My husband is going for a conference end of April and I’m tagging along. At the end we will have 2 full days for exploring as well as time each day after the conference.
Anyone been and have suggestions? Already have Anne Frank on my must do.
Thinking of one day taking the train to Belgium to visit another country and explore.
Only two days? Don’t go to another country. There is plenty to do in Amsterdam — Ryksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, bike ride along the canals, hang out in a coffee shop.
"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. On the outside, babies, you've got a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies-"God damn it, you've got to be kind.”
I really loved just wandering the streets and eating a bunch of snacks as I saw them. My favorite museums were the Rijksmuseum and the Moco Museum. Also have some poffertjes for me!
Only two days? Don’t go to another country. There is plenty to do in Amsterdam — Ryksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, bike ride along the canals, hang out in a coffee shop.
We will have 2 full days but I’ll have time when he is in the conference. We are there for a week
The Van Gogh museum is small and amazing get the audio guide it’s told from the letters Vincent and his brother wrote each other. It’s so interesting and made the artwork really meaningful.
Take a canal tour and explore. It’s a beautiful city. I would spend the time in Amsterdam there is a lot to see.
Post by dreamcrisp1 on Jan 22, 2023 6:20:40 GMT -5
Definitely go to rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, or moco. A canal tour around the city is the best. Go to vondelpark and get a coffee at vondeltuin and walk around. There’s a free walking tour that’s about 2-2.5 hours and I love it. I also love westerpark. Albert cuyp market is touristy but so lovely to go to and eat poffertjes.
And if you want to explore, go elsewhere in the Netherlands - Rotterdam, Maastricht, Haarlem - all beautiful and so nice to see the things there. And consider going up to Texel as it’s a great little island.
Post by klingklang77 on Jan 22, 2023 8:58:44 GMT -5
There is so much to do in the Netherlands. In Amsterdam I like the Anne Frank house and The Van Gogh museum. Riding a bike in Amsterdam can be very challenging because they are really serious about it. If you love tulips, then Keukenhof will be great at that time of year, but it is outside of Amsterdam. But it’s a great place to ride bikes. Also Kinderdijk is a great place to see windmills and ride bikes.
We just went in October. We did a free walking tour on our first day that was 3 hours long (Free Dam Tour on Tripadvisor). We also went on a canal cruise, to the Anne Frank House (tickets needed in advance), Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum (tickets needed in advance), a day long bus tour (to see windmills in Zaanse Schans, Gouda cheese factory, clog factory), Heineken experience, Albert Cuyp market.
For food, be sure to try poffertjes. They're little pancakes that are served with a variety of toppings. I got some with nutella and strawberries. For dinner, try to arrange for reijstaffel. It means rice table and is a bunch of small plates of Indonesian food. So good. We had some bitterballen on our canal cruise that were good, but I'd had others that were not good. Get a fresh made stroopwafel. And the friets (french fries) there are so good and come with a bunch of sauces.
I would absolutely try to go to Keukenhof to see the tulips.
Post by dutchgirl678 on Jan 23, 2023 14:01:24 GMT -5
There is plenty to do in Amsterdam and surrounding cities. If you only have 2 days I would just stick with Amsterdam. Others have mentioned the highlights: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, Anne Frank house, Vondelpark, canal cruise. Check out the Jordaan area. Biking is not for the faint of heart in the city, as tons of residents use bikes to commute/get around and don't pay attention to others (also be careful when on foot and crossing streets). Getting around by tram is a great way to not have to walk everywhere.
Quick train rides from Amsterdam for day trips: Haarlem, Den Haag / Delft (Check out the Mauritshuis in Den Haag/The Hague), Zaanse Schans (windmills, but not as crowded as Kinderdijk), Rotterdam, maybe even Utrecht. Maastricht is beautiful but for a day trip it is pretty far from Amsterdam (2h20m one-way). It is only 1h15m to Antwerp from Amsterdam, so if you want to go to Belgium I would do that over Maastricht.