Author	Message
JaMeZ Moderator Amsterdam	# Posted: 8 Apr 2004 23:28:36 What to see and do in Amsterdam - tips from a local Amsterdam attracts heaps of visitors every year, and with reason. It's a great city to come to for anyone, especially in the summer. Best time to visit is late spring or summer (May until October), as the weather will be nicest then. There's always loads of backpackers around, and there's plenty to do and see in Amsterdam. Here are a few tips of my own: 1. Coffeeshops. You'll find them just about everywhere in the city centre, and a visit to the Dutch capital won't be complete without stepping inside and checkin out the Dutch grass, which is alledgedly the best (and strongest) to be found anywhere on this planet... 2. Canals. Rent a water-bike or take a (rather touristy) canal cruise and see the street life from another perspective. 3. Vondelpark. This huge city park is the place to chill on a slow summer afternoon with a nice Heineken in your hands, or a spliff, or a combination of those... Smile 4. Begijnhof. A courtyard with antique little houses and a church. It's hidden behind 'Spui', a very busy shopping area in the city center. Upon entrance, you'll all of a sudden find youself in an almost unreal oasis of peace. Most of the Dutch don't even know it exists... Those are my backpackers' tips in Amsterdam for now. All the other Dutchies who dwell on this forum are of course welcome to add their own suggestions! James "It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear." - Douglas Adams

Tristan Member	# Posted: 10 Apr 2004 10:54:45 For the culturally oriented, some other things to definitely see and do in Amsterdam: - The Royal Palace Amsterdam's original townhall from the 17th century, and very likely the most beautiful building of the country. Take a free tour at wednesdays and sundays at 14:00. - The Rijksmuseum The Louvre or Prado of the Netherlands. Houses The Nightwatch and a thousand other marvellous things. Currently most of it is closed for renovation, but the wing that is still open houses all of the major works. - Rent a bike Do like Amsterdammers do: go by bike. This will enable you not to be the victim of all those other bikers, but to hit other tourists yourself. It is also simply the funnest and easiest way to get around in Amsterdam. - The smaller musea If you really want to know about Amsterdam, go cultural and visit: Museum Amstelkring, The Jewish Historical Museum, the Amsterdam Historical Museum, and the old Synagogue. - Take a nightly walk along the canals. Just about the most beautiful thing in the world. "How the hell would I know!? Just put that cohort somewhere over there or something!" - Julius Ceasar, de bello gallico
Amsterdammertje Guest	# Posted: 16 Apr 2004 10:38:07 Oh yeah, here's another tip: Don't walk on the bicycle paths!! They are for cyclists, NOT for pedestrians!! I can't stand the tourists who don't recognize the difference, I've already hit a few accidentily... So watch out y'all!!
Tristan Member	# Posted: 19 Apr 2004 14:03:22 That's true. Most Amsterdammers can't stand the fact that most tourists do not seem to understand the difference between sidewalk and bicycle-path. So if someone uses his uses his bike-bell: move aside! You will be given no quarter and will be annihilated if you don't. "How the hell would I know!? Just put that cohort somewhere over there or something!" - Julius Ceasar, de bello gallico
Sam Member Europe	# Posted: 20 Apr 2004 22:59:38 And stop drooling at the ladies behind the rose windows. They're not that pretty :D Smuggling drugs into Jamaica is like smuggling SlimFast into Ethiopia.
garrontelep Member California	# Posted: 23 Apr 2004 05:29:14 Quoting: Amsterdammertje Don't walk on the bicycle paths!! They are for cyclists, NOT for pedestrians!! hey, you euro's make them look so perfect and path-like. we can't help it. plus, we all ride out bike's on the street, not on the sidewalk. i'm kinda just kidding. i never had a problem with staying off the bikepaths, but all of my american friends i've travelled with have.
Tristan Member	# Posted: 2 May 2004 22:01:27 The problem with bikes is that they do not make noise. They are, however, just about as hard to stop or to turn as, say, a scooter. So if a drunk/stoned tourist crawls back to his youth hostel at 8 a.m., and some of the inhabitants of the city are just going to work, this tourist might stumble onto the bicycle path, completely oblivious to the silent bikes approaching him from both sides at about 20 kilometers per hour. The sound of a bell might reach his ear, but before the sound has reached his battered brain, let alone that it has been analysed, he is already ruthlessly driven into the asphalt by a biker who saw him too late to be able to stop or evade him. This kind of thing happens about 1.675.382 times per day in Amsterdam and leads to sincere mutual hatred between tourists and bikers. :D About half of these accidents take place in one particular street (which self-respecting tourists should steer clear of anyway): The Damstraat (called Nieuwe/Oude hoogstraat later on) This street is the dead centre of the greatest tourist trap in the city (the worse parts of the red light district), and is also the main bicycle connection to Dam square. Most tourists spend about half of their time there. I recommend walking through it once, and then not going there again. It is horrible and has nothing to do with Amsterdam. (The big Chinese restaurant is pretty good, though) "How the hell would I know!? Just put that cohort somewhere over there or something!" - Julius Ceasar, de bello gallico
Admin Admin	# Posted: 4 May 2004 16:37:20 Hey there, I deemed (man, I love that word!) the content of this thread pretty useful for all backpackers out there, so I set up a static page (link) that quotes most of the content that's been put here by the visitors. I'm sure it'll come in handy for anyone who plans to visit the Dutch capital. Thanks a lot for all your contributions so far, and keep them coming! :D Admin "I love to travel, but hate to arrive." - Albert Einstein
stringboy Member Oxford, UK	# Posted: 1 Feb 2005 12:24:48 bikes? what bikes? i never made it out of that coffeeshop..... They'll talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual...and they're scared.
Frits Member Netherlands	# Posted: 27 Feb 2005 20:42:45 You're getting off topic, folks! I would advise a guided tour of the Tropenmuseum. (www.kit.nl) Very interesting. The Scheepvaartmuseum, museum of shipping (www.scheepvaartmuseum.nl) has a very interesting collection. And don't forget the zoo. (www.artis.nl) I always say: if you want to meet the people of a country, best visit the zoo!
JaMeZ Moderator Amsterdam	# Posted: 14 Mar 2005 13:10:14 Quoting: Frits I always say: if you want to meet the people of a country, best visit the zoo! Why would you say that? "It is no coincidence that in no known language does the phrase 'As pretty as an Airport' appear." - Douglas Adams
Frits Member Netherlands	# Posted: 21 Mar 2005 21:46:04 Go and visit the museums, and all the other things from the tourist guides, the vast majority of people you will meet will be fellow tourists from all over the world - except Amsterdam. Visit the zoo, and you'll meet the local people on a day's outing with the kids (or the grandparents for that matter), bringing packed lunches and taking pictures with the giraffes or the monkeys in the background. When in the Amsterdam zoo you'll even hear Dutch being spoken, which is a rare phenomenon in the rest of the city centre. One doesn't go to the zoo to see the animals, but the people... It's really as easy as that. Mind you, we used to visit central Europe on a regular basis, and the best places to go were really the zoos. I would love to visit the Dvur Kralové zoo http://www.zoodk.cz/home_en.php once again. Be honest. Wouldn't you, JaMeZ?
Tracy Brownlee Member Canada	# Posted: 3 Aug 2005 02:22:37 did everyone forget about the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam - gosh I miss The Netherlands. doei doei