The Amsterdam Guide

Mentally on a cruise through the canals brb

Hey hey!

Coming back to you with another guide to another one of my favorite cities in the world! Let’s talk about Amsterdam. ICYMI - I’m also sharing my guide to London today!

A Little About Amsterdam

For the longest time, as someone who studied abroad in the 2010’s - I was always under the impression that Amsterdam was known for two things: 1) smoking weed in “cafes” and 2) the red light district. Boy, was I off.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city with canals running through the city center and stunning architecture covering its streets. It is seriously so stunning, and the highlight of my visit was simply walking around the city or riding on a boat through the canals.

Stay

Staying at a hotel in the city center can be expensive, so we chose to stay a little further outside the city at The July - Boat & Co - a very cute boutique hotel positioned along the IJ River. If you’re hoping to be closer to the action, check out the Hoxton Amsterdam hotels; always a safe bet!

Food/Drink

• Ijver - The coolest beer hall + restaurant, such a great hang. Highly recommend during the summer so you can sit outside along the docks!

• De Plantage - I think this is a perfect restaurant? Seasonal menu filled with delicious dishes, but the real treat is the neighboring aviary & garden areas. The restaurant is truly stunning and I could’ve sat here all day!

• Albert Cuyp Market - historic open air food market, great for trying all of Amsterdam’s finest street foods - i.e. bitterballen & stroopwafel!

• Foodhallen - an indoor food hall with a wide variety of options

• Glouglou - a very lovely natural wine bar, also in a quieter neighborhood off the beaten path

• Salvatorica Amsterdam - fresh pasta lab, handwritten daily menus

• The Pancake Bakery - another Amsterdam signature - pancakes!

• Dessert

  • Cafe Winkel43 - a MUST for apple pie, Dua Lipa’s favorite

  • Van Wondren - assorted stroopwaffel with toppings

Points of Interest

• Canal cruise!!!!!****** - You simply must get on a boat and tour the canals when you’re in Amsterdam. It is sublime. I cried on my first canal cruise - I was so in awe of the beauty of the city!! And then we proceeded to take a cruise every day we were there. There are a few vendors that you can walk up to along the canals in the city center, or you can use third parties like this to help reserve in advance.

• Heineken Experience - such a fun experience and I feel like this is very much *not* your typical brewery tour. They make it so fun and we had a great time!!

• Museums - Fun fact:Amsterdam has more museums per square kilometer than any other city in the world! Here are a few must-do’s:

  • Van Gogh Museum

  • Rijksmuseum

  • Anne Frank House

• Shops, Street Markets & Parks

  • Spui Book Market - a weekly book market on Fridays

  • Noordemarkt - a great outdoor market to stroll - Mondays & Saturdays

  • Negen Straatjes & Jordaan - cool neighborhoods with great shops

  • Arket - one of my favorite clothing shops in AMS

  • Vondelpark - a massive, beautiful park!! Stroll through, pack a picnic, read a book, rent bikes & ride through - any and all options are good options!

I feel like I only scratched the surface when I visited Amsterdam and look forward to visiting again soon. Let me know what I should add to my hit list for next visit!