Amsterdam

[Bowbridge]

Going for 2 days with teenage son. Looking for some cheap places to eat as it is really expensive in the usual tourist areas. Any recommendations?

Anyone been to Bodyworks? Is it worth it?

Last time I went DD and I did the free walking tour, Anne Frank's House, Van Gogh museum and canal tour. We would love to hire a bike this time and cycle round some of the islands. Is this a good idea or are there better places to cycle from the city?

Thanks

De Pizzabakkers makes thin, crusty pizza with the freshest and highest-quality ingredients, starting at under 8 euros.
Spaghetteria serves six different pastas each day. There are three different Amsterdam locations and each dish is approximately 9 euros.
Goodies is in the shopping area. It serves a bit of everything: fish, lamb, burgers and even cheese fondue. Main courses start at around 8 euros, with the average price being a little over that. Everything on the menu is fresh and organic.
If you’re exploring the Bloemenmarkt, Eetcafe t Pakhuis on a hidden side street off Spui has a reasonable lunch-time menu, including tasty Dutch pancakes and reasonable sandwiches.

Hi OP. I'm an Amsterdam blogger and have loads of posts on my blog which you might find useful (I'm also the family blogger for the City of Amsterdam website). There's one post specifically focussed on Amsterdam with teens and one with loads of places to eat. Rather than link to them all browse the blog (especially the "kids" section) and let me know if I can help with anything.

www.amsterdamwonderland.com

Chips. Many many chips. Cheap and so good.

Specifically Vleminckx de Sausmeester.

Hi OP, we went recently and did Bodyworlds, I loved it. It’s really interesting!
We also went into Ripleys Believe It or Not, which was fun.
I really wanted to go to the A’Dam swing thing, but we went in January and it was absolutely freezing so didn’t bother.
Don’t bother with the torture museum, it’s tiny and not worth the entry fee. It’s just dull, even though trip advisor seems to say differently. Each to their own I guess. I realise you hadn’t asked about those things, but all extra knowledge

As for food! For breakfast we ate at a little pancake place opposite Vondel Park. The name escapes me, but it was cheap and serves gorgeous pancakes with lots of flavour options.
For lunches, we ate mostly chips with Belgian mayo or pizza slices from the takeout places. We avoided places like McDonalds and Burger King because they seemed really expensive compared to the UK. They’re probably not, but I felt like they were...

For dinners: We ate once at the Hard Rock Cafe on the canal, which was nice but probably like any other Hard Rock. Next night, got a takeout and ate it while wandering around the main streets at night to see all the lights (and red light district, thought I imagine you won’t be going there with your son).
There’s a nice burger restaurant we went to called The Happy Bull in Amsterdam South, you can choose how you want the burger cooked. Be sure to book though as it is popular!

I love Amsterdam. Not in the winter though, not my best idea! Could waste hours in the spring/summer wandering the parks and museums....

Just got back. We stayed at: www.motel-one.com/en/hotels/amsterdam/hotel-amsterdam-waterlooplein/

We did a fantastic free walking tour freedamtours.com/

We visited the Rijksmuseum.

We ate cheaply in the Leidseplein area. Many restaurants offer meals for 5 Euros. We ate at www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g188590-d1319311-r337023480-Il_palio-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html
It was delicious. They even did gluten free options.

We hired bikes from 'Mike's Bikes' 4 hours for 5 Euros www.mikesbiketoursamsterdam.com/bike-rentals-amsterdam
This was such a bargain. We cycled out to a windmill, then through the Rijksmuseum, (listening to the amazing musicians), on to Vondelpark, then along the canals through Jordaans to central station.

Behind central station are ferries that go across the harbour for free. We jumped on a ferry with our bikes, found the IAMSTERDAM sign then cycled round the islands.
We ate cheaply at www.locatienrd.nl/ (2 euros for a cheese and ham toastie!) Back across on a different ferry, we cycled through the centre of the city and past the flower markets. 4 hours well spent.

Finally, we did a canal tour with circle line - awful. Waste of 32 euros. If you do a canal tour go in a small boat with live commentary. The big boats are... dire (This area is called Nine Streets. On the left is a church... that was the commentary).