Buurten
Vibrant, lively, good restaurants, green, next to the Vondelpark
45 Einheimische empfehlen
Amsterdam Oud-West
Vibrant, lively, good restaurants, green, next to the Vondelpark
Jordaan
Picturesque, famous, crowded, expensive.
Amsterdam Oud-Zuid
Preppy, Botox, Lambos, Lobster and Oysters.
Amsterdam-Centrum
Touristic, many coffeeshops, prostitutes, historical.
Grachtengordel
Gorgeous, Picturesque, Busy, Touristic
Jordan
Picturesque, famous, crowded, expensive.
Eetcultuur
Vlaamsch Broodhuys BV
64 Eerste Constantijn HuygensstraatBackery. Bit expensive but good bread and coffee
Hands down, one one the best cafés in town. Go for a sunset drink - if you can get yourself a seat in the sun!
84 Einheimische empfehlen
Café L'Affiche
39 Jacob van LennepstraatHands down, one one the best cafés in town. Go for a sunset drink - if you can get yourself a seat in the sun!
Proeflokaal = tasteroom..
Beeeers, many beers to taste.
174 Einheimische empfehlen
Gollem's Proeflokaal
160-162 OvertoomProeflokaal = tasteroom..
Beeeers, many beers to taste.
This is a typical brown cafe, with the real Amsterdammers. Not import Amsterdammers, like me. This is how typical Amsterdam bars used to be.
Just order a wine of beer. No fuss about grapes or IPA fusions.
Cafe Orange
216 BilderdijkstraatThis is a typical brown cafe, with the real Amsterdammers. Not import Amsterdammers, like me. This is how typical Amsterdam bars used to be.
Just order a wine of beer. No fuss about grapes or IPA fusions.
Café Lennep
334 Jacob Van LennepkadeNice for a lunch on the sunny terras
Bar MiMi
35 PotgieterstraatLocal cafe, nice terras, not trying to be fancy. Get the neighbourhood vibes.
Local spot to go for a coffee or drink in the heart of the Vondelpark!
292 Einheimische empfehlen
The Blue Tea House
5 VondelparkLocal spot to go for a coffee or drink in the heart of the Vondelpark!
Bezienswaardigheden
Don't know of this is the place to go.
But definitely go for a boat tour. It's called the NR 1 experience in the world (!) by TripAdvisor.
Go on a sunny day, for a medium sized boat (Ca. 30 p max) with a shipper. They have great stories to tell!
40 Einheimische empfehlen
Canal Tour Amsterdam Cruise
1 BinnenkantDon't know of this is the place to go.
But definitely go for a boat tour. It's called the NR 1 experience in the world (!) by TripAdvisor.
Go on a sunny day, for a medium sized boat (Ca. 30 p max) with a shipper. They have great stories to tell!
Uit eten
Gitane
THE new restaurant in town. Very good shared dining menu. Best to reserve a spot in advance!
The Seafood Bar
5h Van BaerlestraatOTTO VOLANTE
534H OvertoomGreat restaurant for a romantic diner a deux.
Reserve in advance!
Little Collins
140 BilderdijkstraatDe Japanner West
203 BilderdijkstraatReally good Japanese tapas! Fairly priced.
Vegan place. The noodles and vegan meatballs are surprisingly good.
6 Einheimische empfehlen
SOIL of Amsterdam - Plant Based Café
141 BilderdijkstraatVegan place. The noodles and vegan meatballs are surprisingly good.
Pepito Bar Tapas
New spanish tapas bar! Haven't been yet, but seemingly good!
Pastis
15 Eerste Constantijn HuygensstraatVery cosy French restaurant. Always love the vibe.
De Italiaan
29 Bosboom ToussaintstraatOne of the best pizzas in town!
The Seafood Bar
5h Van BaerlestraatUpmarket, good seafood down the road, next to Museum Square
Brewery. Another nice place for a beer. Gone now. can't seem to delete this
8 Einheimische empfehlen
Brouwerij Troost Oud West
205 BilderdijkstraatBrewery. Another nice place for a beer. Gone now. can't seem to delete this
Fijnkost Vondelpark
10 ZocherstraatNice, cosy, small, cafe-restaurant. Reasonably priced.
Tipps für Reisende
Bräuche und Kultur
Dutch are nice, but direct
Please don't be offended. We welcome your straight forward answer in return.
Bräuche und Kultur
Cycle on the right side!
Otherwise the Dutch get angry (incl. me)
Bräuche und Kultur
Don't walk on cycling paths!
Otherwise the Dutch get angry (incl. me) :)
Bräuche und Kultur
The Dutch hardly smoke weed.
So they're not really fond of tourists smoking pod on their porch
Bräuche und Kultur
In Amsterdam, cyclist are the kings of the road
Even pedestrians stop at a pedestrian crossing
Nicht verpassen
Take a canal boat tour
A canal boat tour is called the NR 1 experience in the world (!) by TripAdvisor.
Go on a sunny day, for a medium sized boat (Ca. 30 p max) with a shipper. They have great stories to tell!
Nicht verpassen
Go cycling or walking in the Dutch dunes
Head down to Zandvoort or Bloemendaal
Nicht verpassen
Visit Delft or The Hague
The Netherlands has much more to offer. E.g. Delft is 1h trainride away and beautiful historic place - small Amsterdam.
Verkehrsmittel
Things not to do: cycling (if you can't)
Don’t rent a bike until you know the traffic rules (or you will get some very original Dutch swear words involving diseases thrown at your head… if you’re lucky). Trust public transportation instead. Go to a booth at Schiphol and someone will explain the whole proces (saving you a frantic 15 minutes trying to figure out the machines while impatient Dutch people are letting you know you are in the way)
Bräuche und Kultur
Things not to do: drugs
Don’t buy drugs off the streets (heroin instead of cocaine is sadly a thing), don’t assume that we are all drug using, prostitute visiting, gay pride going, party animals. Most Dutch people are a lot more conservative than the tourists think. Even if we have liberal views, most of us have abandoned drugs and hard partying early in adulthood. Also realize that our weed is a LOT stronger than most tourists are used to.
Nicht verpassen
Things not to do: accommodation (Quora answer)
Also, don’t stay in de city center. Most tourist will “do” Dam Square, Ann Frank’s House, Rijksmuseum, canal ride, etc. There is a lot more to see. The nine streets have great shopping, the Vondelpark is beautiful, there are a billion museums. But choose wisely, the sexmuseum, Madam Tussauds, the horror museum (I think that’s what it’s called, or maybe the torture museum) are tourist traps.
Bräuche und Kultur
Things not to do: Red light district (Quora answer)
When visiting the red light district please remember that even though we try to keep things legal and take care of the women, many are not there because they want to be. Human trafficking is a big problem and most tourists aren’t aware of this.
Bräuche und Kultur
Things not to do: waffles
Don't think waffles are Dutch. The plethora of waffle houses are not authentic. Waffles are Belgian, 'stroopwafels' and 'poffertjes' and 'pannekoeken' are Dutch. Try them, they are better than waffles!
Nicht verpassen
Things not to do: confusing holidays
Don’t confuse the holidays. We have king now, so Queens Day has been moved to April 27th and is now called King’s Day. Arriving a few days later, ready to party in orange will get you a tv-interview with a snickering reporter (it has become somewhat of an annual thing)
Nicht verpassen
Things not to do: stick in the centre
For a more traditional Dutch experience, if you have time, there are other lovely cities just around the corner. Utrecht has amazing canals and gorgeous houses, Delft and Gouda are very pretty, The Hague is our political capital and steeped in history (don’t talk about the brothers De Witt… it’s a sensitive subject), and Maastricht is very chique. You will get out of the tourist rut and still see the canals and gabled houses many tourists come for.
Bräuche und Kultur
Some words about Sinterklaas
About halfway through November the Sinterklaas holiday starts and some time before that the decorations are already up. We call him black Peter and a lot of Dutch people are very fond and proud of him. Realize that the political and social debate has already started at the end of summer (for years now) and it’s a pretty polarizing thing. Even if you think a white guy entering the harbor on a ship with a few dozen blackface “helpers” is very racist…. try to keep your criticism quiet, since there will undoubtedly be someone in the crowd willing to explain...
Bräuche und Kultur
Some words about Sinterklaas (2/2)
...explain it to you (respectfully or physically). I guess our country needs some time to come to terms with our past and future. We’re working on it. Rest assured that nobody is celebrating racism, even if the symbolism might be a bit jarring.
Bräuche und Kultur
Choose your (air)B&B wisely
Amsterdam used to be cool. It used to have local brown cafés (with carpets on the tables and lots of locals, "pianoman"-style), now it has coffeehouses. Dutch people can hardly afford living anywhere near the center. It’s slowly making the city a tourist wasteland. More coffee corners, Starbucks and waffles are not why you should want to come to Amsterdam. So try to book from legitimate owners renting out their own space or from people without 30 other addresses. Travel sustainably, so that there’s some Amsterdam left when you leave.