What to do in Amsterdam

[Soontobe60]

We’re planning a weekend in Amsterdam in June. Any suggestions on where to stay, what to do, where to eat are welcome!!

Get stoned & the head to Albert Cuypmarkt. You can spend a good few hours wondering looking at all the stalls. Some great food there too

Just got back from spending last weekend there on Tuesday.
We stayed in the museum quarter near Leidseplein. Loads of bars, restaurants and cafes in that area. We went for pancakes, visited the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank house, the Vondelspark, hired bikes and met up with some Dutch friends there. Wandered and took pics.
I don't smoke weed nor does my friend so we ignored the coffee shops. Plenty of other things to do there.

Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk, Hermitage, Kattenkabinet, Amsterdam Museum, Anne Frank's House, Resistance Museum, canal cruise.
(I like museums.)
Also hot sex with Dutch colleague, but I realise that may not be an option for most. 😉

I did all the museums, same as @EBearhug (but no hot sex unfortunately!) and a lot of cycling round random suburbs, which was really fun

It’s interesting that Amsterdam brings out comments about sex and drugs! We might be op and a teen DC!

The museums are excellent: Van Gogh is unmissable. Oude Kirk and around that area is pretty. Anne Frank Huis is very moving. We liked the canal trip and walking around Jordaan. Coffee shops do just serve coffee by the way. We stayed in a hotel on the Herengracht Csnal but any canal side hotel is likely to be attractive.

I’m not sure my DH would go for that 😂😂😂

Do people have to wear masks etc?

Apart from getting stoned and the seedy side of things...there's some lovely parks, you can get some food, sit on the grass bank and enjoy the canal boats going past, shopping is good too and you have to hire a bike!

The Science museum is definitely worth visit - so interactive and in a stunning building!

I'd also recommend hiring a bike or perhaps even doing a cheesy bike tour - I went on one which visited a windmill, a cheese maker and a clog maker... so much fun!

I love Amsterdam - have been heaps of times and there's always new stuff to ferret out.

If you can, join a bike tour of the city.

Boat tours are also popular.

Years ago there used to be an excellent market in the Jordaan which had some gorgeous flowers and cheese stalls. Also, try the bread covered in melted cheese. If you find a stall, try the raw herring, and the chips in a cone covered in mayonnaise and ketchup is lovely. The licorice is milder than ours, and imo, nicer. When I was younger there were lots on Indonesian places to eat, don't know if it's still true. (I'm a bit of a food tourist).

The shopping is amazing but not cheap.

Even though the " coffee shops" sell drugs you don't have to partake and can just have a drink in a nice place.

The licorice is milder than ours, and imo, nicer.

No! Salty drop is an inedible abomination! Be very wary of their liquorice. There are lots of good things about NL, but liquorice is not one of them.

Place holding as hoping to go later this year.

@Soontobe60 no, the Dutch are very laid back about Covid in general and I saw very few masks.
Someone mentioned Indonesian food, we had a good Indonesian meal, I can give you the name of the restaurant if you're interested.

We are off to Amsterdam in three weeks! We have already booked a slot for the Anne Frank house, the capacity is very limited even without Covid, if memory serves it's something like they release tickets in the first week of the month for the following month - so 1st week in April for May. And they go very quickly.

We have also bought the I Am Amsterdam card which gives you free entry into a lot of places for a 24, 48 or 74 hour period plus public transport, ferries etc. Planning a trip up the coast to Volendam one evening.

DH and I have zero interest in drugs either.

It’s been a few years since I’ve been but De Kas (restaurant) is outstanding.

We stayed at the College hotel, in the Museum District. Didn’t go near the red light district or coffee shops at all, not my thing. It’s easily avoided by just staying out of the area around Centraal station. Not every coffee shop in Amsterdam is a ‘coffee shop’. Amsterdam’s a bit like Edinburgh or York; a city with two distinct personalities.

Anne Frank museum, Heineken factory is a lot of fun - you can book a three part thing for Heineken factory, a boat ride on the canals and then end up at Amsterdam look out.

You might be a bit late for the tulip fields now but they're lovely 😊 lots of nice places to eat and the markets are nice to wander around!

Just back! Foodhallen is great for food/drink. It's a big indoor market with loads of food stalls, bars and often has live music.
Highly recommend Captain Jack's boat tour. He's really entertaining and the tour includes snacks and loads of drink! WaterKant is great at night- waterside bar, great atmosphere, bench tables, was a great way of meeting and chatting to lots of people from around the globe.
The TonysChocolonely factory is in Amsterdam too if you like chocolate!

My kid-friendly recommendations would be the Wondr experience plus roller disco and This is Holland 5D flight thing. We also enjoyed UV glow crazy golf and Artis zoo.

If you've got more time to spend in the Netherlands then Efteling theme park is only 90 mins away by train and fantastic.

This bike tour was amazing - I highly recommend it!

joyridetours.nl/country-side-tour-amsterdam/

We just walked a lot, there are lots of lovely little areas, all different. Second the Vondelpark and the Foodhallen. We also hired bikes for a day or two.

Avoid the druggie touristy bit in the middle: full of young kids out of their faces. And don’t bother with Rembrandt’s house.

i really loved Amsterdam, much to my surprise. It’s so civilised and friendly.

And don’t bother with Rembrandt’s house.

I loved Rembrandt's house, but I love Rembrandt and art in general, and have been to various Rembrandt exhibitions. When i went, there was a display about how he mixed pigments and also about making different types of prints, which I found really interesting.

Reading these responses I want to head straight out there again and try the other suggestions people are making! I will definitely go again.
By the way Eurostar goes from kings cross st Pancras direct and takes 4 hours, if anyone is looking to reduce their air travel for environmental reasons.

I’m also a Rembrandt and art fan, but found it quite dull 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks everyone - hotel and flights booked!

Winkle 43 for the apple pie!