Amsterdam Travel Guide

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

Amsterdam

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

Vegan Junk Food Bar

  • 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

Amsterdam Snow

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

Gay Pride

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".

Published Sep 29, 2018

Amsterdam

Netherlands

restaurants

museums

parcs

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