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Some time to kill in Amsterdam
Elvenshae
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I've got a business trip to Amsterdam coming up, and I'm padding it a bit on each side to give me some time to spend in the city.
What are good tourist things to do, oh collected wisdom of the PA forums?
Things I am Definitely Interested In:
Things I am Definitely Not Interested In:
What are good tourist things to do, oh collected wisdom of the PA forums?
Things I am Definitely Interested In:
- History!
- Anne Frank's House
- Dutch navy stuff
- Old art and architecture
- Walking everywhere
Things I am Definitely Not Interested In:
- Red light anything
- Smokin' up
- Gettin' high
- Driving
- Weed
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
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Amsterdam is pretty easy to walk in or take a tram, if you're staying near the canal districts aka the centre.
Museums:
Go to the Scheepvaartmuseum for naval history. It is a gorgeous museum that was renovated recently. https://www.hetscheepvaartmuseum.nl
On the museum square we have multiple museums, with the Rijksmuseum housing many historical collections and many world famous 17th century masters. The tourist office is useful to figure out which ones are up your alley http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting
Anne Frank:
Hey she's world famous, the house is crazy popular. When you're going there accept that it's just a small house (you've read the diary, it makes sense). You will be standing in line for quite a while. Plan accordingly.
Architecture:
Amsterdam is famous for the 17th century city centre, when you walk from landmark to landmark you will walk by plenty of old buildings. There are small museums housed in some of them. Amsterdam is also home of some of the prime examples of the Amsterdam School, there's the Olympic Stadium (only guide group tours you have to book in advance, but you can still visit by yourself and grab a drink in the bar. Then there is the Beurs van Berlage in the city centre. More information about architectural attractions: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/what-to-do/architecture
Just walking about:
Recently the Negen Straatjes is the place to be, it's all very tiny and full of overpriced coffee and refurbished furniture, but it's nice to walk around. You'll be out of the streams of tourists too, which is pretty nice in and of itself. Info: http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/areas/amsterdam-neighbourhoods/centre/9-streets . Amsterdam is pretty easy to navigate, so if you just want to walk around just stick to one of the main canals and enjoy the view.
Getting around:
The whole city centre is easy to traverse by foot, but there's also a very sturdy public transport with tram and metro lines on nearly every corner. Google Maps works like a charm to get about.
When going by foot please realise that cyclists are literally everywhere and are very dominant. They will knock you over if you don't get out of the way in time. Also: trams are driven by homicidal maniacs, I am 70% certain they get paid extra for hitting pedestrians.
Avoiding stuff:
The Red Light District is easy enough to avoid, weed is not. There are many people smoking on the streets and dozens of coffeeshops selling weed in the centre. In my experience smokers don't annoy other people much, they're mostly just lethargic and don't pay attention to where they're going. *shrug*
Enjoy!
Yeah - sorry if that came off weird. It's just I'd mentioned the trip to a couple of people already and one person started telling me about their favorite shops and, yeah, that ain't me. I figured I'd just head it off at the pass
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
There is so much to do there. My wife and I used to take the train up there once a month when we were living in southern Netherlands.
Besides listening to @Aldo you could just buy one of the tourist books at the book stores.
― John Quincy Adams
If you have more then a day in the Netherlands try to get to the museum in Overloon, its like an hour and half by car and I'm sure you could catch a train if you don't have a rental. I took my dad there, it is one hell of a museum.
― John Quincy Adams
By train+bus.. Departure from Amsterdam Central Station it takes 2.5 hours by public transport to get to the entrance and a roundtrip costs €48. Although it is a great museum (with everything you wanted to know about Operation Market Garden) it is a bit too far out of the way for most tourists.
Maybe a museum like https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/museum/en/exhibitions/permanent_exhibition is easier to plan around? You could also visit Rotterdam (direct trains leaving from Amsterdam CS takes 1hr10min and roundtrip costs €30.20), which was bombed and subsequently burned in the early days of the Blitzkrieg to push the Dutch government to surrender (it worked).
Rijksmuseum also has historical fashion and arms in the basement. Close by is also the Van Gogh museum. For historical architecture check out the city centre with the palace.
Also just take a walk along the canals.
I think the Amsterdam advice is mostly covered.
websites:
To find out how to get anywhere in the Netherlands by public transport, use the website 9292.nl It predicts price, time, it tracks delays and if there is construction that will lengthen the journey.
https://www.iamsterdam.com/ is the tourist website for Amsterdam and an excellent resource.
Musea:
The civilian airport museum is called Aviodrome and is near Schiphol.
The main military museum is in Soesterberg, a former military base. https://www.nmm.nl/ about 40km from Amsterdam but a bit finnicky by public transport, about 90mins from Amsterdam Central Station.
There is a navy museum in Den Helder, which is also the main dock for the Dutch navy. It's about 75mins from Amsterdam CS. Never been there though.
The main civilian maritime museum is in Rotterdam https://www.maritiemmuseum.nl/
Cities closeby:
Within an hour of Amsterdam you have a wealth of options to visit elsewhere. Amsterdam is a great city to visit but at times it can feel overrun by tourists. Getting on a train to one of the other hubs can get you to many interesting places.
Rotterdam was already mentioned, and I would recommend it mostly for post WW2 architecture. It's one of the biggest planned experiments in urban planning, and they often take more risks on architecture than you'd do if you are adding buildings to a 500 year old city centre.
Den Haag is the seat of government as well international institutions like the Peace Palace, has a typical old Dutch city centre, and has one of the most popular beaches in Scheveningen. While it'll probably be pretty cold by the time you get here, not everyone lives close to sea.
Utrecht is a very history rich and old city, that is also one of the most prosperous currently. It is student and yuppie heavy, and caters to that crowd, with endless coffee bars and restaurants.
Naarden is a tiny city that still has it's medieval layout with the walls and moats 90% intact, and a museum about the defense structure http://www.vestingmuseum.nl/ Learn the history about how it was built up, neglected in peacetime, useless with new war technology and quickly overrun at least 2 times!
Upstairs Pannenkoekenhuis for the best lunch pancakes you'll ever eat, and
Brouwerij 't IJ for a great local brewpub on the eastern side of Amsterdam.