Late May Amsterdam trip! Woo!
May 4, 2017 8:59 AM Subscribe
I'm headed to Amsterdam on May 22nd and I'm looking for recommendations for things to do in the area while I'm there.
I'm arriving on the 23rd and will be by myself until the 25th, when my friends arrive. I'll be heading out the 28th.
I'm thinking of biking to the national park near Haarlem and I've got a meetup the night of the 24th with some fellow professional nerds. Other than that, my schedule is open. The big tourist things, like the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh museum are already scheduled, so what, O Great Hive Mind, would you recommend to do while I'm there? I really enjoy hanging out with the locals and checking out the local life as much as being a tourist. I'll be limited by a lack of car. Bicycle is my ideal transport choice.
I'm arriving on the 23rd and will be by myself until the 25th, when my friends arrive. I'll be heading out the 28th.
I'm thinking of biking to the national park near Haarlem and I've got a meetup the night of the 24th with some fellow professional nerds. Other than that, my schedule is open. The big tourist things, like the Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh museum are already scheduled, so what, O Great Hive Mind, would you recommend to do while I'm there? I really enjoy hanging out with the locals and checking out the local life as much as being a tourist. I'll be limited by a lack of car. Bicycle is my ideal transport choice.
We were there a couple of years ago and before we left, a Dutch coworker recommended using Iens.nl for restaurant recommendations and reservations - it never steered us wrong.
Just to soak up the local traffic, we spent a pleasant afternoon lounging in the garden of the Blauwe Teehuis in the Vondelpark, which is a pretty park to cycle or walk through.
The Rijksmuseum is also a must-see if you like art and museums. Seeing Rembrandt's Night Watch in person was kind of jaw-dropping.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:14 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just to soak up the local traffic, we spent a pleasant afternoon lounging in the garden of the Blauwe Teehuis in the Vondelpark, which is a pretty park to cycle or walk through.
The Rijksmuseum is also a must-see if you like art and museums. Seeing Rembrandt's Night Watch in person was kind of jaw-dropping.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:14 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Just a +1 for Rijksmuseum which is far better than the Van Gogh Museum imo. It's not that the Van Gogh museum is a bad museum, in fact it's well organized and very clean. It just left me a bit disappointed in the artist himself.
posted by wolfr at 9:25 AM on May 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by wolfr at 9:25 AM on May 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Nthing the Rijksmuseum. I'm also going to recommend you avoid the Stedelijk. I love modern art and I found the Stedelijk's collection really...average, at best.
I have no idea if you'd enjoy this sort of thing but I'm going to throw it out there: I loved loved loved floating at Koan Float. I did it on the last full day in Amsterdam and I wished I had done it on the first day so that I could have done it again.
Go have pancakes. There are pancake houses all over the city; pick one, even if it's slightly touristy.
posted by holborne at 9:28 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have no idea if you'd enjoy this sort of thing but I'm going to throw it out there: I loved loved loved floating at Koan Float. I did it on the last full day in Amsterdam and I wished I had done it on the first day so that I could have done it again.
Go have pancakes. There are pancake houses all over the city; pick one, even if it's slightly touristy.
posted by holborne at 9:28 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I'm looking for things that I won't experience in the US in general and North Carolina in particular. More than that, I'm honestly trying to find new experiences. Is there a really cool library? I'll go see that. Is there an awesome place you love to get herring sandwiches? I'll go to that as well.
Thanks for the recommendations so far!
posted by mfu at 9:32 AM on May 4, 2017
Thanks for the recommendations so far!
posted by mfu at 9:32 AM on May 4, 2017
Take one of the free GVB ferries, even if it is just to ride over and come back. You get a different view than the canal tours.
I enjoyed a few hours at the library since it is an interesting building, has some good views and a full restaurant inside.
posted by soelo at 9:32 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I enjoyed a few hours at the library since it is an interesting building, has some good views and a full restaurant inside.
posted by soelo at 9:32 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you like bikes you can check out the Vanmoof store.
There is a film museum in a cool building 1 quick ferry away from the main railway station.
posted by wolfr at 9:42 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
There is a film museum in a cool building 1 quick ferry away from the main railway station.
posted by wolfr at 9:42 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I really enjoyed biking out to Zaanse Schans and taking the train back. (Keep in mind that you need a ticket for your bike and for yourself. Have cash for the train ticket machine, since it didn't like my American credit card...) The bike route that I took went over the ferry, through the cutest village ever, through some parks and half the time I could smell the Zaanse Schans chocolate factory.
Also, the Amsterdam library is pretty much my favorite modern library. The top floor cafeteria has great food and an amazing view.
posted by Skwirl at 9:44 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Also, the Amsterdam library is pretty much my favorite modern library. The top floor cafeteria has great food and an amazing view.
posted by Skwirl at 9:44 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
If you have a sweet tooth, a warm, freshly-made stroopwafel from a street vendor is worth plunking down a couple Euros for. We had some at the Albert Cuyp market, mentioned above, which is totally worth a stroll around.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:52 AM on May 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:52 AM on May 4, 2017 [3 favorites]
Do one of the canal boat tours, and do it in the evening after dark. I know it sounds dorky but I'm Dutch, was born in Amsterdam, and when I did one I really enjoyed it. Make sure you know how to turn the flash off on your camera though!
Don't eat your herring as a sandwich. Eat a salty herring at a street stall, the traditional way: by holding it in the air by its tail and taking bites from it. The Albert Cuyp market is a fine place to get a salty herring.
Go to an Indonesian restaurant and have a rijsttafel. 'Kantjil & de Tijger' comes highly recommended.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:52 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Don't eat your herring as a sandwich. Eat a salty herring at a street stall, the traditional way: by holding it in the air by its tail and taking bites from it. The Albert Cuyp market is a fine place to get a salty herring.
Go to an Indonesian restaurant and have a rijsttafel. 'Kantjil & de Tijger' comes highly recommended.
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:52 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
Rijksmuseum + library = Rijksmuseum research library, which you should definitely poke your head into (there's a viewing gallery on the second or third floor). It's one of the most gorgeous libraries I've ever seen.
I also liked the Foodhallen. It's mostly not traditional Dutch cuisine (reminded me a lot of a food truck pod), but it's pretty hip/cosmopolitan and seemed packed with younger locals.
posted by bassooner at 9:53 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
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I also liked the Foodhallen. It's mostly not traditional Dutch cuisine (reminded me a lot of a food truck pod), but it's pretty hip/cosmopolitan and seemed packed with younger locals.
posted by bassooner at 9:53 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
For a unique dining experience check out Einde Vande Wereld (End of the World), a squat restaurant on a boat next to Java Island. 7/8 Euro dinners Wednesday & Friday accompanied by music or poetry. I also really enjoy the Kattenkabinet, a cat-art museum in an old canal house.
For art & biking a bit further afield, you can take the train to the Hoge Veluwe, visit the Kröller-Müller Museum with the second-largest collection of Van Goghs, and tour the park in one of the free white bicycles scattered throughout. On the way there or back stop in Utrecht, which is less touristed and has better canals (and the incredible Speelklok Museum of self-playing musical instruments).
And eat some poffertjes - hit up one of the many weekend markets and there should be a stall serving them fresh off the grill.
posted by Gortuk at 10:12 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
For art & biking a bit further afield, you can take the train to the Hoge Veluwe, visit the Kröller-Müller Museum with the second-largest collection of Van Goghs, and tour the park in one of the free white bicycles scattered throughout. On the way there or back stop in Utrecht, which is less touristed and has better canals (and the incredible Speelklok Museum of self-playing musical instruments).
And eat some poffertjes - hit up one of the many weekend markets and there should be a stall serving them fresh off the grill.
posted by Gortuk at 10:12 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you have a sweet tooth, a warm, freshly-made stroopwafel from a street vendor is worth plunking down a couple Euros for.
and the fries vendors. So good.
If you're going to do a lot of the attractions, the i amsterdam card can save you some money on admission and transit
posted by TravellingCari at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
and the fries vendors. So good.
If you're going to do a lot of the attractions, the i amsterdam card can save you some money on admission and transit
posted by TravellingCari at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
You should have a snack at a FEBO location as well.
posted by soelo at 10:22 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by soelo at 10:22 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]
I went to Arnhem Forest for a day trip, which is a sort of park with lots of very old houses that have been moved to the site and are preserved or traditional interiors. Traditional footbridges and beekeeping sheds and other peasant structures. It was awesome.
posted by effluvia at 10:31 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 10:31 AM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
I agree with the above that the Rijksmuseum is awesome (even the building is just absolutely brilliant) and the Stedelijke Museum is ... meh. And the ferry just north of the iJ is a great, free, and relatively quick (20 minutes back/forth from Centraal) to see Amsterdam by the water if you don't take a canal tour (but seriously: take a canal tour).
If you enjoy a beer, make sure to wander to Brouwerij t'Ij - it's underneath a windmill near central A'dam, and the beers are great. Nice place to chill with friends on the terrace whiling away an evening.
I'm a sauna junkie so with that bias noted, if you're looking for something you don't have access to in NC, try the Sauna Zuiver near the Amsterdam-Zuid train station. (if you are a sauna-junkie, I have other recommendations, but many of them are farther to the East and not on a main train line). They have Finnish saunas with the aufguß/löyly every hour and a half or so, as well as steam baths, and a nice pool for relaxing in between rounds. If you do go, the introductory speech at the aufguß, the last bit is usually "Does anyone not speak Dutch?", but it's mumbled... in Dutch. So ... don't feel bashful to ask questions or raise your hand.
I'm not the biggest Amsterdam fan, (but still take every visitor for a day, walking from Centraal down to the Dam Square, wander the side streets to Rembrantsplein (if you're an art nouveau fan, make sure to wander by-and-into the Pathé Tuschinski movie theatre near Rembrantsplein - brilliant. Absolutely stunning.)) so if you want something a little smaller, but still quite quaint/cute (gezellig), consider the train a half hour south to Leiden or den Haag (I also like Rotterdam, but it's, the most US-like city in Europe, to my view... cosmopolitan, new, semi-industrial, etc.)
Leiden is a university town with a windmill on the water right outside of the Centraal station, lots of little cafes on the waterfront, etc, and if you make it down to den Haag, the Mauritshuis is the Dutch version of the National Portrait Gallery and packs a punch as far as brilliant-art-per-square-meter. Also, it's located next to a pleasantly cute plein, and the Binnenhof - a gothic castle complex that now serves as the local version of Congress. As an American, I love that I'm regularly pulled off the street nearby by representatives that say "come on in! Check out the chamber!" ... if you're not a government junkie, it's not terribly interesting, but you can still wander through the castle's inner courtyard and have an ice cream or what have you without blinking.
(Also, depending on how much museum-hopping you're going to do, run the numbers, and it might be worth getting a Museumkaart ... it's €60, but lets you in just about everywhere either for free or with a €2.50 or so surcharge. Just ask the cashier at the first museum you have on your list if that's what you end up going with. They'll mail you the full-card after you leave, so, souvenir I guess, but they will give you a paper one immediately that you can use for the trip)
posted by Seeba at 11:44 AM on May 4, 2017
If you enjoy a beer, make sure to wander to Brouwerij t'Ij - it's underneath a windmill near central A'dam, and the beers are great. Nice place to chill with friends on the terrace whiling away an evening.
I'm a sauna junkie so with that bias noted, if you're looking for something you don't have access to in NC, try the Sauna Zuiver near the Amsterdam-Zuid train station. (if you are a sauna-junkie, I have other recommendations, but many of them are farther to the East and not on a main train line). They have Finnish saunas with the aufguß/löyly every hour and a half or so, as well as steam baths, and a nice pool for relaxing in between rounds. If you do go, the introductory speech at the aufguß, the last bit is usually "Does anyone not speak Dutch?", but it's mumbled... in Dutch. So ... don't feel bashful to ask questions or raise your hand.
I'm not the biggest Amsterdam fan, (but still take every visitor for a day, walking from Centraal down to the Dam Square, wander the side streets to Rembrantsplein (if you're an art nouveau fan, make sure to wander by-and-into the Pathé Tuschinski movie theatre near Rembrantsplein - brilliant. Absolutely stunning.)) so if you want something a little smaller, but still quite quaint/cute (gezellig), consider the train a half hour south to Leiden or den Haag (I also like Rotterdam, but it's, the most US-like city in Europe, to my view... cosmopolitan, new, semi-industrial, etc.)
Leiden is a university town with a windmill on the water right outside of the Centraal station, lots of little cafes on the waterfront, etc, and if you make it down to den Haag, the Mauritshuis is the Dutch version of the National Portrait Gallery and packs a punch as far as brilliant-art-per-square-meter. Also, it's located next to a pleasantly cute plein, and the Binnenhof - a gothic castle complex that now serves as the local version of Congress. As an American, I love that I'm regularly pulled off the street nearby by representatives that say "come on in! Check out the chamber!" ... if you're not a government junkie, it's not terribly interesting, but you can still wander through the castle's inner courtyard and have an ice cream or what have you without blinking.
(Also, depending on how much museum-hopping you're going to do, run the numbers, and it might be worth getting a Museumkaart ... it's €60, but lets you in just about everywhere either for free or with a €2.50 or so surcharge. Just ask the cashier at the first museum you have on your list if that's what you end up going with. They'll mail you the full-card after you leave, so, souvenir I guess, but they will give you a paper one immediately that you can use for the trip)
posted by Seeba at 11:44 AM on May 4, 2017
effluvia: I went to Arnhem Forest for a day trip
That doesn't really ring a bell for me, could it be that this poster meant the Amsterdam Forest?
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:27 PM on May 4, 2017
That doesn't really ring a bell for me, could it be that this poster meant the Amsterdam Forest?
posted by Too-Ticky at 2:27 PM on May 4, 2017
If you have the time, the Amsterdam Museum is worth doing, preferably earlier in your trip. I found it really helpful in giving me an orientation to the history of the city. Also, it's free with the Museumkaart (mentioned above), which I also recommend getting if you are doing a lot of museum-hopping. That ended up saving me money and helped me skip the long line at the Van Gogh Museum (nice!). While you are in the neighborhood, you may also want to check out the Begijnhof.
posted by jazzbaby at 3:21 PM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by jazzbaby at 3:21 PM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
Lots of great ideas here.
To clarify about the sort of park with lots of very old houses that have been moved to the site and are preserved or traditional interiors near Arnhem. It's called the Openluchtmuseum Arnhem. Recommended.
Delft is also a nice day trip.
posted by jouke at 8:22 PM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
To clarify about the sort of park with lots of very old houses that have been moved to the site and are preserved or traditional interiors near Arnhem. It's called the Openluchtmuseum Arnhem. Recommended.
Delft is also a nice day trip.
posted by jouke at 8:22 PM on May 4, 2017 [1 favorite]
You said Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum were covered. Be sure to buy your tickets NOW for those places.
posted by raisingsand at 3:45 PM on May 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by raisingsand at 3:45 PM on May 5, 2017 [1 favorite]
I really enjoyed the photography museum and the church of our lord in the attic. De 9 Straatjes is great to spend an afternoon wandering. And try a Reistafel for dinner - there are some good spots in Oud West easily reached by bike or tram.
posted by girlgenius at 4:49 AM on May 6, 2017
posted by girlgenius at 4:49 AM on May 6, 2017
You said Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum were covered. Be sure to buy your tickets NOW for those places.
Would emphazise this - we visited in late May, 2015 and we were unable to get Anne Frank House tickets on arrival. Knowing that, would have book ahead.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:31 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Would emphazise this - we visited in late May, 2015 and we were unable to get Anne Frank House tickets on arrival. Knowing that, would have book ahead.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:31 AM on May 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
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If you like quirky outdoor markets, check out the Waterlooplein and the Albert Cuyp.
What kind of things do you enjoy? Can you give us something to work with here?
posted by Too-Ticky at 9:06 AM on May 4, 2017 [2 favorites]