Amsterdam Bucket List
Featuring scenic canals, numerous bicycles, quaintly tilted buildings, and relaxed native vibes, it's ideal to discover Amsterdam on two wheels or by wandering around. You’re also always a stone’s throw away from some of the best art and historical museums in Europe. Take a respite and wander into one of the city's brown cafes for a cold one and a dose of social life. You'll quickly come to the conclusion that you don't want to depart from this beautiful town.
Why Amsterdam belongs on your bucket list
A summary goes here: Discover a city where beauty and orginality confront the weather and the past.
When to go
In my opinion, the optimal moment to travel to Amsterdam is the spring. From March to May. You'll see blooming tulips. Plus, there's this great street party called King's Day on April 27 that you can enjoy. The other great season to visit is fall, from September to October, when the summer hordes have split, the cultural season starts, and the light is golden. But if you don't mind cold weather, a winter visit would also be suitable.
Must-visit places in Amsterdam
Anne Frank House
The bookcase which conceals the door is the actual one and still opens smoothly. There's nothing you can touch, and the museum gives an adequate amount of background and more if you're looking for it. Only pictures are restricted. It's still creepy to look out the same windows Anne wrote about over fifty years ago. The world has changed so much in many respects and so little in others.
Van Gogh Museum
View over 200 of Van Gogh's paintings and 500 drawings in the flesh, from his early dark, earthy scenes of Dutch peasants, to the bright, wild masterpiece that is his time in Arles. It's amazing to be able to track the artist's aesthetic transformation in real life because, let's be honest, when you're face to face with Sunflowers and Almond Blossom you pretty much know that you are in the presence of genius. The thickness of the paint, the brush hairs still visible, the almost three-dimensional effect of the application. You just don't get this a print. Get lost in the art and the tragedy that is Van Gogh; everything is set out chronologically so that the end-room punch in the belly rings true. It's amazing to see how his work transformed even in his last two years. Book online (I didn't, lesson learned) for a skip-the-line, they have a bar and music night on Fridays and it's a bit more of a chiller vibe if you are partial to the odd glass of wine and lounge music.
Rijksmuseum
You can pass from room to room, or floor to floor (there are four floors, some with huge rooms), your eyes a mass of saucers, or sit in chairs dotted about in the rooms and stare at a single gobsmacking picture. The skill with which these intimate little silent rooms are planned is on a par with that of all the artists in the place put together. You leave reluctantly and not just because in Amsterdam's best museum there’s always a queue to get in. Or that there’s a lovely garden full of sculpture and benches, two or three cafes with different atmospheres, plates to share and expertly frothed cappuccini, one of the best museum shops in the Netherlands and the biggest, busiest lavatories.
Jordaan
It used to be a mojo-rich port. Now you can't recognize the city from what you know. Red Light Radio is possibly the best radio station in the universe. Ring 'em and they'll get you to DJ that hour. Walk along the quays on a sunny afternoon and everyone's in the water off the jetties. Two stores to toast you: Tenue de Nimes for jeans and Collectiv for vintage Italian deadstock. Two galleries to rouse you: Annet Gelink and Grimm. Faralda is a three-suite hotel in a crane, should you be an oligarch. And then there's the eye-closer.
Vondelpark
Escape the concentration of people in the city and visit Vondelpark, which has 47 hectares of grass and woodland to sprawl across. The park also houses summer theatre, but the grass is far less occupied if you head to the northern section. Rent a bike from Yellow Bike Rental shop opposite the Hard Rock Cafe and hitch some wheels. Not a bad little circuit is to start down at the Centraal Station you paid to enter, cycle past the Hard Rock, then Vondelpark, and within the hour you will be holding up the Iamsterdam sign. The museum district's other half.
Canal Cruise
Stay away from those big tourist boats. Hire an electric vessel, become the captain with no licence necessary or any former experience for that matter, and you're cruising canals that are four centuries old. Go at night. The canal houses are lit. The bridges are lit. And all that gorgeous old shit is practically glowing in the moat water. It's ridiculously romantic. Even if you're alone. The Grachtengordel route will serve you one beautifully lit merchant palace after the next. Allow 75 minutes. Pack a picnic. Hire a babysitter. Get comfortable.
Albert Cuyp Market
You'll receive warm fresh stroopwafels straight in your hand. Dutch herring is raw and coated, covered with onions. Have some Surinamese, including roti. Kibbeling is fried fish pieces with garlic sauce. The smell in the street is amazing.
De Negen Straatjes
Nine cobbled streets flanked by those sinuous canals. A time-warp realm of leisure and flower markets, of fairy-tale gables and Dutch Golden Age wealth. The shops are mostly independent; you will buy things you never knew you wanted. Cheese, perfume, retro eyeware, Dutch photography, and more cheese. Allegedly the best window shopping on the planet. Charming cafes will draw you in. You will emerge with another carrier bag. Croissants at Le Fournil, pancakes at Upstairs Pannenkoekenpan.
Winkel 43
The Dutch apple pie is really good. It's also huge, thick, and buttery. It's got an intense cinnamon flavor and lots of delicious chunks of apple in it. It's nothing like apple pie in America, it's more like if someone took an apple crumble and built a house out of it. It comes with a giant dollop of whipped cream on top. You'll have to wait in line on Saturday as the entire town seems to be at the market on that day but that's a good day to be there. Get a table (preferably outside along the canal), get a koffie verkeerd (latte), and enjoy.
A'DAM Lookout
Take the complimentary ferry across the river Ij from Central Station and after admiring the 22 story tower as you approach. This impressive building is the perfect spot to view the city from their observation deck or you can choose to swing out over the edge on Europe’s highest swing. Take your time to enjoy the view with a cocktail at their rooftop bar or relax itself bean bags. The sunset experience is not to be missed.
NDSM Wharf
Located across the IJ River from Central Station, this is already one of the busiest drawbridges in the world as it opens around 10,000 times a year. It takes its name from a now-defunct shipyard called The Cleave which in English means ‘the slope of a hill’. At weekends its yard fills with Amsterdammers of all sorts in pursuit of bargains and kitsch at IJ-Hallen, Europe’s largest flea market.
Foodhallen
A converted tram depot with a variety of about 20 different food vendors selling everything from Vietnamese bao to Dutch bitterballen, French crêpes, and Japanese ramen. An island bar in the middle serves local draft beer and all-natural wines. Perfect for groups that can't agree on anything, or for singles who just want to try a little of this and a little of that. Weekend nights can be pleasantly wild; weekday afternoons are decidedly more tame. Oud-West, the neighborhood, is one of the best neighborhoods in which to be in Amsterdam. Just a great hood.
Amsterdam insider tips
- Cycling: When you arrive, buy yourself a bicycle. Copenhagen is a city made for two wheels. Red lanes specifically dedicated to cyclists run throughout the city. It's completely flat so you won't have to stress about any inclines, and at last count, there are more bikes than cars. Just be aware of the few tips we have. Always stay in the right lane and signal with your arm when you are turning. You'll be able to let go of that panic-inducing handlebar because true danes help you stop by sticking out their leg. This does take a little practice, but once you master it, you'll be hooked.
- Iamsterdam City Card: With this card, you won’t have to fiddle with foreign currencies and figure out if you should get the overpriced audio guide or decline and play the guessing game about what you’re actually looking at.
- Brown cafes: A brown bar, which is translated from Dutch to English is 'Bruine kroeg', is a cozy place you want to experience, where the smoke-stained walls and oldness give a warm nostalgic feel. These are the best spots in Amsterdam that offer you this unique experience.
- Book museums in advance: To visit the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, or Rijksmuseum, you'll need to buy timed-entry tickets in advance online. Don't leave this until the last minute and think you'll just pop into one of them - you'll only end up queuing for two hours and wandering around a gift shop.
- Weather: Expect rain. Likely multiple times a day. However, then the sun will shine, and it will be gorgeous. Then the rain will return. It doesn’t matter what season you visit, just pack layers and a rain jacket. No allegiance, no dignity – that’s Amsterdam weather for you.
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