Amsterdam, a city perfectly suitable for a long weekend get-away and afterwards you will discover, that there is still more to explore for a second time and even a third time. Even though I have visited Amsterdam for the third time already, I still get excited every time I see the small canals winding through the city with the most gorgeous buildings lined up next to each other along the waterfront. Despite being the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is such a charming and cozy city, and I am already looking forward returning to Amsterdam a fourth time in the future. Below, you will find a compiled list of the top 10 things to do in Amsterdam.
1. Jordaan Neighbourhood
Strolling through the Jordaan neighbourhood is one of the best things you can do in Amsterdam while exploring the small streets, gazing at the beautiful houses and enjoying a break in one of their uncountable cute cafés. Many famous attractions are conveniently located inside this district which makes a walk through Jordaan inevitable when in Amsterdam. The history of this district’s development is rather interesting, too, when considering that Jordaan was built in the 17th century to originally house the working class and immigrants. From the very beginning Jordaan was a poor district with small buildings housing up to 80.000 inhabitants around the year of 1900. For comparison, nowadays the neighbourhood houses around 20.000 people and is considered one of the most desired neighbourhoods in Amsterdam.
2. Canal Tour
Exploring the city from a different point of view with a boat tour through Amsterdam’s canals is one of the best and equally most popular things to do in Amsterdam. After all, Amsterdam is called “Venice of the North” for a reason due to its large network of canals. As the boat slides silently through the water, a voice in the speaker talks continuously about the history of the buildings passing by. I enjoyed it immensely to just lean back and rejoicing over the view while someone would fill my head with interesting facts and historical events. When choosing a cruise tour, we opted for one which would not only drive us around in the small canals, but took us out to into the larger canal, passing by the northern part of Amsterdam. A tour on the water is a unique way to explore Amsterdam and will surely leave a great impression.
3. Rijksmuseum
Diving into the local history, be it of the city or the entire country, is how I love to start every journey. Learning about the historical events is giving me a great insight into the culture and essentially makes me understand the how and why. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is the perfect place to dive into the history of the Netherlands, from the artistical development to crafts and the Dutch history in general. The Rijksmuseum, in English “State Museum”, is the national museum of the Netherlands and tells a story of over 800 years of Dutch history. The museum first opened its doors in 1800 being located in The Hague with a rather small collection of 200 paintings and other historical objects; in 1808 it would be relocated to Amsterdam. Today, the third most visited museum in the Netherlands, hosts over 8.000 objects displayed in 80 galleries, telling a story of 800 years
4. Heineken Experience
Heineken – one of the most famous beer brands in the world and it all originated in Amsterdam. It began with a man, Gerard Adriaan Heineken, who was born into a merchant family in 1841. He turned his focus towards brewing, releasing the original Heineken beer in 1873 in the heart of the bustling city of Amsterdam and quickly became known for quality beer. The brand grew quick due to their good reputation and ever since, generations of Heinekens have dedicated their careers towards improving the beer and the brand. Their history and even more, you can explore in the “Heineken Experience” which is a museum combined with plenty of fun and interactive activities. However, the best always comes last and that is when you get to taste one of their delicious, cold beers at the end of your experience. Cheers!
5. Moco Museum
Nestled inside the historic Villa Alsberg, right across the imposing building housing the Rijksmuseum, lays another museum – the Moco Musem. The building housing the museum was designed in 1904 as a privately-owned family home and remained as such until 1939. Today, the villa overlooking the museum square, houses a one-of-a-kind collection of modern and contemporary art, hence “MoCo”, and is absolutely nothing like you’d imagine a typical museum to be. Emphasizing on modern, contemporary and street art, this museum can count Andy Warhol and Banksy amongst their collection. While I count myself into the lovers of typical, classic art, comprising of handmade paintings, I was absolutely, positively surprised by the fun and nonetheless beautiful installations you can find here.
6. Flower Market
Amsterdam is the only place in the entire world where you can find a floating flower market. This unique market has existed since 1862 when flower growers would sail on barges into the centre of Amsterdam selling their goods. The modern-day flower market still floats; however, the market today comprises of fixed barges, which is nonetheless a spectacular scenario to explore with all the beautiful colours and scents surrounding you. The flower market contains a vast amount of all kinds of flowers, be it the famous Dutch tulips, violets, peonies, orchids or even herbs and house plants. And in case you are looking for a special souvenir to have something to reminiscent of your journey to Amsterdam, flower bulbs make for a perfect gift bring back home and something that will bring joy long time after returning home.
7. The Royal Palace
Whereas I love exploring a new place through all kinds of various attractions, the historical ones still fascinate me the most. When visiting Amsterdam, I can highly recommend visiting the Royal Palace, an imposing, prestigious building from the Dutch Golden Age and equally one of Netherland’s most important monuments. Originally built as a town hall in the 17th century, the building’s purpose was to reflect the power and wealth of Amsterdam at that time, and it certainly impresses still today. It wasn’t however until 1808 when King Louis Bonaparte decided to transform this building into a residence for the royals. With a tour through the marvellous rooms accommodating the original Empire furniture you will be taken you a step or two back in time.
8. Van Gogh Museum
After spending the first half day wandering around the Rijksmuseum and spending another two hours lunching at the Café Americain, we were left with merely an hour to explore the vast collection inside the Van Gogh Museum. Starting from scratch by catching up on the life story of the famous post-impressionist painter we had to rush through the rest in order to make sure we didn’tmiss out on anything. I am glad though that we spent so much time on reading up on the story of Vincent Van Gogh which gave us a great inside into his personality, a person who most likely would have been diagnosed with several mental issues had he lived in the modern society. Located Inside the Van Gogh Museum you can to a full extent dive into the live and aftermath of the famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh with more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters.
9. Vondelpark
Every now and then it can be necessary to take a break from the demanding role as an explorer and a park will be the perfect environment to recharge batteries. The Vondelpark lays amidst the bustling city of Amsterdam on a 47 hectares piece of land with room for runners, cyclists, dog-owners and tourists alike. With winding paths, charming footbridges, open lawns and secluded, green spaces, this park has everything both for those who want to be more active but also when in need for a space to retreat. In 1864 a wealthy citizen bought some marshland outside the city along the outer most canal at that time. A year later, in 1865, the park stood ready to be opened to those who could afford the entry price or those who belonged to the association which established the park. Almost a hundred years later, in 1953, the City Council bought the park which was then finally opened to the public.
10. Houseboat Museum
Over the past few years, I have developed a fondness of making thoroughly arranged itineraries for every trip we are going on, meticulously planning every day in detail. Even though I do love knowing where every day is taking me, stumbling across something unexpected can brighten up the day even more. Like the time we were passing by the Houseboat Musem while wandering around the Jordaan district; being rather curious about what it must be like to live in a houseboat, we couldn’t resist taking a peek inside and ended up spending around an hour in a museum of 80 m2. Inside the Houseboat Museum you can explore what it was like and still is to live in a houseboat on the Amsterdam canals. This boat was built as a former barge in 1914 and later converted to a houseboat with a living space equalling an apartment in Amsterdam. You’d be surprised how spacious the inside of this boat is.
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