I'm going to Amsterdam soon and was wondering if anyone could suggest some interesting attractions or places to visit?

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I'm going to Amsterdam soon and was wondering if anyone could suggest some interesting attractions or places to visit?

3 Answers

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Answer 1

I'll leave the attractions for others to answer. There are a lot of things to see there and you can't really go wrong even if you have no idea of what there is to see. You can on the other hand really screw your trip up by not having a room reserved.

Americans think they can pick up an empty room, but there aren't any empty rooms. Seriously! You could easily see lines of people at tourist information places looking for affordable rooms and those might be several hours away.

On my third trip to Amsterdam someone else was in charge of getting rooms for us and they mistakenly thought we could just show up and grab something. Unfortunately we didn't find this out until we were already there and it really messed up our weekend.

Since then I've heard more than one story of people mistakenly doing the same thing. Don't do it!!!

Answer 2

Amsterdam is a great choice for a getaway. There are so many interesting places to see, and here are some of my favorite:

The canals. I'd highly recommend you take a tour of Amsterdam's historic web of 165 canals. They allow you to get in touch with the city in a far more interesting way than touring it on foot. You'll be able to see some impressive architecture and some beautiful sights.
If you're interested in history then I would encourage you to visit the Anne Frank House museum. Here you can see for yourself the secret area that Anne Frank and her relatives lived in for years, and where the famous diary was written. Even if you're not that interested in history, I will guarantee you'll be moved by this museum.
Visit De Wallen - Amsterdam's red light district. There is far more to this area of the city than just sex tourism and seedy old men. It's a beautiful part of the city and you'll certainly find it an eye-opening experience. De Wallen is also home to some great restaurants.
Hop on a bike! Cycling is the city's favorite form of transport, so why not explore Amsterdam's many beautiful streets Dutch-style.
Visit one of Amsterdam's famous coffeeshops. The legalisation of cannabis in this part of the world has not led to depravity, instead the coffeeshops offer an alternative to a normal cafe and are a great place to hang out with friends. A quarter of all visitors to Amsterdam pop into one of these coffeeshops during their visit, and its probably because of their unique atmosphere and feel.

Answer 3

When you are visiting such a touristic hot-spot, I think it becomes very difficult to distinguish the good from the bad. So we were lucky enough to discover a lovely little pancake restaurant in the old district of Amsterdam:

http://upstairspannenkoeken.nl/?page_id=56&lang=en

It is renowned for being the smallest restaurant in the world and the decor is very quirky but they make amazing pancakes (sweet and savoury). And although not cheap, prices are standard for the area.

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If you're not into pancakes then it won't stop you getting hungry, but the Van Gogh gallery was also pretty special. It has been temporarily relocated to The Hermitage, but will return to the Van Gogh Museum on 25th April:

http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/index.jsp?lang=nl

It doesn't really matter if you're not into art - impressionism is pretty impressive. I would recommend reading up on it beforehand if you are not familiar with the 19th century art movement.