Things to do in Amsterdam if you're visiting (Or live (nearly) in it)

[ysbreker]

Hey Doug!

 

You had to come to the source of stroopwafels and good beer, didn't you?

 

Sadly I'm driving around somewhere between the Netherlands and Sweden helping my little sister move to Stockholm so I won't be able to show you around Amsterdam personally :/ But here are some tips anyway. In random order, with map!

 

 

1. Pathe Tuschinski (Reguliersbreestraat 26-34) - A beautiful Art Nouveau Cinema from 1921. Try to see a movie in the main theater. Failing that, at the very least take a peak in the main lobby! See also https://www.pathe.nl/bioscoop/tuschinski

 

2. Toastable (Singel 441) - Hidden in the basement of a classical Amsterdam grachtenpand(house) is this small lunch place where they sell the best toasted sandwiches you'll ever taste. It can be a bit hard to find: go to Koningsplein and with your back to the supermarket (Albert Heijn) go left and walk towards the Kalverstraat. Just across the (very wide) bridge go right onto the Singel. Toastable is in a basement with a tiny terrace out front.

 

3. Frietsteeg (Heisteeg 3) Go here for the best fries in Amsterdam. Much better than the touristy crap they sell on the main streets. Alternatively, a 5 minute walk from here you can find Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx (Voetboogstraat 33) But that place is often very busy.

 

4. Cafe Gollem (Raamsteeg 4) - This tiny dark cave of a bar has a great selection of Dutch and Belgian beers on tap and is great for a afternoon beer after a day of walking around Amsterdam

 

5. Proeflokaal Arendsnest (Herengracht 90) - If you don't like the tiny Gollem you might enjoy het Arendsnest more. Try to score a seat on their waterfront terrace and enjoy one of the 100 dutch beers (a lot of them on tap!) They serve an excellent cheese platter which I can really recommend.

 

5. Restaurant De Lieve (Herengracht 88) - This is a Belgian restaurant right next door to het Arendsnest. I can highly recommend their 3 course menu called 'Belgisch Barok'.

 

6. De Jordaan - Wikipedia can explain this one better than I can: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordaan Just stroll around this neighborhood and enjoy the sights.

 

7. Westerpark - This park at the western side of town is host to various cafe's and restaurants and during the summer several festivals are held here. Especially worth a visit is the TonTon club: a bar/restaurant with a very interesting japanese/american fusion kitchen. But most important of all: it's an arcade (With DDR machines!) During the summer they stay open till 3 in the morning on the weekends. See also http://www.westergasfabriek.nl/ and http://www.tontonclub.nl/#westergasfabriek

 

8. Canal tours - Pick any of the dozen boats here and take a canal tour. Super touristy, but probably the best/most affordable way to see the city from the water.

 

9. Zeedijk - Take a walk down this very crowded and busy street from central station down to the Nieuwmarkt, skirting the red light district. Lots of small shops, brown cafe's and galeries.

 

10. Shipping museum (Kattenburgerplein 1) - Interactive museum in former storehouse with virtual voyages & replica, 18th-century merchant ship. Go here for your history lesson on the Dutch and their shipping.

 

11. Amsterdam Roest (Jacob Bontiusplaats 1) - Converted industrial buildings housing a laid-back bar with outside picnic tables & live music. Also known as an urban beach. Check http://www.amsterdamroest.nl/ for their programme

 

12. Natura Artis Magistra (AKA Artis) (Plantage Kerklaan 38-40) - Amsterdam's version of the New York Central park Zoo.

 

13. Albert Cuyp mark (Albert Cuyp straat) - Iconic street market since 1905 with lots of stands selling clothing, local foods, flowers & more. Get your fresh stroopwafels from one of the stalls here!

 

14. Restaurant Sluizer (Utrechtsestraat 45) - One of the oldest restaurants in Amsterdam specialized in Dutch Fish cuisine. Highly recommended if you want to eat with a bit more style while still being affordable. http://www.sluizer.nl/indexeng.html

 

15. Paradiso (Weteringschans 6-8) - A converted church now housing a live music and night club (It still has the glasswork of the original church behind the main stage!) See https://www.paradiso.nl/ for their agenda.

 

16. Het Vondelpark - Amsterdam's biggest park in the center of town. Stroll through the green lanes and relax in the grass. See http://www.openluchttheater.nl/ for a schedule of the open air theater

 

17. Melkweg (Lijnbaansgracht 234A) - Amsterdam's other big live music and night club venue. Their programme can be found on https://www.melkweg.nl/en/

 

18. Cafe de Zotte (Raamstraat 29) - Good food and a great belgian beer selection. slightly of the beaten path, which makes it a nice change of pace from the busy touristy areas of Amsterdam

 

19. Ellis Gourmet burger (Prinsengracht 422) - If you're feeling homesick and want to eat a proper american burger then this is the place to be! http://ellisgourmetburger.be/nl/locations/nl/amsterdam

 

20. Kantjil & de Tijger (Spuistraat 291-293 I forgot to mark this one on the map, sorry) - Since indonesia is a former Dutch colony you can find quite a few indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam. The Kantjil & de Tijger is probably one of the more well known ones.

 

Lots of restaurants, cafe's and bars on this list. I hope there's something to your liking on this list of stuff to see & do in Amsterdam

 

 

PS I can also recommend taking the train to nearby Haarlem and renting a bike there and bike from the city center through the dunes to the sea for a glimpse at the Dutch country side that isn't just polders with cows and windmills.

[ysbreker]

Oops! That wasn't meant to be this horrible wall of text And I can't seem to edit the post on my mobile phone :'(

 

[edit] This is a bit better, now that i managed to find a laptop  

[Twig]

for a second i thought you'd been hacked and this was robo spam and then i tried reading and realized it's actually coherent, just poorly formatted!

[Space Anchor]

Cool to see this here. I just spent a year as a student living in Diemen (which is just after the cut-off point to the south east of your map) and I'd second all your recommendations - some great picks! I'd definitely add the Eye Film Institute which you can access via the world's shortest ferry journey* out the back of central station. Even if you're not a cinema buff it's a bizarre building worth checking out and it offers a nice panorama of the city at night. For some where to actually watch films, The Movies might be the most charming cinema I've ever visited, and possibly the oldest (it's been kicking about since 1912)

 

Here's a quick list of my favourite coffee coffee shops while I'm at it: Rum Baba, Coffee Bru, Toki, Caffenation, Caffe il Momento, Back to Black.

 

 

*Probably not true, but can be as short as 2 minutes depending on traffic (yes, boat traffic)

[tabacco]

We actually checked out the eye institute (the outside anyway) via the ferry last night. It was a nice spot to sit and eat some cheese (though technically any spot can be nice if you're eating cheese at it). We also tried Toastable this morning-ish for ~breakfast, and really enjoyed it.

[Space Anchor]

Clearly I missed out on this Toastable place! Passed it a bunch as it was just up the road from one of my uni locations but for whatever reason I never tried it out.

[tabacco]

We went to a very good sandwich place not far away called Cora this morning and liked it very much. Possibly worth a shot if you're looking for a nice sandwich for not a ton of money. Also, I might have a problem with those FEBO cheese puffs now.

[ysbreker]

Cora is a great place for sandwiches! I should add it to the list