We're flying to Amsterdam in November around Thanksgiving for a quick visit. Ms_go and I have never been, and neither has our 13-year-old daughter (who is a big fan of the Anne Frank diary, so you can rest assured we'll go see her house).

We've already booked the air and hotel.

We already have the DK Top 10 book for this lively city, so there is no shortage of ideas that we're currently sorting through. But what were your absolute <i>favorite</i> things to do and see there?

Here's a trip report of our 4 days in Amsterdam.

Honestly, our favorite thing to do was simply walking through all the neighborhoods, admiring the architecture, people watching, and stopping at cafes when our feet were tired. Plan on an extensive walk through center city one day and through the Canal rings district, the Jordaan and De Pijp on the others. Pop into museums that interest you as you go along.


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You might want to do a day trip to Haarlem and visit the Corrie Ten Boom house. Haarlem is very close to Amsterdam - won't take you long to get there and its a little less hectic. The Ten Boom family helped many people that were escaping the Nazis. What else to do - a canal boat crusie for sure; maybe the Rykes museum, they have a display of these elaborate doll houses or the Van Gogh if that would interest her more. I love just sitting at cafes near a canal and watching the bikes and boats go by - don't know if in Amsterdam they put out the heaters so people can still sit out in cool weather. You should have no trouble filling the time with interesting things to do!

Definite must sees: Anne Frank House (get there real early or 1.5 hours before closing - the line can get long), Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum, a canal tour (recommend doing the first day to get your bearings), just walking around town (it's a very compact area), eat frites (french fries) with the different sauces.

Spend a day outside of Amsterdam - highly recommend the town of Delft or Den Hague (Harlaam wasn't that impressive). Both towns can be combined into one day trip.

Thanks, folks. Bardo, I'll take a look at your trip report when I get a chance...much obliged!

If I only had three days, I'd definitely do Anne Frank Huis, Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, Canal Boat tour, Our Lord in the Attic, Bujinhof(spelling is wrong I know), and Willet-Holthuysen house. Walk along the canals, sit in the squares, enjoy the ambiance. My trip report is back on 5/6/05. We'll definitely go back, just not sure when.

I loved taking a canal boat tour at night. And we did a bike ride with Yellow Bike, which was lots of fun. We took the daytrip outside the city (dikes, windmills, fishing villages, etc.--just beautiful!), but I think they do a tour in the city, too.

The outdoor markets are fun to wander through. We liked the Albert Cuypmarket (sp?). And the Leidseplein is a fun area for people-watching.

Hi Bardo,

Excellent trip report. Thanks. Lots of good points and a new way of looking at things while planning my own trip. Much appreciated.

I would go to the flower auction, it's amazing to see.

We just returned from Amsterdam, where we spent 4 days total.

I went to the Anne Frank House and was glad I did. I read the diary just before arriving in the city, and I think you appreciate the visit more if you have read the book. I arrived at 3:00 p.m. and there was a little line-up. It was a warm day (above 20 C) and there's no air conditioning, so it can get a bit hot inside.

We went to the Rijksmuseum and were disappointed. At 10 Euros an adult, there wasn't much to see (the exhibition was scaled back due to renovations). We also went to the Van Gogh museum and enjoyed it much better.

We did Mike's Bike Tour one afternoon (meet at the pond on Museumplein). It was a really fun tour which gives you an idea of how riding a bike is in the city. We also visited a cheese and clog factory out of town.

Definitely do a canal cruise. We did an evening cruise and really enjoyed it.

You could also rent a bike for a day or half-day and just ride around. We saw many visitors doing this.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback and trip reports. This is definitely helping to shape our itinerary (bardo1, we're like you--we love to just walk and explore). We're just crossing our fingers for some decent weather--cold is fine, but we're hoping for a little sun.

One question... we will be there from Nov 23-26. From what I've read, it looks like we are arriving after the Sinterklaas parade (Nov 18), and while the city may be decorated for the holidays, we are a bit early for the Christmas market. Correct?

Hmmm . . . no one mentioned sitting down to a riistafel at an Indonesian restaurant, should you need a break from all that, shall we say, elegant Dutch cuisine.

Pausanias - a rijsttafel is definitely on the agenda. We figured our B&amp;B proprietors (Maes/Heren B&amp;B) might have some suggestions for a good one in the area (Herenstraat), but any others are certainly welcome.