4 guys go to Amsterdam.. what to do? What to see?

skintpaul

For a joint *cough*th birthday treat, next year..

NOT into the 'red light' / smoking scene, so wondering what fun things are about..

Best galleries? Interesting shops/bars?

Also, recs' for hotels also welcome!

Will be there 3-4 days, most likely in May / June..

fermi

Very obvious, but it WAS also very very good. http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en

littlereddevil

Amsterdam has loads to do. Look on the TA forum, very informative.
We stay at the Crowne Plaza south, only one stop from Schipol, and 5 minutes on the tram into the centre. And it is sooo quiet at night for sleeping.

pandora205

Boat trip along canal and round harbour
Van Gogh Museum and close by (for a complete contrast of style) Rijksmuseum
Diamond factory
cycle tour
Anne Frank House
Rembrandt Haus
Flower market on the canal sells exotic bulbs and interesting stuff - also there is a Dutch shop selling Xmas decorations, and an interesting Chinese shop close by - great for gifts to take back


get an Amsterdam pass at tourist office at airport/station, which gives discounts and entry to many attractions

A useful guide is the Dorling-Kindersley Top 10 Amsterdam. We used this, particularly in the museums, so that we were not overwhelmed

We stayed in the Hotel Agora, which is a simple townhouse b+b right in the centre on the canal - it was perfect for our needs
http://www.hotelagora.nl/

El_Torro

I would definitely recommend eating at an Indonesian restaurant. If you never have then Holland is as good a place as any to do it.

Also at a pancake house, the Dutch are big on savoury pancakes.

If you're interested in things other than food (why would you be?) then the above suggestions are also good.

agrinnall

If you like Heironymous Bosch and you go in early May then I would suggest the Bosch500 exhibition at 's-Hertogenbosch (about an hour on the train from Amsterdam), it's likely to be the only time in history that so much of his work is gathered into one place. I'm planning a visit with this as the centrepiece of the trip.

http://www.bosch500.nl/en/the-event/2016-exhibition

lovehackney

Brouwerij 't ij - brewery in a windmill, lots of good beers, does snacks like charcuterie and cheese. You can also do a brewery tour I believe.

Anne Frank museum - worth the queues

Rijksmuseum - amazing building, you could spend days in here so I'd say pick a few bits you're interested in and do those

Heineken Factory tour - standard tourist trip, but quite good fun. on a sunny day you can go on the rough terrace which is nice

Restaurant Daalder - excellent tasting menu, good for a special treat

Wilde Zwijnen - another good restaurant, close to the windmill brewery, has a good outdoor terrace

Hotel de Hallen - really nice hotel in an old tram shed, good bar and restaurant. part of a small hotel group in Amsterdam - others in the same group are here: http://www.bandnbherengracht.com/en

knightstyle

Some great festivals, try to get to one that suits you. Best for me is Kings day, 27/04/2016.

esuhl

I didn't realise I even liked art until I went to the Van Gogh museum -- it was absolutely amazing and the artworks are so varied in style.

The Rijksmuseum was fascinating for Dutch history, and the Rembrandt museum and Rebrandthuis were excellent too.

When I went about 10 years ago, there was an "I am-sterdam" card you could buy which gave you discounts at shops/museums, etc. It came with a little guide book with loads of great suggestions for places to try. I think they re-named the card a while back, but it was worth getting.

The trams are practical and a "fun" way to get about. When I was there it was a lot cheaper to buy a strippenkaart from a newsagents, which allows about 5 or 10 tram journeys at a discount.

Anyway, make sure you try some fresh herring from the herring carts, maybe visit a jenever bar.

I always wanted to have a look at Begijnhof. A visit to a brown cafe might give you a chance to try some decent beer (otherwise you'll have to endure the ubiquitous Heineken as the evil b*****ds aggressively put dozens of small breweries in Amsterdam out of business).

DKLS

I would recommend Susie Wong great bar and if the Mood takes you go over the road to Jimmy Woo club.

The supper club is great fun, decent drinks food and performance art. There is a very good Jazz bar in the red light district, which is worth a mooch through.

Anne Frank Museum, so not worth the queues and tbh a bit meh especially for 4 blokes, and I would avoid the indonesian food, its indonesian ish, but heavily toned down by dutch tastebuds and usually very ropey. There are some very good steak houses, but if you have a veggie amongst the 4 don't bother as many treat veggies as an abomination.

Worth checking out if its worth getting a iamsterdam card as that gives you free transport and free entry into many of the major tourist sites.

Kynthia

Other posts above have made good suggestions. I also enjoyed breakfasting at a pancake house each morning.

I'd highly recommend staying by Leidseplein square. It's on three tram lines, by a canal stop and near the museum district. Best of all though is its a really nice area full of restaurants and cafes, with lots of outdoor seating, street performers and a great atmosphere. A great place to spend your evenings and is away from the red light district. http://www.amsterdam.info/leidseplein/