Best Places to Visit in Amsterdam

You’ve probably seen a picture of four to five level canal houses and of course, the millions of bikes on the street, particularly on Instagram. Seriously, if you don’t pay attention to where you are going, you will get run over in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Even with all of that, I absolutely enjoyed the place. Here are the Best Places to Visit in Amsterdam:

FOOD

I was pleasantly surprised about the food in Amsterdam. The owners of the bed and breakfast I stayed at in Amsterdam (see below) recommended of all food types, Indonesian food. The restaurant name is Kantjil & de Tijger. My first thought was…Indonesian in Amsterdam? Well, I tried it anyway and it was delicious. I even went back the next day because it was that good. To this day, I still crave those shrimp crackers!

Second, before my trip, I saw an awesome picture of a greenhouse restaurant in the middle of what seems like a park in Amsterdam from TripAdvisor called Restaurant de Kas . Indeed, I was intrigued and I immediately booked a reservation months in advance to try it. Oh man, it did not disappoint. I was so excited to try their menu, a 5 course meal with wine pairing. My fave!

All Restaurant de Kas’ food are prepared with the local ingredients including growing their own herbs and vegetables and the menu changes daily depending on harvest. In fact, you can see the herbs and vegetables when you’re in the restaurant. The good news is the food is super tasty, the bad news is the portions were miniature. haha! I was still slightly hungry after my meals. Regardless, I recommend anyone to try this restaurant. It’s such a cool experience.

Third, if you’re interested in authentic dutch food, I suggest going to Restaurant Haesje Claes. This restaurant has so many items on the menu. I loved the braised beef and Hutspot-hodgepodge which is described as a staple in Holland and served with different kinds of meat. Yum! Of course, you need to try their local beer and drinks.

ACTIVITIES

There are so numerous activities to do in Amsterdam. First, I recommending biking around town, just be careful of the pedestrians. Personally, I like walking around the place since there are so many little boutique shops. In fact, I happily spent over an hour going through one row of stores. I did get the cutest bracelets tho. Worth it!

Second, check out the Vincent Van Gogh museum. I recommend booking your tickets in advance as this is the most visited museum in Amsterdam. There are about four stories of paintings to admire. Travel Tip: If you’re interested in touring the Anne Frank house, you definitely need to get tickets in advance since it gets sold out pretty quickly. I wasn’t able to go because there were no tickets available on the days I was in Amsterdam. Boo! For tickets, search Anne Frank or Vincent Van Gogh Amsterdam and get it here.

Third, I recommend going to the various cocktail bars in Amsterdam including Door 74 which is a speakeasy bar, Bar Oldenholf and W hotel rooftop bar. My favorite cocktails are French 75 at Door 74, a mojito at Bar Oldenholf and a martini at W hotel. Try them all!

HOTEL

I wanted to stay in the canal district so I opted to book the Kamer01 bed and breakfast, this place has a 5 star rating per TripAdvisor with over 500 reviews. Unbelievable! It was such a perfect choice as the room rate includes champagne breakfast and the location was just what I wanted. There are only 3 rooms in this bed and breakfast and no one else was there when I stayed at the place. I loved it!

The free breakfast included champagne, juices, omelet, bread, croissants, and a variety of cheeses and fruits. Fortunately, the breakfast room is full of juices/alcohol and you are welcome to take them at any time. Such a good hotel rate and the hosts were so pleasant. Cheers to Wolter & Peter!

Overall, I enjoyed my visit to Amsterdam. I would totally come back here! If you’re interested in other recommendations for Europe, check out my blog Best Places to Visit in Split, click here.

If you have any comments or suggestions on the Best Places to Visit in Amsterdam, please comment below.

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