2 x 5 hours in Amsterdam

[Ragevibration]

We're off to Amsterdam tomorrow on a sort of mini New Years cruise thing with 5ish hours in the city on the 31st and 1st.

Normally I am very organised but with Christmas etc I sort of still thought it was ages away.

Anybody have any suggestions of what to do? We are not very culture-y people so probably no art. I would fancy the Anne Frank museum but DP not so keen...

As tempting as it is i think we have decided against eating some space cookies and going to the germ museum place

Neither of us have been before and this is to serve as a sort of... taster to decide if we want to go back properly for a long weekend next year.

Thanks

Off the top of my head Heineken tour, canal cruise, Anne Frank museum, sex museum. There's lots to see, even if you just mooch around and people watch.

Would be more time on a boat but would recommend a river cruise. We used Lovers something or other and had a lovely dinner cruise but you can also do a get on get off one for sightseeing

We had about 10hours in Amsterdam at the start of our honeymoon. We really enjoyed the royal palace (which is in the centre) and had a nice journey on one of the hop on hop off canal boats.

There's a Banksy exhibition on at the moment

Depending on the weather, either:

• Get high & go for a walk

Or

• Get high & go from coffee shop to coffee shop

Thanks for the suggestions!!! So much options... the Banksy exhibition sounds interesting as does the sex museum. Decisions decisions...

Have a good walk; the city centre isn't big. Pop into a cheese shop for a taste (all the touristy cheese shops in the centre have lots of different tasters). When your feet get tired, stop for a beer or coffee with some Dutch apple cake and a huge pile of whipped cream and don't forget to have some chips with sweet mayo (or your preferred sauce - the chip stands have them all).
Pop into an Albert Hejn supermarket to stock up on Hagelslag or Stroopwaffel or your choice of Dutch souvenir.

And this hidden church is a very cool place to visit.

Visiting the big attractions like Anne Frank's house or the Van Gogh or Rijks museums could be stressful with 5 hours (if you also want to have a bit of a wander).

You can climb up to the roof of the Westerkerk for about 7€ each to get a good view of the city and burn off the hearty Dutch fare. It's near Anne Frank's house.

The Van Gogh museum is absolutely brilliant, and open on NYE and NYD. It's unlike most galleries, my 13yr old DS loved it. Most of his most famous paintings plus a chronology of his life which was a bit tragic but had some joyful bits. I really recommend, even to those "not very cultural".

Also almost every small bar in the centre has fabulous beer (if you like wheat beer see if you can find a local beer called White Antonia) and great bar snacks (bitterballen are deep fried crispy meat/roux croquette) and frites with mayo.

If you walk along Singel, there is the famous flower market and also a fantastic Christmas Shop (lots of beautiful European decorations) and a cheese shop

Take the tram 26 from Centraal Station, get off at Ijburg (about 20 mins) and walk to the new man-made beach at Strand Blijburg. There's also a bit of a boardwalk through Ijburg with bars and cafes (it's the up and coming place to live)

The Red Light streets are quite safe and not intimidating (again, DS was perfectly ok), but some interesting shops!

Amsterdam in January is gorgeous

A boat trip would help you see the sights quickly. And then find a nice place to sit with a view and have a slice of apple cake and / or some Dutch gin.