baldone

OK. I took your advice and googled. Although I didn't really need to since for the last 10 years I've lived just a 2-3 hours (in an area that has an identical climate) from CDMX and have been there plenty of times over the last 10-15 years. The average highs for February are 72 F and 22 C. I don't necessarily think you were fibbing, I just think you made a wrong assumption based on one brief visit and thus made a leap in logic that just simply wasn't accurate.

baldone

What didn't you like about Mexico City when you visited? And what specifically did you enjoy about Amsterdam?

ssbbaa77

I’d like to know too. Thank you

danon

What people like or dislike about any place is often
related to their interest...be it culture, history , climate, food,
etc...One is occasionally surprised with the feeling about a city or town after the first visit -
positive or negative. Posters often express rather opposite view
about the same location.
It is really subjective.

mlgb

LOL I think I know the answer to the first half of the question...She has never been to Mexico City.

menachem

That wasn't a requirement for answering, though.

Have you been to Amsterdam? Then that should settle it, no?

Dennisvandregeest

consider going to Historic center of Mexico City

hetismij2

Amsterdam is cold in April? really? Maybe compared to Mexico City but hardly cold here then.
There are a million threads on days trips from Amsterdam on Fodors. How long you stay is up to you, and whether you stay in Amsterdam or move somewhere else is also an option of course, either somewhere else in the Netherlands or to another European country.

mlgb

I have been to both, whereas suze has not. However that has never stopped her from giving advice.

mlgb

Cold depends on what you are used to. The coldest I've ever been was an April in Europe (Paris and Amsterdam). OTOH Mexico City where I was in early February was never below the mid-50s or above the mid 70's. April being a transitional month can have a wide swing in termperatures, depending on what cold front is coming through, as well as the wind chill factor (which was why I was so friggin' cold there).

Weatherbase allows you to look up historical temps on specific dates, did you know? Nice on a monthly chart so you can see the ranges.

EG 2019 Amsterdam
https://www.wunderground.com/history...AM/date/2019-4

Mexico City
https://www.wunderground.com/history...MX/date/2019-4

suze

I traveled solo to Amsterdam and had a great time.

I have never been to Mexico City which is why I did not say one word about it.

I did not give "advice" to anyone.

mlgb

When someone is asking about a choice between two locations, a one word answer "Amsterdam" is not a recommendation? MmmKaaaaay.

Anyways now the OP knows what they are dealing with as afar as that goes.

hetismij2

It seems to me this post would have been better off in the Mexico forum.

Obviously Amsterdam is colder than Mexico city - it is much further north for a start, and surrounded by water.
OP did not say they wanted warmth, they said they wanted culture and walking. Amsterdam is exteremly walkable and has the odd bit of culture lurking in it too.
But it seems Amsterdam/Netherlands advocates are not welcome on this thread, so I for one am butting out.

amyb

I've been to Amsterdam twice and Mexico City once. The driving factor for me in most places is the art and culture followed by the food. Museums, hands down, are stronger in Amsterdam. The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum are hard to beat, absolutely world class. There was nothing in CDMX comparable. The Palacio de Bellas Artes and Museo de Arte Moderno are great for Mexican art, but if you don't know or appreciate that, you're kind of lost. The Frida Kahlo house museum was a pilgrimage for me but I really like her so your mileage may vary. CDMX is also really spread out and a lot of what we wanted to see was much farther afield and not easy to get to by public transportation (Teotiuachan, Dolores Olmedo Museum). The Templo Mayor is cool and Amsterdam certainly doesn't have that, but you do have to appreciate ruins and the history of the city. The public art, especially by the muralists, is great and free! Don't get me wrong, I really loved CDMX and would love to return, but I think Amsterdam has a lot more on offer for what I was looking for. The food though, is just amazing in CDMX.

My first trip to Amsterdam was in tulip season. A day trip to the Keukenhof during tulip season is a must. Even if you don't like flowers (I don't) the colors are amazing and what they do with them is really cool and seeing the tulip fields is a breathtaking experience. Other day trips we did were Delft and Haarlem, which are quaint towns fun to poke around in for a day. Oddly the week we were there for tulip season, it was over 85F and ridiculously hot for a couple of days, hotter than when we were in CDMX in November!

suze

This post is in the Europe forum. And I had one great solo trip to Amsterdam. I found the city very easy to visit with very little preparation. I was there just 4-5 days solo at the beginning of a Europe trip to visit friends. I had not done much planning just read Let's Go Amsterdam but still had a wonderful time. I stayed in the canal rings neighborhood at Hotel Kap, a simple affordable 2-star with a decent breakfast offered. I got around on foot touring in the central area (dam, RLD, flower markets), around Leidseplein and Vondelpark. As far out as the Tropenmuseum.

Now it's a recommendation.

ssbbaa77

Yes, I read about the Van Gogh museum through top 10 do eye witness Amsterdam and it is intriguing. I do like flowers as well...
as for the weather, here in the PNW we did get great amount of rain this winter so it would be ideal to have a break of possible but I that is not my primary reason for traveling. I travel to explore different cultures and explore world class museums/arts as much as possible.
The more relaxed the environment is the better and the less traffic the more enjoyable. For example Tokyo , Rome and Naples were more tiring to me compared to Positano in Amalfi, Venice or Florence...

thank you very much

hetismij2

Late April is too late for tulips or Keukenhof.

suze

The more relaxed the environment is the better and the less traffic the more enjoyable.

Well if that is your criteria... the population of Mexico City is around 9 million people. Population of Amsterdam is less than 1 million.

MmePerdu

...& a million bicycles.

suze

For someone who has now expressed liking a more relaxed environment, and who found Tokyo, Rome, and even Naples tiring and less enjoyable for being too hectic or overwhelming or whatever their reasons, I just don't see how Mexico City would be a good fit.