Few days in amsterdam with the wife
Discussion
The Rembrandt museum is a must.
I am not an art lover but found the exhibition fascinating. My tip would be to book in advance, the queues were enormous by 11am in October, but you jump them. The big plus was that they were running out of headsets which would have made the visit pretty pointless to us. It took 3.5 hrs IIRC.
A canal trip was the only other thing we enjoyed.
Food was boring, Dutch eat early, but there were plenty of great Itallian restaurants arround.
Bean and Bagel were good for lunch / snacks
I am not an art lover but found the exhibition fascinating. My tip would be to book in advance, the queues were enormous by 11am in October, but you jump them. The big plus was that they were running out of headsets which would have made the visit pretty pointless to us. It took 3.5 hrs IIRC.
A canal trip was the only other thing we enjoyed.
Food was boring, Dutch eat early, but there were plenty of great Itallian restaurants arround.
Bean and Bagel were good for lunch / snacks
Edited by rdjohn on Wednesday 28th June 16:51
Annoyingly the Rijksmuseum was being refurbished last time I went so only part open but well worth a look. If you're in to museums there's the resistance museum and Body worlds too.
Anne Franks's house is a must see from a cultural/historical point of view, but book a ticket in advance as the queues are enormous.
Boat tours are good, they have them operating a bit like a bus where you can hop on and off and different stops around the city, but have a tannoy on board to point out the sights, so a good way to get around if sight seeing. There's also quite a few restaurant tour boats.
If you fancy getting out of the city a bit Amsterdam Bos is a huge park/forest not far from Amsterdam Zuid station. Lovely spot for a stroll/cycle/canoe.
Anne Franks's house is a must see from a cultural/historical point of view, but book a ticket in advance as the queues are enormous.
Boat tours are good, they have them operating a bit like a bus where you can hop on and off and different stops around the city, but have a tannoy on board to point out the sights, so a good way to get around if sight seeing. There's also quite a few restaurant tour boats.
If you fancy getting out of the city a bit Amsterdam Bos is a huge park/forest not far from Amsterdam Zuid station. Lovely spot for a stroll/cycle/canoe.
rdjohn said:
Food was boring, Dutch eat early, but there were plenty of great Itallian restaurants arround.
There's a lot of good Indonesian restaurants too thanks to the Dutch East India Company. Make sure you try the Stroop Waffels and Gevulde Koek too.Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 29th June 23:04
Indonesian is worth a shot - a "rice plate" (think Indonesian tapas) is the way to go.
Would also reccomend Ron Gastrobar - cracking value for what you get and a great atmosphere.
Anne Frank's is a must - I was pretty non-plussed about it before going, but not really knowing the full details of the story, it was a bit of an eye opener. Seconded that you want to book in advance.
The Heineken experience is a bit of a tourist trap and a marketing exercise, but is good fun nonetheless.
Would also reccomend Ron Gastrobar - cracking value for what you get and a great atmosphere.
Anne Frank's is a must - I was pretty non-plussed about it before going, but not really knowing the full details of the story, it was a bit of an eye opener. Seconded that you want to book in advance.
The Heineken experience is a bit of a tourist trap and a marketing exercise, but is good fun nonetheless.
Google 'Marken'. It's about 30mins by bus from central station to monnickendam from where you can take the boat across to the island. Picturesque place with a lot of history and a decent cafe bar on the harbour. Well worth a morning or afternoon's visit if the weather is nice.
Rent a bike as you see much more of the city that way, the rijksmuseum is worthwhile as is a stroll through the vondelpark next door. The canal belt is also a natural winner (make sure you check out 'de negen straatje'). However my favourite parts of the city are the Jordaan, prinseneiland and the area around the zoo. All are architecturally interesting with great independent shops and places to eat/drink and people watch.
Also be sure to visit here, it's a magnificent original mansion owned by one of the grand old families of the city:
http://www.museumvanloon.nl
It's true Dutch cuisine isn't that great but there are some quite unique places to try it, for example:
http://www.remeiland.com/en/home-english/
http://www.restaurantdekas.nl/mobile/home
Die bakkerswinkel is good for breakfast and there's a really great Nepalese restaurant here:
http://www.sherparestaurant.nl/en/
Rent a bike as you see much more of the city that way, the rijksmuseum is worthwhile as is a stroll through the vondelpark next door. The canal belt is also a natural winner (make sure you check out 'de negen straatje'). However my favourite parts of the city are the Jordaan, prinseneiland and the area around the zoo. All are architecturally interesting with great independent shops and places to eat/drink and people watch.
Also be sure to visit here, it's a magnificent original mansion owned by one of the grand old families of the city:
http://www.museumvanloon.nl
It's true Dutch cuisine isn't that great but there are some quite unique places to try it, for example:
http://www.remeiland.com/en/home-english/
http://www.restaurantdekas.nl/mobile/home
Die bakkerswinkel is good for breakfast and there's a really great Nepalese restaurant here:
http://www.sherparestaurant.nl/en/
If you go to Anne Frank House, then the Dutch Resistance Museum just down the road is also well worth a visit - very thought provoking account of life under Nazi occupation.
It was a while ago but I remember a very decent Indonesian restaurant on Spui called the Rabbit and the Tiger. For something more basic - steak and ribs - Cafe de Klos is worth a visit.
It was a while ago but I remember a very decent Indonesian restaurant on Spui called the Rabbit and the Tiger. For something more basic - steak and ribs - Cafe de Klos is worth a visit.
) is recommended. 
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