We are taking a Christmas market river cruise in December( Amsterdam to Basel). We have added three days in Amsterdam to the beginning of our trip and are looking for suggestions for those three days. We enjoy museums, bookstores, trying local food and wine, and pretty much any experience that has a local flavor. Any suggestions to help us get the most out of our time in Amsterdam are appreciated! Thank you!

The Resistance Museum in Amsterdam is the best I've seen anywhere.

The last time I went, the Resistance Museum seemed to have been much simplified in its narrative, but, yes, if the topic interests you it is a good overview. Round the corner is the Hollandsche Schouwburg, a former theatre used as a collection/transit point for deportations, and now kept as a memorial.

As for bookshops here are some suggestions:
https://whatshotblog.com/amsterdam-bookshops/

Or one secondhand shop where I found the perfect English language book on a specialist topic for a present for a relative: Antiquariaat Kok on Oude Hoogstraat.

The Tuschinski cinema is worth a look for the exterior and foyer architecture alone (and you can have a coffee in the foyer).
https:/www.amsterdamsights.com/nightlife/tuschinski.html

Hi! I am just finishing my own trip itinerary for Amsterdam after Christmas. We have the following planned:

Canal boat ride
Walking Tour
Anne Frank House
Van Gogh Museum
Rijksmuseum
Jordaan neighborhood - Sonneveld lunch
9 Streets shopping
Rembrandt House
Pompa Pasta - dinner

Hope that helps!

The Amsterdam light festival will be on so if you can book a canal tour to appreciate it from the water. Otherwise just enjoy a walk around to enjoy it.
https://amsterdamlightfestival.com/en/

Go over on a free ferry to the NDSM area for a different take on the city.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NDSM

Many museums will need to be booked in advance, so decide on those asap and book them. You may already be too late for the Anne Frankhuis.
The Nieuwe Kerk has an exhibition called Mokum, a Biography of Jewish Amsterdam which may be of interest.
https://www.nieuwekerk.nl/en/

Can I also suggest visiting Museum Willet Holthuysen and/or Museum van Loon: both are merchant' s mansions from the golden age and both will have their Christmas decorations out. It's a unique look at how Amsterdam patrician families lived. Especially Willet Holthuysen is beautifully decorated top to bottom. That house was built for entertaining guests and the elegance is stunning.

If you want to do a unique tour you could book with https://deceuvel.nl/tours/

De Ceuvel is a unique art/living project in Amsterdam Noord. If you're feeling really adventurous, you could even book a room in their hotel: you get an entire North Sea fishing boat to yourself in a very quiet part of Amsterdam.

NDSM has already been mentioned. A big yes! The ferry ride over there is already an adventure. There used to be a Russian submarine moored at the ferry landing, but no longer. When NDSM started as a pioneering place back in 2004, I had my studio there, and I love it dearly. Kunststad is nice and do visit Noorderlicht for drinks and dinner.

Off the beaten path

Pointing out one great spot for lunch and dinner, run by the same family: Pension Homeland at the former navy yard near the Maritime Museum. And Cafe Bern on Nieuwmarkt. Book Cafe Bern, because it's small and popular.
Latei, on Zeedijk, has the cutest interior and the best coffee of the entire city.
Usually the Oude Kerk commissions a huge site specific art installation that you can visit during december. There have been some spectacular ones. This year's piece is by Minne Kersten: There's Always Another Twist https://www.minnekersten.com/

Luxembourg on Spui is a great spot for lunch, coffee, a beer etc. and so is De Jaren on Doelenstraat
If you're near the Rembrandthuis, don't go to the touristy place on the corner, but to Tisfris opposite.
De Waag on Nieuwmarkt is a cafe/restaurant inside the old Weighing House. Upstairs is the anatomical theatre that is the scene of Rembrandt' s "Anatomy Lesson" painting.
Generally the area east of Nieuwmarkt is nicer and quieter than the area west of Nieuwmarkt aka the RLD.

If you're going for the Big Museums, don' t overlook the Stedelijk Museum (contemporary art). Just beyond the Museumplein is Oud Zuid: an area for the well-heeled. Brasserie Keyzer is an institution.

Apart from the resistance museum there is the Jewish Historical Museum, housed in an interlinked complex of 3 former synagogues. It has a kosher style cafe (no hechsher because they're open on the saturday). If you do a tour with JHM (not on saturdays) you also get to visit the Portuguese Synagogue and its historical library. I would gladly trade the Anne Frank House for a visit to the Esnoga, but ymmv.

Enjoy Amsterdam. Don' t believe the hype about stroopwafels, bitterballen and herring.

Hi Menachem: We visited Amsterdam and other places in Holland in 2023 and loved every minute! We look forward to returning some time as we only touched the surface. Do you happen to know anything about that pink mayonaise-y sauce they serve with French fries? I think about it from time to time... Thanks in advance.

OP: You'll have a glorious time in Amsterdam. It is lovely and the people are friendly and helpful. Public transport is quite good, but, watch for the bicyclists and trams.

Take trams
get out of the way of cyclists
;-)

Hi trophywife, I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think there is a 'usual' pink sauce in Dutch frituur culture, although they might have borrowed Sauce Andalouse from the Belgians.

Here is a recipe: https://www.twoforksandapassport.com...uce-andalouse/ The kind of Andalouse I am used to is less dark, but you would just add more mayonnaise to vary the colour. I have also seen (unnamed) recipes adding tomato sauce (ketchup) to mayonnaise, mustard (not that burny English mustard but a milder one, maybe Dijon would be OK), and garlic powder. I encourage you to at least experiment with mayonnaise and tomato sauce, even that is very good, and simple to achieve . Yum!

Lavandula

The Dutch usually have Frietsaus, a cheaper lower fat mayonnaise relative (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritessaus), but you can get all sorts of sauces to top your patat including saté sauce, Joppie sauce, curry, and combinations of them such as patatje oorlog (war) which is with frietsaus and saté sauce with raw onion.
Can't think of a pinkish one off hand, but we don't eat patat very often.

Yeah, agree that it's not any of hetismij's suggestions, unless it is just tomato sauce mixed with mayonnaise (which is also a thing), I don't know what else it could be. That photo in the link is not representative of the Sauce Andalouse you can buy commercially from the supermarket, it's much more like a pale pink sauce in the jars you can buy (for example, La William is one brand that I have bought before which is like that pink colour). Afraid it's probably going to be a mystery, trophywife!

Lavandula

Sounds like Marie Rose sauce, which I've only met in prawn cocktail, but wouldn't surprise me if it or some variant caught on in the Netherlands
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Rose_sauce

Do we really need to buy tickets to the Light Festival?

Depends on if you want to see it from the water or are happy to just walk around and view it.
From a boat you need tickets, whether you need them in advance or not probably depends on the service you choose.


Patrick - the Dutch would never put that on their patat. Maybe somewhere catering only to tourists would have it but I doubt it. It may have been a mix of frietsaus and ketchup as Lavendula suggests, but I haven't seen that offered in most snackbars.

Thank you all for your responses and for indulging my little thread hi-jacking. This "pink stuff" came every we ordered fries, one time they'd added a little sriracha which was fabulous. I'll check out these links and raise a glass in your honor. All the best to you!

Ah sriracha mayo is a thing TW. I tend to make my own, as I like it hot, but I do have a shop bought bottle in the fridge right now as it is easier for hamburgers or whatever.
Many Dutch don't like "pittig" (hot/spicy) food despite the long Indonesian tradition, so it would be listed as an option rather than given as the normal dollop of frietsaus.

This may be interesting for other people who plan to visit Amsterdam. On Monday, October 27, 2025, Amsterdam will officially celebrate its 750 birthday.
On October 27, 1275, the ruling count Floris V, granted toll privileges to the inhabitants of the then small settlement, giving them freedom from having to pay tolls for transporting goods though the County of Holland. This was a key political move to gain influence in the region and a major economic boost that helped the city grow into a trade center. The privilege is also historically significant as it is the oldest known document mentioning the name "Amsterdam".
To commemorate this special event, a new exhibition will be opened: https://www.amsterdaminmotion.nl/en/ It is the world's largest multi media maquette of a city. I very much look forward to visiting it soon!

One last tip: visit Mouse Mansion. It's near Spui now, but it used to be in Jordaan. Its creator and founder, Karina Schaapman started building rooms as storybook scenes for an expanding family of toy mice as an act of mourning. The focus is on Sam and Julia and their relatives and friends: their mum and dad, a grandpa who is a sailor, 3 baby sibling mice, an artist, a friend, Ella, who's a dancer... Fast forward and Mouse Mansion has grown into a global family business, but the ethos still is the joy of creating from scratch. Schaapman's genius is that her kits make this super accessible to children. At Mouse Mansion you can see the full collection of diorama-like scenes that Schaapman built for her picture books, all by hand and often from scrap items. And of course you can buy your own mice there too and their adorable domestic bits and bobs. https://www.themousemansion.com/

Entry is free, you can just walk in and I guarantee you'll stay longer than you thought you would https://www.themousemansion.com/page...-mouse-mansion

Do use the binoculars they have because it's all incredibly rich in detail.

There's also an adorable YT channel: Karina Schaapman:

We put that on kibbelingen. That's seafood! I like my friet with lemon mayonnaise. #TeamFriet