterdam, you will come up with quite a few suggestions. I gathered quite a list for last Sept. and have plenty left to try this Sept. My husband always has a dinner for business associates at The Five Flies, but my Dutch friends laugh and suggest that anyone having dinner there eat a hefty snack before going. Restaurant Haesje Claes, Spuistraat 273-275, is very near The Five Flies and was recommended highly by Fodorites. We never made it last year but will go this year since we are staying in the area this time.

We are just back from a short trip to Amsterdam. The first one after about 15 years. We were a little disappointed I must say. The city was very dirty, many of the wonderful houses and bridges ruined by sprayers. Not like it used to be....Sigh!

here are some suggestion of things to see in amsterdam: (1) the royal palace at dam square, (2) concerts at the Concert bldg near the museums, (3) canal boat tours; get boats along damrack street when you exit centraal station, and (4) a slow walk along some of the main canals west of dam square in the area called the jordaan. as for some day trips: (1) haarlem is a short trip (20 min), (2) utrecht, and old city with unique sunken canals founded by the romans in 49A.D., (3) delft, where the film "Girl with the Pearl Earring" was made, and (4) naarden vesting (if you like history) i think the old town is the only town surrounded by double walls and moats, but you'll have to take a short cab ride to the fortress from the naarden rail station. have fun!!!

we spent a long weekend in AMS last april - check out my trip report with a lot of places to see and eat.