Top Tips From Amsterdam Readers
This week our Hack Your City readers posted 73 comments with tips about Amsterdam , such as where to eat and drink, how to stay safe, how to get around and where to go outside the city. Here’s a sample of the best. (Then read the entire thread; many commenters have given whole lists of recommendations.)
BRX Wayne on Where to Stay:
Don’t pick a hotel right in the center. Some of the most interesting base camp sites are just around the corner and you are still within walking distance. Cityhub is a great start as it is in close proximity to a great food market and dodgy shopping area, as well as countless cafes and breakfast spots dotted along the road into town. This area is too overlooked in favor of the center, and this must change.
Xander Hoos about dispensaries:
If you’re visiting Amsterdam to smoke weed, go to a café outside the city center. Since they serve locals and not tourists, the quality is higher and the prices are lower. A personal recommendation is the “Kashmir Lounge”, which has decent DJs and a relaxed atmosphere.
The human hand of God at another dispensary:
On Utrechtsestraat (I think there are two more locations) there is a really nice pharmacy designed like a super trendy pharmacy called Boerenjongens (farm boys). The people who work there are cheerful and helpful.
One of several recommended Pyru locations :
Osterpark is beautiful and a great place to see local (wild) parrots. (No kidding.) There is a small but thoughtful Holocaust memorial in the nearby Wertheimpark, if the line to meet Anne Frank Huys scares you.
Ray on the aisle to several museums Museumkaart :
I used Museumkaart to visit small museums such as canal houses which I didn’t think were worth the price.
Dutch Amsterdam on getting into big museums:
If you are planning to visit one of the major museums, buy your skip-the-line tickets online. Otherwise, you risk standing in line for more than two hours to get to, say, the Van Gogh Museum.
Mr. John in another museum of times of the Second World War:
Off the beaten track is the Verzetsmuseum (Museum of Resistance), this is a fantastic view of life under occupation during World War II that we British (and you who live behind the pond) had no experience with, it is eye-opening and humiliating and vital journey.
Amg91 at the NEMO Science Museum :
NEMO, although intended for kids, is a geek’s paradise. There is something to see here for all ages. If you take a guided tour of the canals, you are sure to see its charming architecture outside.
Get off my … yawn for privacy in the bathroom:
If you are planning to share a room in Amsterdam with a partner / friend, and one of you is squeamish about the privacy of the bathrooms, check the photos of the actual hotel rooms before booking. I found it surprisingly common for Amsterdam hotel rooms to have glass walls or open bathrooms. Even when the bathroom is “closed,” often bathroom doors are not complete and hang several inches from the ceiling and / or floor.
Gerhard Burger on the alternative to “touristy Amsterdam”:
If you insist on a trip to Amsterdam, perhaps head to Rotterdam as a day trip. The train ride takes only 41 minutes and you can easily combine that with a trip to Kinderdijk!
Papa Van Twi on Pancakes and Miniature Park:
Want to visit the whole Netherlands in a few hours? Madurodam right down your alley. This is all, only in miniature. This is $ 12 per person one way with a transfer from Amsterdam Central to The Hague Central (The Hague).
You should have a little more. These are tiny tiny pancakes. They put powdered sugar on them and they are delicious.
Maarten on other local dishes:
You shouldn’t leave Amsterdam without trying an Indonesian restaurant. In the Netherlands, they are commonly referred to as Indo-Chinese. Make sure you have a good one before you risk it, as there are many mediocre ones.
G101010101 for other local dishes:
I don’t know why, but Amsterdam has delicious dumplings.
Reuthermonkey on a cheaper flight:
Amsterdam is served by high speed rail: Thalys to Paris and ICE to Germany. If a direct flight to Amsterdam is expensive, fly to Brussels or Dusseldorf and take the train to Central Station. It’s cheap, fast, and gets you right into the city center. The views of the Dutch countryside, including windmills and tulips, are breathtaking. Personally, I prefer to fly directly into AMS.
One Step Amsterdam Day Tour Wanderingpoet :
Get your feet up and relax in this Art Deco day spa: Sauna Deco. Collaborative learning, clothing optional: really the perfect place to relax after a day of travel.
Again The Man Hand of God on arcade games:
Westerpark also has a lot to offer: beer pubs, eateries and the Ton Ton club, an arcade with classic Japanese video games, 80s pinball machines and a Battle Royale Pac Man table. It also hosts music festivals and Rollende Keukens (rental kitchens).
Islandude on French fries with mayonnaise:
If you want to taste the fried potatoes from the coasters with mayonnaise, be careful, they drown it in mayonnaise. Ask for a side container if you don’t want it. Try the hot onion peanut sauce (pindasaus).
Dutch Amsterdam again , on the canal, demanding bicycles and the public:
Bicycle fishing has become a kind of tourist attraction . And speaking of the canals: according to the Amsterdam police, the vast majority of people who drown in the canals are men who, having drunk too much, helped themselves only to fall. Those who did not fall and did not get caught in fact receive a large fine.
Anon Anon on cycling and good pubs:
Plan more time for walking. There are many bicycles, so many that it becomes difficult to walk in high traffic areas. Keeping track of bicycles when crossing the road is a little different than tracking cars, so it takes a little getting used to.
We found the best / funniest pubs to be found on the outskirts of the red light district. We noticed that it was an interesting mixture of drunken fun (without such cruel fun) and a sense of family friendship even at night.
Tarquin Shrapnel-Carruthers on Voyeur Sea Tour:
The best time to go boating is at night because the Dutch don’t close the curtains, so you can catch a glimpse of some of the interiors too.
Jeroen’s One Step Breakout ‘s Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood:
Moving east from Vondelpark, you will arrive at De Pijp. Hipster downtown, lots of publicized and pretentious places, although Sarfatipark is photogenic and worth exploring in the surrounding streets. Avoid the Heineken Brewery, the tourist trap.
This last comment is not a clue, but it does affect:
That’s all! Come back next week to learn about the capital of American music.