2 days in Amsterdam

elisebutt65

I'm flying out late-ish from Cov - arrive 21.45 in Schipol and am going to grab a bite to eat as soon as I've checked in, Staying just off Dam Square so loads to choose from there.

OK - I've got a shopping list of goodies to bring back - all legal, I should add :rotfl: So that's Tuesday Morning sorted out. What shall I do in the afternoon/evening and the following day -I don't fly home until 21.00 so I'll get to the airport at around 7ish. I'm not a huuuge fan of museums but I love window shopping and browsing markets., eating out etc.

Also can someone please explain how the ticket things work for the trams - I've read up on them and am still confused.

TIA

trets77

Red light district is a must see. just as a eye opener. i,m not suggesting frequent any establishments but it,s as much a part of the city as pall mall is to london. you,ll be fine it,s pretty safe just don,t take photos of the girls. ect. and ignore any blokes trying to temp you into strip shows ect.

best thing i did a canal trip round the city get one near the train station.


Ann Franks house is popular, as is the diamond de beers + sex museumm ( fun rather than too saucy)


little money saving tip the trams require you to purchase tickets when on them or before Don't then if you get asked just plead to being a know nothing foriegner. my uncle lives and works in Amsterdam he has got away with this trick for the last 10 years

trets77

sorry De beers diamond place has nothing to with sex museum but you probaly figured that lol:p

elisebutt65

trets77 wrote:

Red light district is a must see. just as a eye opener. i,m not suggesting frequent any establishments but it,s as much a part of the city as pall mall is to london. you,ll be fine it,s pretty safe just don,t take photos of the girls. ect. and ignore any blokes trying to temp you into strip shows ect.

Ummmm, as a girlie going on my own - I ain't going nowhere near the Red Light district - LOL:eek:

Donnie

If you're staying just off Dam Square, you probably already are in the RLD. Don't worry, it's quite safe.

As we don't know much about you it's difficult to suggest how you should fill your time.

The Chinese restaurants in the RLD, towards the Centraal Station end of the Warmoesstraat are ok for informal eating close to your hotel, as is La Place in the V & D building, between Rokin and Kalverstraat.

La Place has multiple food stations. It's a little like Movenpick. Good place to eat in the daytime.

Both should take around a five minute walk.

Nam Kin(Chinese) is good and cheap(for Amsterdam) Forget about their vegetarian options.

La Place
V&D
Kalverstraat 203
1012 XC Amsterdam
Tel: 0900 - 235 83 63

Openingstijden:

Maandag: 11.00 – 18.30
Dinsdag: 10.00 – 18.30
Woensdag: 10.00 – 18.30
Donderdag: 10.00 – 21.00
Vrijdag: 10.00 – 18.30
Zaterdag: 10.00 – 18.30
Zondag: 12.00 – 18.00


Try a Dutch pancake and seek out an Indonesian restaurant.

There's a good pancake house, up a very steep staircase. Can't remeber the name and address, but I think it's behind the statue of a Queen. After leaving La Place, cross the Rokin, you'll probably see the statue. Keep going, it's on one of those small streets. Ask a local.

Generally, I don't bother with the trams, but you can pick up a ticket or a multiple use ticket(Strippenkaart) at the Metro station adjacent to centraal station.

You endorse the ticket by inserting into a slot situated on the tram or a similar machine situated at the turnstile for the Metro train.
To endorse the ticket; Whilst the ticket is facing you, fold the top part away from you at the point between numbers 1 and 2. Insert this fold into the machine. It will then print the time on the No.2 portion of the ticket.
You can now travel in the Central area for an hour. If you buy a Strippenkaart, it has 15 of these portion, so is good for many journeys.
If you are travelling further, into another 'zone', you may need to fold the ticket at portion 2 & 3. The person at the ticket booth will advise.

You can pick up a free Snelwijzer map at the station.

elisebutt65

Thanks Donnie.

I want to do some markets, eat Indonesian food and poffertjes, frites with sate sauce - that sort of thing. I also intend to try out a couple of coffeehouses - Kandinsky's or Abraxus.

I'm staying in Nieuwejids Voorburgwal, which is on the otherside, away from the RLD according to the map in my Rough Guide and I checked out the hotel (Nova)on Trip Advisor as well and it looks to be OK.

I just want to do grown up girlie type things, seeing as I haven't got the feral children trailing off me for a change - so fed up of doing educational and kiddie entertaining type of things IYKWIM? Also have to sit down and start my dissertation shortly so want to empty out my brain before resuming normal service.

Random fact- Just found out that Trip Adviser is now owned by Expedia- RAFLMAO!!!

Moomin

I would say that if you buy a strippenkarten (multi-journey tram ticket) and you are not sure of how to validate it, just board the tram at the drivers end and he will validate the appropriate portions for you. It is quite confusing, esp. as the instructions on the back are in Dutch. Or you can just hop on a tram and pay the driver 1.60euros for a single journey in zone 1. The trams are pretty frequent and quick! I wish we had a transport system that was as cheap and efficient as theirs.

The RLD is safe. During the day or evening. Lots of families etc milling around the area to see what all the fuss is about.

The Anne Frank museum was really busy on Sat (lots of school groups). so if you do plan on going there, prepare to queue for some time - unless you visit it early in the morning or later in the evening.

You could hire a bike the following day!! Plenty of places to rent bikes from.