When choosing places to visit when travelling to Europe, Amsterdam may not even be in many peoples thoughts, but it certainly should be. Amsterdam is an extremely diverse and interesting city with something for just about anyone. If you are looking for art, history, great food, beautiful scenery or to party well into the early morning hours, Amsterdam definitely has something for you.
We REALLY packed a lot into our three days there, but I think we got a lot out of our three days in Amsterdam. Some of the places and experiences we took in in Amsterdam:
Museums of Amsterdam
Van Gogh – Contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. Walking through the museum you get to experience each of Van Gogh’s phases along with artists that inspired Van Gogh and other artists inspired by Van Gogh.
Reikenmuseum – Dutch national museum filled with art created by famous Dutch artists including Rembrandt.
Anne Frank House – The museum walks you though the secret home of Anne Frank and her family while hiding from the Nazi’s. A very somber experience, but a must see location in Amsterdam.
Other great places
One night I booked a canal tour of Amsterdam through Lovers Cruise. We took the Red Light Cruise by Candlelight which was a 2 hour cruise that took you through the canals of Amsterdam accompanied by wine, dutch cheeses and nuts. The cruise was wonderful and the city was absolutely beautiful. I would love to take another tour during the day and experience the city in the day time.
We also walked through the very odd Red Light District with its windows full of barely dressed women and pornography. It’s so strange how each street in Amsterdam is completely different. One moment you are walking past canals lines with bicycles, the next you are surrounded by shops selling cheeses and tulips. A few more blocks away you are being beckoned by women offering their “services” (haha).
The coffee shops on Amsterdam may have cappuccino and espresso, but this is certainly not what their patrons are there for. Walking into any of Amsterdam’s coffee shops you are instantly hit with a cloud of smoke and and the smell of marijuana. The shops all have these special temporary or hidden menus for their goods as they are not allowed to advertise the sale of drugs.
Bars in Amsterdam are as diverse as any city. You can find large dance clubs that play bad 80’s and 90’s music or little holes-in-the-wall with cheap prices and great local beers.
Amsterdam was a great experience for a first-time traveler in Europe. The locals all speak English and a majority of the people were very friendly and helpful. I would love to return for a longer trip and check out more of the Netherlands!
More pictures from Amsterdam:
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