Amsterdam Travel Guide

If you like to travel like a local, this is for you.

First thing first, let's start with the food specialities. Netherlands is not famous for its cuisine, so it will be fast.

• meat balls : pointless
• poffertjes : really good hot small pancakes with a lot of butter, really good in winter - used to be a little shop every fridays in front of Brasserie Nel on Prinsengracht (long and emblematic street around the city center)

Note: you will find some good Indonesian food since Indonesian used to be a dutch colony.

Center

From Amsterdam Centraal to Rembrandtplein it's the tourist trap with bars and restaurant full of tourists, including a lot of noisy drunk british dudes but you still have a lot to see :

• Begijnhofkapel : peaceful courtyard of religious ladies, take the small door, closed at night
• Bloemenmarkt : flower market, tourist trap but still charming
• Red light district : prostitute area, 100% safe, really nice at night with the neons
• Utrechtsestraat : cute shopping street
• Dam square : pointless except for the kind of tourist who travels with a selfie stick. If it's your case, close this website, go to Tripadvisor and reserve an Hop On - Hop Off bus/boat tour

Charming path : from Nieuwmarkt throught Kloveniersburgwal till Staalstraat with a little bridge with a vue on a beautiful church. My old daily commute, I really miss it.

At night : Canals around Keizersgracht / Prinsengracht with the street lamps, it's gorgeous.

West

• Foodhallen : cool place, lots of restaurants but expensive, touristy
• Haarlemmerstraat : emblematic street with a lot of hipsters shops.
• Winkel 43 : place to get the best apple pie of Amsterdam
• Saffraan : small & nice affordable restaurant
• Café L'Affiche : perfect for a beer / coffee
• Waterkant : hipster bar within a parking close to the water
• Jordaan : rich and gorgeous district, with market on Saturday (Noordermarkt), loose yourself around Westerstraat, staying between Prinsengracht and Marnixstraat, it's beautiful.
• Prinseneiland : most underated place in Amsterdam, no tourist

De pijp - South : Hipsteria

• Bazar : oriental restaurant, nice and cheap
• Gerard Douplein : square full of bars, nice atmosphere at night, go to Thrill Grill for a nice burger
• Vegan Junk Food Bar : tasty vegan burger 🍔
• Fou Fow Ramen : best ramen 🍲
• Scandinavian Embassy : nordic hipster coffee place

Oost - East

My favourite place to live ❤️, Bukowski and Louie louie are classics bars and Dappermarkt is a great market with normal people.

• Biertuin : best burger in town 🍔
• Volkshotel : bar on top of the hotel, with a panoramic vue on Amsterdam
• Artis : small zoo, I suggest to have a walk behind, on Entrepotdok
• Amsterdam Roest : hipster bar, welcome to Berlin
• Hannekes Boom : by the water bar - another classic

Museum

Must see : Hermitage - Rijksmuseum - Van Gogh

FOAM / huis Marseille depending on the exhibits.

Supermarket

Marqt is the best, but most of the dutch go to Albert Heijn.

Parcs

Voldenpark nice but overated, I prefer Amstelpark because it has less tourist. Oh and Amsterdamse Bos is wild.

Events

If you can, come for the following events :

• King's Day : the entire country goes wild and wear orange, the national color. 27th of April.
• Gay pride : first weekend of August in Amsterdam, the boat parade is sooo funny.
• Rollende Keukens : Literally rolling kitchen, huge food festival in Westerpark

Dutchs

Direct, impolite (but honest), always in a rush, don't like tourist but (sometimes) nice 😉

Bikes

Bikes have priority over everything else. Best way to visit the city. Have a look to how people bike before doing it otherwise people will insult you. If biking is not problem for you, don't rent a mac bike any flashy color rent bike, it's like wearing a sign saying "I'm a tourist and I don't know how to drive".

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