Has anyone been to Amsterdam recently?

[slick2404]

My friend and I are planning a trip at the end of March to visit some friends in the UK and then check out Amsterdam.

Some quick questions for those who have been there recently:

-Would 5 nights be enough time to spend in Amsterdam?
-Brussels is about 200km away, is it worth the trip out?
-What would you recommend we check out besides the cafes and the red light district
-On the topic of cafes, I heard that tourists are now banned from buying the herb unless you have a European passport, can anyone confirm?

Feel free to add any tips/suggestions, thanks!

[Nitzer5]

Was there in the summer. I was only there for 4 days but I feel like that was enough to walk around and appreciate the city (which is gorgeous), hit up the cafes, do pub crawls/light district, and visit the Anne Frank Museum. 5 days I think would be plenty. Didn't have any trouble in the cafes, the girl was so stoned I don't even think she knew she was employed there.

As for Brussels, definitely hit it up for a couple of days if you get the chance. I can't vouch for the whole city because I discovered the Delirium Cafe and pretty much lived there for 2 days straight. From what I've seen from the city centre though it is still very much worth walking around for a while, quite a few great parks, churches, etc.

[Feruk]

Been a couple years, so can't speak to the last question. But yes 5 nights is enough, Brussels is a no, and as for other activities there are walking tours, museums like the Van Gogh museum, sex museums, renting a bike for half a day (everyone there bikes and you can get anywhere on a bike), or hitting the clubs/bars.

[soccernut]

All I would add is that you would be better off just driving down to Paris and stop in Brussels on the way. There isn't that much there except for the Central Park.

[hrdkore]

went there last summer and that's plenty of time for walking around, not sure about brussels, but if you can get out there why not. I believe you can still enjoy the cafe experience, make sure to pick up some space cookies or brownies! visit some museums if you have the chance if you're into that sort, i did see the famous Anne Frank museum as they converted that building her family was hiding in, into it, pretty sick experience. Just remember not to have any herbage on you if you plan on going into switzerland, they just throw your ass in jail.

[dannie]

I was there in the summer for 3 days on our way back from Italy. 3 days was enough for me. We did the canal tour, stayed in the Red Light District at Hotel CC (which was walking distance to the train station and very quick to the airport), went to a sex show, did the heinekin brewery, madame tussauds and hit a cafe.

I'm not sure about non-citizens not being able to buy, but I am sure if you check tripadvisor, you will find some people that will tell you.

[dennisaur]

Was there last year (2011), no problem at the coffee shops whatsoever. I also recommend checking out the old Heineken brewery, got pretty buzzed in there with some of the older tourists not using their beer tokens

[ekguy]

yeah as far as i know from looking it up recently it's still a go for cafes and such. You should be fine.

[msommers]

I was in Amsterdam for 4 days in August. People in the hostel had no problems buying weed so I doubt that is in effect yet.

Out of everything I did there, doing a bike tour was by far the best. Other things worth meaning:

- Van Gogh museum as mentioned was really interesting and would say it's a must see.
- The closest windmill to the main train station is actually a brewery. As far as I know they don't export outside the city and the beer is VERY fresh and tasty.
- The pubcrawls are great, all of them!
- Never did the Heinekein tour as I heard it was very expensive and very overrated.
- Across the street from the Heinekein factory is an AMAZING Panokken (sp) place - heard from a bunch of people it's one of the best ones in the city.
- The Red Light is kind of boring during the day, just a bunch of stoned tourists. But the night, oh my god, is the best to people watch! The shame of people walking out is the best. Creepin on the hot hookers is fun too, just stay away from the blue lights There is one very narrow street, smallest in Amsterdam in the RLD, that has the hottest chicks there, they pay extra to be there and are forced by law to charge the same as the rest!

5 days is plenty.

[japan_us]

I was in Amsterdam for 4 days during the summer. Most things have been covered by previous posts.

I will say to skip Brussels. I went for a day and promptly left. That said, I think Bruges is a must if you can swing it. Great food, and very nice to walk around in. I did some touring on a scooter of the area and the surrounding towns and it was easily one of the highlights of my mini-Europe trip (6 weeks).

[slick2404]

Awesome! Thanks for the tips everyone, we booked our flight last night...pretty stoked.

Looks like we're going to visit some friends in Manchester once we land, hit up the Drake concert on the 1st and then spend 4-5 nights in Amsterdam before we come back to Manchester to fly home.

[Feruk]

Originally posted by japan_us
That said, I think Bruges is a must if you can swing it.

How were the swans?

[chris]

I live in s'Gravenhage (about half hour from Amsterdam), I just sent an email to a friend about what to do in and around the area. I've just attached the stuff I sent to her.

- Canal Tour - great way to see the city and learn a little bit about it
- Biking - the Netherlands has the most bikes per capita in the world, as long as you're prepared to fight off locals and tourists like it's rush hour traffic it is quite the experience
- Museums - too many to list, it sort of depends on your taste but most of them can be found in a guide book or so. I enjoyed the Rijksmuseum, Foam, van Gogh museum, Anne Frank house. More info an be found on iamsterdam.com
- Vondelpark - when/if you rent bikes, you can cycle around here and sort of hang out. It's the biggest park in Amsterdam in one of the nicest areas.
- Flower Market/Cheese Markets - there's a lot of them mostly around the canals. Lots of flowers and various other things.
- Hanging out at a cafe (not a coffeeshop, unless you're into that sort of thing) - most dutch cafes have seats outside that are directed toward the street/sidewalk to 'people watching'. There's Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein
- Boom Chicago - It's a comedy/dinner show that's kind of like second city in Toronto.
- Madame Tussauds - The famous wax museum. Like most of Amsterdam it's super expensive but entertaining.
- Shopping - You can trick Pierre into going to Dam Square and then sneakretly trick him into going to de Bijenkorf right beside.
- Heineken Brewery Tour - find out how the crappiest beer in Holland gets made. If you've seen one brewery tour you've seen them all (except the Guiness one), they're very dutch there and not very generous with their samples.

Other things you might want to check out are:
- The frisian islands - you can take the train to Den Helder and then a ferry to the islands
- Windmills and Tulips - there's lots of them, everywhere, so take your pick
- Den Haag - This is where I live and the queen. If it's a nice day, there's a beach with a pier that you can check out. Also, there are the parliament buildings (very boring), the queen's residence (also boring) and the Escher Museum (not boring). The Mauritshuis is a nice museum as well. Also home to Madurodam, a tiny version of holland.
- Delft - One of the oldest cities in the Netherlands, there's quite a nice market to go to.
- Rotterdam - the most modern city in the Netherlands (after the blitz destroyed most of it), it's kind of like a not as nice and much smaller Berlin.
- hoge veluwe national park - can ride around on free bikes to your hearts content without the crowds

oh and also the cobra museum in amstelveen and the botanical gardens in Amsterdam as well

As for the weed ban, tourists are no longer allowed to buy as of January 1st, 2012 in the southern provinces and it will be January 1st, 2013 for all other provinces

[slick2404]

Thanks for all the tips, you guys rock.

One last question - Accomodations. Any hostel/hotel recommendations?