Any suggestions for must see sites other than the Anne Frank house?
For starters:
• Rijksmuseum
• Van Gogh Museum
• Begijnhof
• Canal Boat Tour
• Vondelpark (picnic)
Skieurope’s suggesions +
Rijsttafel (sp?) at an Indonesian Restaurant.
Dinner in the Leidseplein.
If u like sushi, try a haring. I like them best as a broodje haring met uitjes.
Dutch sushi?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tif1ycKUXQ
It’s actually pretty good. The Dutch tend to absolutely butcher food, but they do OK with simple seafood. Otherwise, prepare yourself for this gourmet offering … https://biennalebicycleandbeyond.files.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2011/12/sam_3770.jpg
For the rest, it’s all about finding ethnic food. Hence, the references to the Indonesian rijstafel.
Apple pancakes!
Dutch cuisine is an oxymoron. Broodje haring met (of zonder) ui is definitely an acquired taste.
I’d think twice about the Anne Frank house. If you only have two days, you probably don’t want to spend a good part of one of them waiting in line.
And maybe this is obvious, but I recommend just wandering around the city. It’s a great place for poking around, looking in the shop windows, looking at the bikes and the buildings, stopping for a coffee and a stroopwafel.
Agreed. I was thinking that went without saying, but I’m glad you said it. I especially recommend the 9 Straatjes for that.
Mmmmm. Stroopwafels!!
Alternatively, you can buy your tickets online in advance.
http://www.annefrank.org/en/Museum/Practical-information/Online-ticket-sales/
I have been to Amsterdam several times and would definitely recommend the Anne Frank Haus. If you don’t reserve online which I did not do last time I was there. get there early. Make it a priority to arrive early and the wait will not be as long. Granted last time I was there was the end of October so it wasn’t prime tourist season but we were there by 9 AM and only waited about 15-20 minutes. A friend of mine was there in July a few summers ago and they went during the evening.
I would also recommend the Stedjelik. the Rembrandt House and the Jewish History Museum. There is also the Museum of Dutch Resistance.
It is a great walking city. Enjoy!
Reserve your tickets for Anne Frank ahead of time and schedule for the first showing of the day so then you’re done and can move on. Go to the Rijksmuseum. Van Gogh is awesome. Take a canal boat tour and get off where the spirit moves you.
And go to the red light district. But you can’t take pictures. I did so (without knowing) and one of the women threw a bottle of water on me.
I like the Doors so I enjoyed that bar.
You can get online tickets to the Van Gogh Museum as well as Anne Frank, and I would do both-- you’ll go right in. The Rembrandt House is amazing as well (and usually less crowded so you don’t need online tickets). Dutch bar food is fun-- bitterballen, fried spicy pockets (don’t remember their name), fried cheese. With beer. Yum.
Second doing a rice table (Indonesian food), and look for good stroopwaffels and frites with lots of different sauces.
Have fun!
This site is helpful
http://awesomeamsterdam.com/articles/79/best-bakeries-in-amsterdam
The above is about bakeries (might be a safe bet in that culinary wasteland of a city) but check the other options. Fwiw, the Vlaaams Broodhuis offers nice sandwiches. It’s a chain.
http://www.vlaamschbroodhuys.nl/index.php/gb/page/wat-wij-belangrijk-vinden//
Rijksmuseum is awesome, Van Gogh museum, a canal boat tour which is very fun (can’t really see some cool parts of Amsterdam from the street), the red light district, try some weird food–plate size savory pancakes are fun, The Heineken experience is fun. We didn’t see the Anne Frank house (my son had seen it earlier and thought we’d be spending our short time better elsewhere).
Watch for pickpockets especially at the train stations–wear a waist belt and travel light.
I think the AF house is interesting but if you don’t reserve and get in and out early I don’t think it’s worth spending hours in line for. It’s not as though we all don’t know the AF story.
Before you go, read the book Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies, one of the people on the outside who helped the Frank family by bringing food, etc. while they were in hiding.
If you can get tickets to hear something at the Concertgebouw, do so. It’s one of the world’s great symphony halls.
Amsterdam Museum and especially this:
http://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/en/portrait-gallery-golden-age
Tomatosoep and beer
This might help to cover most ground in two days:
Fwiw, I did not buy my Van Gogh tickets online but it was not a big deal. Despite a very long line, all that was needed was to walk across the street and they were selling “VIP” tickets that allowed our party to skip the entire line. The prices seemed to be the same that at the day window. Go figure!
The hot dogs sold outside the museum were pretty good. Gourmet food in A’dam!