I've been there a few times and can comment on Amsterdamn from a tourist perspective.
Counterculture: This is the best part of Amsterdam. The red light district and the coffee shops are both a must see. Go at night.
Museums: The Van Gogh Museum was good. But the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House were disappointing.
Other: Heineken was fun afternoon.
We also rented a car for a few days and drove up the coast, which was a lot of fun. Lots of little villages, some touristy, some not. Edam was my favorite (where they make the cheese); lots of people in traditional dress, cute cheese girls everywhere. But we were there on the same day the Queen visited, so it may not always be that fun.
Don't forget you can take trains to other cities on the weekends. Look into getting a Rail Pass--you have to order it in advance and it saves you lots of money on the trains.
I'm trying to think of something geeky for the HN crowd. But I can't. Sorry.
The Rijksmuseum has a couple of pieces of such excellent craftsmanship in it, that if you like design, just seeing those can make it worth the visit.
The ivory-hilted matchlock pistols are some of the most beautiful weaponry I've ever seen. There's some excellent fencing swords in the museum as well. If you like arms, it's worth it just to see them - but I've fenced and like marksmanship, so I've got a bit of a bias. Night Watch is in there too, and it's gigantic and a fun painting. You can cruise the whole museum in a couple hours even while dedicating some time to a few really interesting pieces, and I enjoyed it much.
So I'll put in a vote for the Rijksmuseum, I do like it. If you like electronic music, lots of good DJs spin in Amsterdam but you'll have to look up where the party is. The Westerhousefabric district outside of the city has more of a local nightlife scene, as opposed to the hardcore tourism you see in central AMS.
If you're by chance going to England after Holland, taking the ferry from Hoek van Holland to Harwich is an incredible experience. Hoek van Holland is a really, really wonderful little town, with some great cafes, restaurants, and friendly people. The train ride there from AMS is beautiful. Then the ferry is lots of fun if you like boats.
Amsterdam is amazing and it is possible to spend days just wandering around and exploring all the markets, fresh meats, cheeses etc, it is a short trip on the ferry (behind the train station) to some of the inter-connected islands with large parks etc. And I recommend visiting Rotterdam which is only a train ride away.
3 comments
[ 12.0 ms ] story [ 167 ms ] threadCounterculture: This is the best part of Amsterdam. The red light district and the coffee shops are both a must see. Go at night.
Museums: The Van Gogh Museum was good. But the Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House were disappointing.
Other: Heineken was fun afternoon.
We also rented a car for a few days and drove up the coast, which was a lot of fun. Lots of little villages, some touristy, some not. Edam was my favorite (where they make the cheese); lots of people in traditional dress, cute cheese girls everywhere. But we were there on the same day the Queen visited, so it may not always be that fun.
Don't forget you can take trains to other cities on the weekends. Look into getting a Rail Pass--you have to order it in advance and it saves you lots of money on the trains.
I'm trying to think of something geeky for the HN crowd. But I can't. Sorry.
The ivory-hilted matchlock pistols are some of the most beautiful weaponry I've ever seen. There's some excellent fencing swords in the museum as well. If you like arms, it's worth it just to see them - but I've fenced and like marksmanship, so I've got a bit of a bias. Night Watch is in there too, and it's gigantic and a fun painting. You can cruise the whole museum in a couple hours even while dedicating some time to a few really interesting pieces, and I enjoyed it much.
So I'll put in a vote for the Rijksmuseum, I do like it. If you like electronic music, lots of good DJs spin in Amsterdam but you'll have to look up where the party is. The Westerhousefabric district outside of the city has more of a local nightlife scene, as opposed to the hardcore tourism you see in central AMS.
If you're by chance going to England after Holland, taking the ferry from Hoek van Holland to Harwich is an incredible experience. Hoek van Holland is a really, really wonderful little town, with some great cafes, restaurants, and friendly people. The train ride there from AMS is beautiful. Then the ferry is lots of fun if you like boats.