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What can I do in Amsterdam?
Casual
Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle Flap Flap Flap Registered User regular
I'm going to visit my sister for a couple of days while she still lives near Amsterdam and I'm looking for ideas on things to do from anyone who's been there. I'll be going alone and my sis will be working during the day so I'll have to find some way of entertaining myself. Any suggestions that wouldn't break the bank?
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Other than that, the Rijksmuseum should be renovated and is a nice way to kill time. Vondelpark is nice and right near the museums, and you can take a boat tour on the Amstel river.
You also have the Zoo to the SE of the main train station, and the Dutch Resistance Museum is right across the street. There's also a botanical garden right near their as well.
Coffee shops are fun. Hang out, smoke, make some friends.
Rent a bicycle and cruise around the city. It's a lovely place.
Have a picnic in a park. Read a book with a bottle of wine and some cheese.
See Anne Franks house.
Go the touristy area and shop around.
Check out the red light district and look at the girls in the windows.
Join a pub crawl at night.
Check out the Vincent van Gogh museum, it's pretty rad.
Take a tour with New Europe it's free, they only work off tips. If you think the guy did a good job, give him a couple bucks, if not, screw it.
Pub craws are fun, some are free, others cost maybe 5-10 euros
Hope you have fun!
This. I can absolutely vouch for how great this tour is, ended up tipping her 10 euros because of how good it was.
If you're in for something a little creepy, check out the Torture Museum there. It isn't very big, but it covers a few devices I hadn't seen before.
In the same vein, check out The Amsterdam Dungeon. It's an interative history lesson with some pretty hiliarious moments
If you're going to visit the Red Light District in the evening and night just for a look around, a few pointers.
1. Avoid the small alley ways that join together the seperate rivers, stick to the main footpaths. They might as well have a bright neon sign asking for you to leave your wallet with the next gentleman pocket you see, but thats likely where it'll end up.
2. There are a lot of street drug dealers. Just breeze past and don't notice them.
3. Don't bring a camera with you. Even if you don't intend to take any photos, the girls are likely to come out of their windows and throw the camera, and probably you, into the river.
Just know that Amsterdam is about bending the rules as long as it's of benefit to Amsterdam. Things are implied there, and not always obvious.
Keep your wits about you and you'll have an incredibly surreal time
I went over my neck.
I came over it.
How do you do your wife?
The beer is up.
Thank the cock for the dinner.
Really though, in Amsterdam, almost everyone is competent.
As for transport, there's the not so underground railway and tram. Take the metro for long distances and the tram for short distances. You'll have to buy a blue stripes card to use public transport which you can buy at any magazine store. I think 15 stripes cost €7.30 nowadays. Stamp 2 stripes for 1 zone and 3 for 2 zones with the yellow boxes. You can use the stamp for an hour as long as you remain in the same zone. Just show it to the driver.
It will be fairly chilly (Not as cold as the UK at the moment), but don't expect temperatures above 10C.
The park mentioned earlier is the Vondel park, which is quite large and beautiful.
Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh are the big hitters museumwise, Rijks is only showing part of it's collection due to extensive renovations though. The modern art museum (Stedelijk) is closed it seems, it's collection spread out over other musea (including Van Gogh) A guided canal tour will throw some basic all around history.
Paradiso is a cool place to go out at night, it's a renovated church, concerts & disco's every night pretty much.
If you are into Naval history, there's the VOC (East Indies companies) & Maritime museum in East Amsterdam. Been a while since I was there, they do have a replica of a VOC vessel outside I believe.
In general, everything in A'dam is walkable within 30mins or so. Trams are nice if you are lazy, About €2 per ride no matter how you pay, or where you go. You may want to see if you can borrow a bike, it really increases your mobility and allows for some exploring, and the city is pretty friendly to them.
Naarden is pretty nice, and a lot more quiet then A'dam will be. Some gruesome stories form the 80 year war (NL vs Spain, 16th - 17th century) are attached to it. It's 30mins by train, then another 30mins to walk to the old town (they didn't want a railway anywhere near their beautiful old town back in 1900), or a busride. It has a museum about the 80 year war, but I haven't been there for 15 years so I can't remember much. The trainride down would be about €8-10 for a round trip.
Everyone under 50 will be able to at least understand what you are saying, but those not in retail or commerce probably won't have much experience speaking it only a daily basis, so expect the language to be mangled.
That's good to know, thanks. :?
And if you can't find a restroom, resist the temptation to piss in a dark corner on a building.
Trust me on this one :P When you see them you'll know haha.
There are open air urinals on the river in the RLD.
There are also bathrooms that you are required to pay to use and they won't care if you play dumb American, they'll expect their money.
Fun way to spend an hour or so.
Lol.
So I buy one off a bum and leave it somewhere when I'm done safe in the knowledge it'll get nicked and end up back on the bicycle black market? This place gets weirder by the second. :P
It's true, that's why you don't see a lot of nice bikes in Amsterdam (if you do, they keep it inside their house and are riding without stopping somewhere). They are all old 1940s bikes. There is one group that does nothing but find bikes in the city, even fishes them out of the rivers.
You can rent a bike anywhere, but they won't get mad or give you crap if its stolen. It's 5 euros more for insurance.
!
For paintings in progress, check out canvas and paints
"The power of the weirdness compels me."
What CAN'T you do in Amsterdam?
I want to live here.
Noted.
Not gonna happen either way though. I'm not interested in weed and never have been, plus the last thing I need is for that to show up in a test.