City Review: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Last month, Matt and I took our first big trip outside of Spain now that we’re Spanish residents — to Amsterdam! We spent about a week exploring the city and its surroundings, and of course we checked out Holland’s famous tulips. While it was my third visit to Amsterdam, it was my first time staying for more than just a couple of days, and it was also my first time visiting in a month other than October. I was hoping to enjoy some warm April weather, but it was not to be. 😅 But we still had an amazing time.

Without further ado, here’s my city review of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

About Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital and largest city with a population of 800,000 residents, though it receives many more millions of tourists each year. In fact, it’s about the fifth-most visited city in Europe after some of your usual suspects like London and Paris. And it’s really not hard to see why Amsterdam is so popular — I really think it’s a city that has something for almost everyone.

Not only are there tons of historical and cultural sites and experiences of note in Amsterdam, but it’s also absolutely gorgeous with its narrow houses and 60 miles (100 km) of canals throughout the city. In fact, the city is often referred to as the “Venice of the North” and has held UNESCO World Heritage Site designation since 2010.

Besides Amsterdam’s physical beauty, it’s famous for being one of the most liberal cities in the world — in an already extremely progressive country. In the Netherlands, marijuana and sex work have been legal for years, as many people are aware. But it was also the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, way back in 2001.

A couple of notes about visiting Amsterdam and the Netherlands. First, the Netherlands has the highest level of English proficiency in all of Europe, so don’t worry if you can’t speak Dutch. (And you really don’t even have to feel guilty about not speaking Dutch. They are soooo good at English.)

Second, and this is something I just learned on my trip: Most people think that “the Netherlands” and “Holland” are interchangeable names for the country, but that isn’t the case. “The Netherlands” is the country’s official name. “Holland,” on the other hand, refers to only two specific provinces, North Holland and South Holland. (Amsterdam is in North Holland.) The more you know!

How Many Days Do You Need in Amsterdam?

While it would be possible to see Amsterdam’s highlights in a whirlwind two days, I would recommend at least three days. Amsterdam is a big city, especially if you venture even just a little bit outside the tourist center, and there’s plenty to keep you busy. Between museums, parks, coffee shops, and taking lots of pictures of the photogenic canals, you won’t want to be rushed.

If you’re in the Amsterdam area for more than three days, I recommend checking out some surrounding cities and towns such as Haarlem or Utrecht, or heading out on a tulip excursion if you’re visiting between late March and mid-May.

Things To Do in Amsterdam

So, how will you fill your three-plus days in Amsterdam? There are so many ways.

You could start by just taking a nice stroll along the canals. Honestly, you can’t go wrong doing that. Even if you don’t really have a destination in mind, I promise you’re going to be in awe by the architecture. Just make sure to look where you’re going — in Amsterdam, bikes vastly outnumber cars, so there are people on bikes constantly whizzing through the streets. You could even rent a bike if you’re feeling brave! And the Vondelpark is a gorgeous place to spend some time in nature, even while being in the middle of the city.

My next recommendation would be to visit the Museumplein in front of the Rijksmuseum and check out the famous “I Amsterdam” letters. But they were removed in early December 2018, just about a month after my last visit! (So it surprised me to find out it wasn’t there anymore.)

But speaking of museums, the Netherlands boasts more museums per square mile than any other country in the world, and 92 of them are in Amsterdam. Yep, there are 92 museums in Amsterdam! From big names like the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum, to more niche options such as the Tulip Museum or Sex Museum, you’ve got no excuse for boredom.

Here’s a super important note about planning your museum visits in Amsterdam, especially to the most famous ones: You need to book your tickets weeks in advance, if not months in advance. While this was not the case during my first two visits to Amsterdam, things have really changed, so be prepared. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to go to the Anne Frank House or Van Gogh Museum because we didn’t pre-book our tickets, and it’s no longer possible to purchase same-day tickets in person.

One thing we were able to buy same-day tickets for, though, was the Heineken Experience. Did you know that Heineken beer got its start in Amsterdam? I’ve probably been to about 10 different brewery tours in both the U.S. and Europe, and I would definitely say that Heineken has the best one. It’s a little bit expensive, but there’s a reason they call it an “experience” rather than a tour.

Of course, there are also a couple of things that really make Amsterdam unique, and you’ve probably never seen in other cities. For example, there’s the famed Red Light District where you’d find sex workers standing in backlit-red windows, along with sex shops, strip clubs, and other sex-oriented businesses. It’s interesting to see, though it kind of made me feel weird personally, and honestly the streets were so crowded with people that it felt more like a tourist attraction.

And what about Amsterdam’s coffee shops? Contrary to what it sounds like, these are actually bars where you can buy and smoke/consume marijuana. Apparently, the name “coffee shop” originated in the 1970s when the underground marijuana trade was operated behind the scenes at actual coffee shops.

How Expensive is Amsterdam?

When it comes to the cost of visiting European countries, I typically compare places to Spain. For example, places like the UK and Ireland are way more expensive than Spain. I would say that Amsterdam is more expensive than Spain, but not as expensive as the UK/Ireland. Honestly, it was probably pretty similarly priced to the U.S.

At a cafe, a cappuccino would cost about $4 or $5 USD. A restaurant entrée, such as a traditional Dutch meal, would be about $15. A pint of beer was about $5. However, while I wasn’t too upset with the cost of food, transportation was another story. Taking the train between Amsterdam and Haarlem was about $14 round-trip, which seemed steep for the 15-minute journey. (Especially when you’re multiplying that by two, for the both of us.)

Where We Ate

We ate pretty well when we were in Amsterdam, but only a couple of places especially stood out.

De Laatste Kruimel: A breakfast/brunch spot with a cozy ambiance and eclectic/kitschy decor. Also, everything was delicious, and there are plenty of vegetarian options. Everything was made from scratch and you could tell they put a lot of care into their food.

De Laatste Kruimel
Langebrugsteeg 4
1012GB Amsterdam

Kop van Jut: We decided we wanted to try some traditional Dutch food, and there’s an area on Leidsekruisstraat with several highly-rated ones near each other: The Pantry and De Blauwe Hollander to name a couple. Both had lines out the door and/or only space for those who had booked reservations, so we tried Kop van Jut — and we were super happy with the experience! I can definitely say I’m a fan of Dutch comfort food. I recommend one of the Stamppot options.

Kop van Jut
Leidsekruisstraat 24
1017RJ Amsterdam

One more thing about eating in Amsterdam: You can’t miss some of the Netherlands’ local specialties: Stroopwafels and cheese (though not together, necessarily.) Stroopwafels can be purchased in many Dutch shops and go great with coffee… real coffee. And I was surprised and delighted by the number of cheese shops in Amsterdam during my very first visit! Most have samples, and I pretty much couldn’t walk by a cheese shop without stopping in.

Where We Stayed

Most of the time when we travel, we stay in hotels that we book using a combination of points and money, thanks to our Chase Sapphire Preferred credit cards. But we had a couple of Airbnb gift cards we’d gotten for Christmas, and we also decided we didn’t mind staying outside of the city since we were going to be there for so long.

So we stayed at an Airbnb in Haarlem all week. Haarlem was a really cool city in its own right, and it was so easy to get between Haarlem and Amsterdam. In fact, I really recommend taking a day trip to Haarlem if you have more than a few days in the Dutch capital! (Post on that coming soon.)

Final Thoughts

While I’ve now visited Amsterdam three times, I feel like I know it pretty well… and at the same time, I feel like there’s still so much to discover. During my next trip, I have a couple of goals: first, check out more surrounding towns; and second, try to go when it’s actually warm so I can see what Amsterdam is like when it’s not cold and rainy. 🙂

 

What do you think? Are you planning to visit Amsterdam, or have you been there before? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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