Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands and was once the most thriving city in the history. Because a lot of things happened in history in and near Amsterdam, especially during the Golden Age, there is naturally much to see in this city. The history gave the city grand architecture, an amazing canal structure and a very charismatic city center.
Because of the role it plays as the capital town of the country, is not only the history of the town that attracts tourists, but you can also find a lot of modern entertainment in the city. This ranges from amazing restaurants, interesting museums, luxurious shopping streets, the modern city life, coffee shops and the red light district. There is something for every tourist and because of the high tourism, every local can speak English.
To see the most of Amsterdam, I will give you the best way how to visit and what to visit, split in two segments of locations near to each other.
How to get by
You can walk from place to place, but an even better idea is to rent a bike and cycle your way through town. Or you can buy a public transport card for a day and use the city’s public infrastructure of trams and metros to get by. You can use the website 9292ov.nl how you can get to every location, but you can also find helpful signs at every station.
Train station Amsterdam Centraal
https://goo.gl/maps/X37S2QoTCCq
Rent-a-bike locations
https://goo.gl/maps/fkyMvy4CwsD2, https://goo.gl/maps/6kdmgVEHcBM2
Part 1 – 2 hours
The old center of Amsterdam is where you can find the most interesting spots of the city and the charismatic ambience of the canal houses and the canals is what makes you want to stay in it for a long time.
Therefore it is a good idea to start at the train station and walk to the Public Library of Amsterdam to have a good view of the whole city. If you are interested, you can have some lunch at one of the lounge bars there or visit the Museum of Science.
Public Library of Amsterdam, Lounge Bar
https://goo.gl/maps/2rsVmfemCu82
Museum NEMO of Science
https://goo.gl/maps/UkJShZmiToD2
When you go into the heart of the city, there are some places you have to see. First, you have to get to the older canals of the town. You have two choices, both one block away from each other. One named the achterburgwal is where the red light district is located, where you can find adult stores. It’s worth to visit it during the night when the whole street lights up red. If you are with children or the adult business isn’t your thing, you can walk on the Voorburgwal where you can find a beautiful church with a lovely square.
Voorburgwal
https://goo.gl/maps/V7EwYcDDv7P2
Achterburgwal (red light district)
https://goo.gl/maps/CabZKGEXSFw
De Old Church
https://goo.gl/maps/zaqfo9HYCAG2
While you are at the Wallen, why not eat some snacks at FEBO? This is a Dutch snack bar where you can take snacks out of the wall. Or perhaps you want to try one of Amsterdam’s finest products marihuana. You can find it all kinds of forms in the city, one place being the Greenhouse Effect.
FEBO
https://goo.gl/maps/ZgundQZtWb72
Greenhouse Effect Coffeeshop
https://goo.gl/maps/MvXev6TAanx
After you’ve seen the two canal-streets named together with the Wallen, you can walk to De Dam, where you can find several interesting buildings. One is the Royal Palace, the others are the National Monument, Madame Tussauds Amsterdam and the New Church. You can often find interesting performers on the Dam square, so have some Dutch herring and stroll around.
If you go further West, you can find the Anne Frank Huis, which tells the story of Anne Frank, a young Jewish Girl that was hiding for the Nazi Germans during the second world war in a hidden room.
Walk back to the Dam after you visited the Anne Frank Huis and then go into Kalverstraat, a long shopping street where you can find the greatest deals, another FEBO and a cosy tram.
De Dam (Koninklijk Paleis, Nationaal Monument, Madame Tussauds, Nieuwe Kerk)
https://goo.gl/maps/WMBAgmfQ8c42
Anne Frank Huis
https://goo.gl/maps/shqKWZB9WPN2
Kalverstraat
https://goo.gl/maps/UU3pqQqjhMn
Part 2 – 2.5 hours
After you got out of Kalverstraat, you find yourself just out of the Heart of Amsterdam, but still in the older part of it. You can start this part by taking a canal tour, which takes you through all of Amsterdam and can have a great lunch.
When you come back or want to skip the whole canal tour, you can go to the Flower Market and buy some Tulip or Marihuana seeds for your own garden. You can also eat some Dutch Poffertjes on this street. Do give those a try, they are delicious.
Canal Tour
https://goo.gl/maps/SxEHWt5gent
Flower Market
https://goo.gl/maps/SPY8DHsYkr32
Pancake House
https://goo.gl/maps/DwLUsd9E9CD2
After strolling through all those flowers, get back to the canals, walk all the way South through the Leidsestraat and play some chess with the locals at the square in front of the Hard Rock Café.
Visit the Vondelpark and hang around when the sun shines, or drink some tea at the Blauwe Theehuis in the middle of the park.
Hard Rock Café
https://goo.gl/maps/HXMQNtdXtkp
Vondelpark, Blauwe Theehuis
https://goo.gl/maps/4WMM8ZCm4UA2
After you relaxed at the park, walk down the Baerlestraat and arrive at the Museumplein. At this square, you can find many attractions that will keep you busy for the rest of the day. At first, you probably want to take a picture at the ‘’I Love Amsterdam’’ sign or have some Stoofpot, Herring or Poffertjes at one of the small shops around it.
Then you can choose out of many museums. The biggest and most famous one is the Rijksmuseum, where you can find all kinds of art, but the most famous piece is the painting called the Nachtwacht by Rembrandt. Or you can visit the Van Gogh museum and watch all the paintings he made in the name of love. There is also the city museum, a diamond museum and for the modern art lovers, a Banksy museum. Note that most Museums are closed during the weekend.
I love Amsterdam Sign
https://goo.gl/maps/wvd88oU5zxv
RijksMuseum
https://goo.gl/maps/oGcaGcT5AaL2
Van Gogh Museum
https://goo.gl/maps/Cd8b5AJk9rH2
Banksy Museum
https://goo.gl/maps/qzgay7esSSy
After you inhaled all that culture, you can head your way back to the center of the town, but not after some shopping at PC Hooftstraat for luxuries or gifts and strolling around at the Jewish Neighborhood looking for antique.
Shopping street PC Hooftstraat
https://goo.gl/maps/18CR7jehhEU2
Antique street
https://goo.gl/maps/kNRzR6VUSbU2
If you like to travel, whether for work or leisure, keep following the Travellizy blog. We’ll be posting many more articles just like this one in the upcoming weeks. Each one will focus on a different destination. If you have a particular city, country or interest in mind, your suggestions are always welcome. Happy travels!