Spend a week in Amsterdam, Netherlands exploring iconic canals, museums, and hidden gems. Get travel tips, itinerary ideas, and must-see attractions.
After Hubby and I finished our cruise and time in London with my mother and aunt, they flew home and we had two weeks before our next cruise in Southampton. We spent some time trying to decide where to go. I favored Edinburgh. Hubby was not opposed, but then I started to wonder if 11-12 days in the area was too much (it would not have been).
Hubby had mentioned for years that he wanted to get back to Amsterdam. Since I hadn’t been there in over 45 years, I was not opposed. He had not been there for 35 years, so we figured it would be fresh and new for both of us.
A Week in Amsterdam, Netherlands
This was part of an extended trip for Hubby and me. We went to England, Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Netherlands, and Belgium on this trip. The first portion of the trip was with my mother and aunt, some time in England and then Scandinavia. In Scandinavia we went to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
After our trip to Scandinavia, we went back to England for a week with my mother and aunt. When that time ended, we helped my mother and my aunt in a car to the airport, then Hubby and I went upstairs to our hotel room, got our bags, and got an Uber to the train station.
We had decided to take the chunnel over to Amsterdam (it is direct from London to Amsterdam), and then take a ferry back from Calais to Dover after we went to Brussels.
We had planned on doing a few day trips outside of Amsterdam as we both fondly remembered the windmills. Alas, the long day trip to see the windmills was canceled on us (it was in their notes that if they didn’t get eight people to do the tour, they would cancel), and there was no other tour being offered to that area (that we could find). We could have taken a car and gone, but it turned out that the canceled tours were a good thing.
Hubby had caught a cold. I am pretty sure my mother shared her London cold with him, and he generously shared with me.
We were in Amsterdam for a week, and I was pretty down for the count two of those days.
We did do a few touristy things in Amsterdam, including the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum Museum (which I loved, loved, LOVED! Highly recommend), and canal cruise. That canal cruise was much better than the one in Copenhagen.
Amsterdam is a very dirty city. And by that I mean trash everywhere. We did ask one of our Uber driver about it and he explained that they had recently passed a bottle deposit law, the homeless would scour through the trash and toss it out while looking for bottles (wouldn’t the solution be a glass recycling bin next to the garbage can?) I am not sure how true the story if, but the place was gross.
Sonny-boy was in Amsterdam a month later and didn’t think it was quite as dirty as we did, but he stayed in a more residential area.
We stayed at a very nice hotel near the train station. This was great as the public transportation tram was within very close walking distance, and was very easy to use. We simply swiped our credit card to pay, and to get off. It was just like the tram in Sydney.
We would take the tram one way, and then either take an Uber back to the hotel or walk back depending on the distance and weather.
Amsterdam is very walkable and bike friendly, although beware as the bicyclists seem to have an issue with pedestrians and crosswalks. We were nearly mowed down by a bicyclist more than once.
On the day we went to the Van Gogh museum we had a small tour. I did the first floor with the tour group and then I waited for Hubby while he finished the tour. I felt like I was holding the other participants back, even though the guide (who really knew his stuff) assured me I was not.
The seating area was very interesting. It had artwork cascading though the walls that changed. I had never seen anything like it, and was tickled to be able to enjoy it.
At the Rijksmuseum, we had a group tour of four of us. I had my cane (I had had a fall a few months prior and was still a bit wobbly) and Hubby told the young tour guide we needed to avoid stairs. Hubby pointed to the elevator entrance, and mentioned (again) about the concern of avoiding stairs.
The tour guide nodded and was agreeable.
And promptly took us into an entrance with stairs.
We put away our backpack at the check-in, she took us through the ramp to the… stairs.
I insisted on using the elevator. This was nonsense. She had been told several times “no stairs” including when we booked the tour. There were only four of us in the group, and I needed to use an elevator. We could all go together!
Nope. Instead, she waved her hand that it was, “That way.”
It took Hubby and I approximately 10 minutes to find the elevator, and we were only was able to locate it after a stop at the admission desk!! Even then we had to ask the guard as we walked toward the general area the admission desk told us to go to. (Ironically, finding the elevators on the upper floors was no problem at all!)
Needless to say, we never met up with our tour guide again. I sincerely hope that that tour guide never encounters someone that needs an elevator, is elderly, or is handicapped to guide on a tour. Simply terrible.
The Rijksmuseum itself was FANTASTIC. One of the best museums I have ever been in! The size and breath of the exhibits was wondrous.
The Rembrandts on display were magnificent, and the hall was fabulous. They even had a display where they were restoring an enormous Rembrandt painting.
I wish we had had someone to explain everything to us, but what we saw all had English (as well as Dutch) explanation cards and I was familiar enough with many of the artists to appreciate what we were seeing.
What I truly was impressed with was the beautiful historic objects. From furniture, to tea sets to crafts and “everyday” items, it was simply splendid! There are over 1 million items on display, and it would take weeks or months to visit every item.
I highly recommend visiting the Rijksmuseum if you are in Amsterdam.
We also took a wine and cheese canal tour. That tour guide was fantastic. Informative and funny, it was a very pleasant hour and much better than our lousy Copenhagen canal tour.
We also walked about the city and ate out daily.
Hubby likes to use the Fork while in Europe. It is a nice app where you can accumulate points toward future discounts, and sometimes the restaurant itself gives you a nice discount (between 20-50%, not including drinks).
We tried it the first day at a “Mexican” restaurant, and while tasty, it was not Mexican food (or even Tex-Mex). We had our best meal at a Middle Eastern restaurant around the corner from our hotel. Hubby had two Fork reservations, neither of which were very good, so he started just using the Fork for reviews alone after that. The food got a lot better.
Oh, on the day we did the canal tour we stopped in to a “Dutch Pancake” restaurant. They were ok, but nothing like the Dutch pancakes I make at home (which are excellent, if I do say so myself).
We also had some Dutch Apple Pie, bitterballen, and beer. Lots of beer from both the Netherlands, and from Belgium.
We will not be going back to Amsterdam as it wasn’t for us (too expensive, cold, dirty), but I am glad we went. Hubby had wanted to go back for years, and now that is over and done with.
After the Netherlands, it was on to Belgium.
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