Amsterdam questions

[Ian Sutton]

and as well as the very good advice to watch for bicycles, do also watch out for the trams, which aren't great at stopping if someone steps out in front if them.

I do find the Amsterdammers very good at juggling these different road users and on the whole being quite sensible about it.

 

[Colo]

Sage advice Ian - I forgot about the trams

 

[SMJ]

I was only there 3 full days, BJ; but felt I could have done with two whole weeks!

 

[kcalnyc]

I was in Amsterdam twice last year for work. There was a small house museum that was interesting, and you need to book well in advance - http://en.collectiesix.nl/app/fsm.php?vwr=vrijetekst&mid=49

If you are planning on going to the Anne Frank house you have to book months in advance. You probably know that but I wanted to point it out since so many people clearly don't think about it and end up on a huge same day line.

I would highly recommend going to the Hague to see the Gemeentemuseum and the Mauritshuis Museum.

I found the lines to be manageable at most of the museums and was able to walk right into all but the Van Gogh. That line was really long every time I walked by. If you book in advance, you can skip the line.

I loved the meal at Rijks restaurant. It's in a small building right behind the museum. We did a canal tour too and it was fun.

Have fun! It's a really charming city.

 

[BJinNM]

Thanks so much. I just booked a river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest for October of 2018. We are planning on spending the week before it in Amsterdam so that will give us even more time to be able to do everything everyone has suggested, especially leaving the city to explore more of the Netherlands. I am beyond excited!

 

[Nance]

Hello BJ. Amsterdam is one of my favorite places in the world. We stayed there and in Haarlem for ten days in 2015, and then stayed in Amsterdam for five weeks this winter. I will be back there late October 2017. To answer your question about passes, we have found the museum pass to be the most economical for our needs. The pass costs about 65 euro total but allows you unlimited visits to over 400 museums around the Netherlands for 30 days. We found it has paid for itself on about visit 4 to various sites. It does not include transportation of any kind but I will discuss that lower. Your apt. is in a wonderful location, walkable to the majority of museums. You can easily catch Tram 2 to ride between your apt. and Centraal for arrival/departure, day trips if you wish. You are located very near three museums where you could buy the museum pass without waiting in huge lines, and all three are worth seeing: Van Loon canal Huis, the Museum of Bags and Purses, and Willet-Holthuysen canal huis. The canal houses are furnished in period pieces and are simply wonderful for a view of old Amsterdam. Also check out the Concertgebeouw schedule. They offer free lunchtime concerts weekly, often on Wed. but sometimes on Friday. Kattenkabinet is a wonderful cat art museum but it is cash only. Also worth seeing are the Verzetsmuseum (dutch resistance museum), Rembrandthuis, Stedelijk (if you like modern art or need a break from the dutch masters at Rijks), Micropia, etc. I have visited the Anne Frank Huis but found it impersonal compared to the Corrie Ten Boom Huis in Haarlem. You can reserve AFH a few months out using the option of visiting with your museumkaart. You only have to show the pass when you get there. Other things to see in Amsterdam are the Albert Cuypstraat market and if you are there on a Monday or Saturday you might visit the Noordermarkt. Regardless of whether you hit up the markt, it is well worth a trip there to have the best apple pie to cross your lips at Winkel's 43. Tram 10 will get you close to the Noordermarkt. Also further along line 10 is the Westergasfabriek, an old gas works turned shops and restaurants. They sometimes have something going on there. Haarlem (which is a 15-20 minute train ride from Centraal) also has a wonderful Saturday market in Grote markt. You might couple that with a free visit (donations accepted) to the Corrie Ten Boom Huis. They do small group tours of about 20 people with a knowledgeable guide. Check their website if interested to see what time tours in English are given. We loved this tour. We also visited Teyler's museum, Frans Hal museum, and the Archaeology museum in Haarlem as well as De Adriaan windmill. You get a tour of the windmill and get to climb to the top - fabulous!
For transportation we bought RT point to point tickets at Centraal on our first trip but on our last trip we were traveling to so many places it made sense for us to purchase and load the anonymous chipkaart. I have been watching a new travel mode called Tripkey - cost 3.5 for initial registration and then trips are logged to your credit card. THIS would be ideal for you since they ought to have any bugs ironed out by the time of your trip and also hopefully have more pickup locations. You can find info about this on Trip Advisor.
There is plenty to keep you busy in Amsterdam and I wouldn't short it with too many day trips, maybe one or two. I would suggest Haarlem and Leiden as top picks. Leiden has several museums and a wonderful American Pilgrim museum owned and run by a Pilgrim historian. Cost was 5 euro for a two hour tour. Enkhuizen with the outdoor museum is also a possibility or maybe Zaanse Schans (very touristy). We visited Volendam. I wouldn't go again and wish I hadn't wasted precious time for the first trip. We pretty much did everything on our own but three tours we did enjoy were the walking city tour and the countryside tour with ThatDamGuide, and the WWII and Holocaust walking tour in Amsterdam with Historywalks.eu
Above all, leave yourself time each day to amble along the canals and city, enjoying the views.

 

[BJinNM]

Hello BJ. Amsterdam is one of my favorite places in the world. We stayed there and in Haarlem for ten days in 2015, and then stayed in Amsterdam for five weeks this winter. I will be back there late October 2017. To answer your question about passes, we have found the museum pass to be the most economical for our needs. The pass costs about 65 euro total but allows you unlimited visits to over 400 museums around the Netherlands for 30 days. We found it has paid for itself on about visit 4 to various sites. It does not include transportation of any kind but I will discuss that lower. Your apt. is in a wonderful location, walkable to the majority of museums. You can easily catch Tram 2 to ride between your apt. and Centraal for arrival/departure, day trips if you wish. You are located very near three museums where you could buy the museum pass without waiting in huge lines, and all three are worth seeing: Van Loon canal Huis, the Museum of Bags and Purses, and Willet-Holthuysen canal huis. The canal houses are furnished in period pieces and are simply wonderful for a view of old Amsterdam. Also check out the Concertgebeouw schedule. They offer free lunchtime concerts weekly, often on Wed. but sometimes on Friday. Kattenkabinet is a wonderful cat art museum but it is cash only. Also worth seeing are the Verzetsmuseum (dutch resistance museum), Rembrandthuis, Stedelijk (if you like modern art or need a break from the dutch masters at Rijks), Micropia, etc. I have visited the Anne Frank Huis but found it impersonal compared to the Corrie Ten Boom Huis in Haarlem. You can reserve AFH a few months out using the option of visiting with your museumkaart. You only have to show the pass when you get there. Other things to see in Amsterdam are the Albert Cuypstraat market and if you are there on a Monday or Saturday you might visit the Noordermarkt. Regardless of whether you hit up the markt, it is well worth a trip there to have the best apple pie to cross your lips at Winkel's 43. Tram 10 will get you close to the Noordermarkt. Also further along line 10 is the Westergasfabriek, an old gas works turned shops and restaurants. They sometimes have something going on there. Haarlem (which is a 15-20 minute train ride from Centraal) also has a wonderful Saturday market in Grote markt. You might couple that with a free visit (donations accepted) to the Corrie Ten Boom Huis. They do small group tours of about 20 people with a knowledgeable guide. Check their website if interested to see what time tours in English are given. We loved this tour. We also visited Teyler's museum, Frans Hal museum, and the Archaeology museum in Haarlem as well as De Adriaan windmill. You get a tour of the windmill and get to climb to the top - fabulous!
For transportation we bought RT point to point tickets at Centraal on our first trip but on our last trip we were traveling to so many places it made sense for us to purchase and load the anonymous chipkaart. I have been watching a new travel mode called Tripkey - cost 3.5 for initial registration and then trips are logged to your credit card. THIS would be ideal for you since they ought to have any bugs ironed out by the time of your trip and also hopefully have more pickup locations. You can find info about this on Trip Advisor.
There is plenty to keep you busy in Amsterdam and I wouldn't short it with too many day trips, maybe one or two. I would suggest Haarlem and Leiden as top picks. Leiden has several museums and a wonderful American Pilgrim museum owned and run by a Pilgrim historian. Cost was 5 euro for a two hour tour. Enkhuizen with the outdoor museum is also a possibility or maybe Zaanse Schans (very touristy). We visited Volendam. I wouldn't go again and wish I hadn't wasted precious time for the first trip. We pretty much did everything on our own but three tours we did enjoy were the walking city tour and the countryside tour with ThatDamGuide, and the WWII and Holocaust walking tour in Amsterdam with Historywalks.eu
Above all, leave yourself time each day to amble along the canals and city, enjoying the views.

Great advice. We just booked a river cruise for Fall of 2018 and so we will be able to spend a week then too in Amsterdam where it starts. The more I hear about the city and the country, the more tune I want there. Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[Colo]

We are doing a Christmas Market River Cruise in December this year.
Starting in Basel and ending in Amsterdam.
Adding a couple days on the end of the trip to enjoy the city again.
Looking forward to exploring Basel - never been there.

 

[BJinNM]

Basel has an outstanding museum and a really interesting old Lutheran church, if I remember correctly. We were there so long ago that the Euro was not around yet, but enjoyed the city. My cousin did a Christmas market cruise last year and loved it. Enjoy yourselves.

 

[jan]

wow, BJ--Fall 2018. And I thought I was working far out for Spring 2018.
Sounds like an awesome trip!

 

[BJinNM]

Spring 2018 has been planned since October. Both are cruises and, therefore, the far off planning.