Amsterdam tips from a not-so-local-anymore

During my mini-sabbatical in Lecce, Italy, I met some wonderful people. One of them planned a visit to Amsterdam and I made a list of tips for her. I haven’t lived in Amsterdam for quite some time now and a lot has changed since, but I still love this city. Therefore, I wanted her to have a nice time and a less touristy experience, so I put together a list of personal recommendations. As I was writing and thinking, my list became longer and longer. So I warned her:

“Some things might be on my list for nostalgic reasons instead of currently being worth it. Definitely check their (review) sites as well, though I did do some research.”

Thought it might be fun to share my list with more people, so here it is. We’d love to hear your experiences!

Where to stay in Amsterdam

This one is a bit difficult for me, as I've never had to stay in an actual hotel in Amsterdam. So no personal experience there. But below some things to consider when it comes to accomodation in Amsterdam.

• Try to stay walking distance from the city center or near a hotel that is walking distance from public transport. There are some hotels that are further away, but near subway-stations, which is a good choice, because the subway is fast and pretty reliable. It does not run all night, so pay attention to time tables;
• A lovely hotel is where Mr JL Collins stayed during his month in Amsterdam and where we had the meet-up: hotel Zoku (I also mentioned this hotel above, because their rooftop terrace is really nice as well);
• Also don’t fall in the trap of thinking you’ll be staying in Amsterdam, when in fact you’re actually in another place. Meaning: the hotels at Schiphol, or in places like Hoofddorp, Badhoevedorp etc. Especially if you want to visit Amsterdam itself and are only there for a short period;
• I would recommend to not stay in Amsterdam West or Noord (North). Both of these area’s have been/ are upcoming, but I personally find those neighbourhoods a bit boring and the hotels here are further away from the action. (Don’t tell people that live here this, they will get upset! Also, I haven’t been there in a while, so what do I really know anyway?)
  

Museums in Amsterdam

• The Rijksmuseum is sort of a must, because of the Nightwatch. The art here is overall very dark and somber, so although very impressive not my personal first choice;
• The Van Gogh Museum on the other hand is one of my favourite museums in Amsterdam. The bright colours and intensity are amazing. I do recommend buying a ticket upfront online, as this museum tends to sell out (same goes for all the other big and popular museums);
• Depending on the temporary exhibition, I also like the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. . The art here is usually quite modern and my decision to go is all about whether it speaks to me at the moment;
• Anne Frank Huis: has significant importance of course. It’s very popular and crowded, so make sure to buy your tickets well in advance, as it will otherwise probably be sold out.
  

If you don’t want to be cultural in the visiting-museums-kind-of-way, definitely skip it and do other things! It’s only worth paying the high entrance fees if you really want to see the exhibitions.

Interesting places, walking around the city and shopping

• A canal-ride is a very good idea, I love doing those! They might sound a bit corny, but I (as a local in Amsterdam) have done them many times and I never get tired of seeing the beautiful buildings and all the pretty lights. We even used to do them as a primary school activity and they would ‘rock’ the boat in the open water of the IJ. As small children we loved this. Every winter, there’s the Amsterdam Light Festival, where they put light-art installations in/ on/ around the canals and I think it’s very pretty. You can actually also see a lot of them by just walking around. ;) All of the boating-companies have special arrangements/ tickets for the festival, just make sure to reserve a ticket upfront. Even if you reserve a ticket, waiting times might be long during the festival;
• Vondelpark is a nice, big (free) park to walk around in. Lots of people come here to jog and stuff. If you want to get a glimpse of daily life and feel like a local, take a walk around this park or sit on one of the many benches with a coffee to do some people watching;
• Begijnhof: peaceful, old, small ‘hofje’ (little courtyard). It's right in the middle of the city, but very quiet once you’re inside. Open daily from 9.00 to 17.00 uur;
• De 9 straatjes (‘The 9 Streets’): 9 very cute little streets with nice (independent) shops. Might have become a bit touristy nowadays, but there are still nice, small shops;
• De Bijenkorf (near Dam Square): THE department store of the Netherlands. Think Coin and Macy’s;
• Grand Café Restaurant 1e Klas: this used to be the waiting area for First Class train travelers in the olden days at the Amsterdam Central Station (CS). You can reach it via platform 1. Just go here for a drink or something, I’m not sure about the food at all. I like the old interior and think it’s nice to have a look. It apparently made it to number 1 in a The Guardian-list;
• Albert Cuyp market (on the Albert Cuypstraat): a famous open air market. If you’d want to see local life and maybe get some fresh produce, this is the place. Open every day, except Sundays, from 9:00 – 17:00. Around here, there are also a couple good and cheap (Asian/ Surinamese) restaurants. We used to go to Warung Marlon or Nieuw Albina a lot, for a saoto soup (an Indonesian chicken soup), a ‘nasi’ (fried rice) or tjauw min. Other dishes I’d recommend: pitjel/ gado gado (veggies with peanut sauce) and fried cassava or a bun with ‘bakkeljauw’ (dried, very salty cod fish). Eat this sandwich with lots of pepper and you’re golden.
• Waterlooplein market: an artsy flea market, daily, except Sunday from 9:30 – 18:00
• Haarlemmerdijk and Haarlemmerstraat: cute street and indie-shops. Walking distance from the Central Train station. it’s the area over the water and then to the right.
• Utrechtsestraat: not one of the main shopping streets, but also nice to walk here, there are some nice shops and great, old buildings
• De Bloemenmarkt: a floating flower market. Pretty self-explanatory. ;)
• Book shops: The American Book Center (Spui) and the New English Bookstore (Kalverstraat)
• The Public Library: walking distance from the CS (at the Oosterdok), there’s the biggest location of the public library of Amsterdam. Very new building, it might be nice to have a look. It’s free entrance. You can also just sit there to read something and there’s a restaurant with a terrace where you can enjoy the view over Amsterdam. Or just go up and buy nothing but just look at the view. They’re open every day until 22, except holidays, I think.
  

Roof terraces

The roof terraces in Amsterdam are not that high, but then again, nothing in Amsterdam really is and the views still tend to be nice.

• SkyLounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel, walking distance from the CS
  
• Canvas at The Volkshotel
  
• The W-Hotel
  
• Hotel Zoku
  
• The roof of museum NEMO: also near the CS. Big, free entrance and open daily from 10:00 - 17:30
  
• Moon or Madam (free entrance from 21:30 onwards)
  

Madam and Moon are in the same building: a high, former office building on the North side of Amsterdam, right across the IJ (the river at the back side of the CS). There’s also the LookOut in that same building, for which you have to pay. Rather just go and have a drink at Madam or Moon and you get the view for free. Although: there apparently is a swing (for 5 euros extra) right there on top of the building if you do go and pay for the LookOut.

The ferrys at the back of CS are free, so you can easily cross over to the North-side of Amsterdam. Check this information for more stuff to do in Amsterdam Noord.

Eating out in Amsterdam

The person I wrote this for originally, asked specifically for tips on Asian food, hence the focus on them in the below mentioned restaurants. There are many more kitchens and options in Amsterdam, both good and bad. I recommend asking locals for their personal favourites, because this usually brings you places you would otherwise not visit.

• De Zeedijk and the area around it, is famous for lots of Asian restaurants that are not expensive and where the portions are huge. Tiles on the walls, bright light, you know: no atmosphere, but the food tends to be good. We like Thai Snackbar Bird for Thai food here;
• Indian: Our favorite is Mayur at Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 203 (don’t go to Koh-I-Noor, near the Dam Square!);
• Indonesian: Restaurant Blauw: they do a good ‘rijsttafel’, but they’re a bit out of the center. I like them a lot. Otherwise (not from my personal experience): Indrapura (Rembrandtplein) or Jun (in De Jordaan);
• Chinese: Golden Chopsticks in the Oude Doelenstraat (walking distance Dam Square)
• The Seafood Bar: several locations. They serve good fish;
• Wagamama (also a chain): several locations, different types of Asian food;
• InStock Amsterdam: A restaurant with a mission. One third of the food in our world is wasted. This place wants to reduce food waste and create awareness of the issue. They take on this challenge quite literally by using products that would otherwise remain unsold.

Typical Dutch foods to try

The foods mentioned below, you can get anywhere in the Netherlands (only herring is seasonal) and Dutch people love tourists to try them. Some of these, you can eat walking around on the street; you definitely won't starve of hunger (and will probably gain weight, as these are not the healthiest of choices) is all I'm saying.

• Fries with mayonnaise: go for example to the place we absolutely love: Vleminckx (actually Belgian style fries, but a number 1 favourite of a lot of Amsterdammers);
• Kroket/ bitterbal/ frikandel/ kaassoufflé: these are all forms of fried snacks, of which especially bitterballen and kroketten (we eat the latter on soft, white buns, with mustard) are considered very Dutch. Lots of people pair this up with fries. The best kroketten are said to be had from Holtkamp. They have their own store and also do very good pastries and cakes, but you can get Holtkamp-kroketten at other places too. Otherwise: Van Dobben kroketten (available at a lot of snack bars) and Kwekkeboom are also famous brands. Or just go to a ‘Febo’ (a snack bar chain), and get something out of the ‘wall’: put coins in and you can open the little door to get a warm snack. Nowadays, there are lots of vegetarian options too for kroketten and bitterballen and lots of specialty-places around;
• Stroopwafel (syrup waffle): try to get a freshly baked one at a market or street stall. You can get these in every supermarket too, but they’re Much Better freshly baked.
• Poffertjes (looks like little pancakes), with lots of butter and powdered sugar. And if you can, add rum, but usually the sellers don’t have an alcohol permit. Also only recommended when freshly baked!;
• Pannenkoeken (pancakes), but not the ones from the chocolate spread-maffia (you’ll recognize the type of stores I’m talking about immediately). Those stores are horrible. Upstairs pannenkoeken (near Spui) is highly recommended. I think I went to Pancakes Amsterdam Negen Straatjes once (in the Berenstraat in the 9 Streets) and liked it. You nowadays can get all sorts of pancakes in the NL, but the original Dutch pancake is thicker than French pancakes, but the same size. They’re not as thick, small and round as American pancakes. You can get them sweet (just with powdered sugar is the simplest form) or savoury (e.g. with melted cheese!);
• Haring (a fish: herring), which we eat with onions and pickles. The ‘correct’ way of eating: tilt your head back a bit, hold the haring by its tail and bite off pieces until you reach the tail. Or you can go the easy route and they will cut it in pieces for you and you can eat it with a cocktail stick. A classic combi is combining this with 'roggebrood': very dark and dense rye bread, but don’t know if all the sellers offer this;
• Dutch apple pie: a classic which you should have with whipped cream. The best in Amsterdam is said to be had at Winkel 43. There will be a line, but it’s apparently worth it;
• Dutch cheeses, like Gouda and Reypenaar. This last one has a ‘proeflokaal’ in Amsterdam nowadays where you can do tastings, paired with drinks. Might sound touristy, but this brand is pretty good. And I see on their website you can combine a tasting with a canal cruise for 26 euro, which I think is a good deal. Or just visit one of the many cheese stores the NL has. You can have a look and usually they put several cheeses out so you can taste them before buying;
• Dutch bread: Dutch people love, love, love their bread (with cheese) and having traveled a lot, I have to agree our bread is pretty good. In Amsterdam East you can find famous bakery Hartog, which has been around forever and is very good;
• Ok, not a food, but artisanal beer is a big thing since a couple of years in the Netherlands, and the Dutch now have more breweries than Belgium. These are usually very small beer breweries and  their beer is not cheap. But you’ll probably see it on menus and in supermarkets and stuff. So maybe try a Dutch brand beer other than Heineken, which in the NL is not a premium brand at all, but just considered regular beer.

Methods of payment in the Netherlands

Lastly, some information about paying for things. I know from my own traveling experiences, that what is considered 'normal' when it comes to methods of payment is very different from country to country. Therefore the information below might be useful.

• In the Netherlands, we use the Euro, which makes traveling and paying across the Euro-countries easy, as you don't have to exchange money all the time;
  
• Credit cards can be used for bigger purchases and in many restaurants and shops, but usually not in supermarkets and for small amounts of money. Something you have to keep in mind. We, as locals, find this very annoying too. We use debit cards a lot, I don't know if foreign debit cards work, though;
  
• We round the numbers up and down with 5 cents, If something is € 1,99, don't expect to get one cent back, though they do exist. When paying with cash, you'll just have to pay € 2,- This of course also works the other way around: when something is € 1,97, you'll be paying € 1,95 in cash.
  
• Lots of places in the Netherlands only accept card payments (debit/ credit), because it’s safer than keeping actual money in the register.
  

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Barometer score contribution to Project Rich Life (1 = small, 5 = big): 5

I love my country and am proud to share some of the places, typical things, 'secrets' and foods we love to make your visit better. Making GENUINE contact with other people and 'doing as locals do' while traveling for me definitely contributes to leading a rich life. I hope this list helps you in doing this in the Netherlands.
                                                                                                                                               - Sis B

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Please let us know if you've tried any of the above experiences and add your own tips below!