Amsterdam must-sees?

If you were going to Amsterdam for three days, what would be your absolute must-sees?

Re: Amsterdam must-sees?

For me it was Anne Franks house

Heineken factory

Red light district

A coffee shop

Just walking around the city was incredible. The beautiful architecture and canals. The amount of bikes is insane. I am talking parking garages for bikes!

Enjoy! It was such a fun place to visit! So much to see! I dont think DH and I slept for two days while we were there!

Re: Amsterdam must-sees?

My favorite place! been 5X

All of the above, also:

My favorite Dutch specialty place is The Pancake Bakery a block and a half north of The Anne Frank House. Plate sized crepes with anything in them from meat and cheese to whip cream and chocolate sauce. Opens at noon though.

Canal boat tours, usually an hour and you can get most of them at the northeast end of the Damrak. They’ll give you a great overview of the city by waterway.... Great thing to do hung over :)

There are two main bike tours, Yellow Bike (bigger) and Mike’s Bike (better)

Just off the Leidseplein there is Holland Casino. Bring passports if you go here.

Main museums of Amsterdam, The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh.


Any questions, let me know

Message edited 9/4/2014 4:32:10 PM.

Re: Amsterdam must-sees?

Thanks, guys! We're lucky in that we'll be staying with friends, one of whom is a native of Amsterdam so they'll take us to the off-the-beaten-path kinds of things...but I do want to see some of the touristy things too! Awesome suggestions!

Re: Amsterdam must-sees?

I love Amsterdam. I've been there 6-7 times. Some times I can't quite remember .

Anne Frank House
Van Gogh museum
Rijksmuseum
Heineken Brewery (but if you are a big craft beer drinker, you might be disappointed) if so check out many different beer places throughout.

The pancake bakery is really good for pancakes. Also check out some Indonesian food. The Netherlands has amazing Indonesian food. I can't suggest a place because I haven't been to one in Amsterdam, but rather in other places of the Netherlands.

You can do a google search for coffee shops as there are many kinds of shops based on music, lighting, etc. Whatever you do, don't go to the bulldog. It's a chain. They also use tobacco in their stuff in Amsterdam...

What time of year are you going? There is a great tulip festival in Spring. Are you planning on going outside of Amsterdam for a day trip maybe? I really liked Kinderdijk (all the windmills), Haarlem, and Delft. Not sure if you have enough time though. It's a small country, so things aren't too far away.

Have fun!

Amsterdam must-sees?

Amsterdam is my favorite international city as well!

We loved the Van Gogh museum, Anne frank house is a must see IMO,
We love the grasshopper coffee shop but there many great coffee shops, the museum of sex is really jaw dropping if you're up for that sort of thing. I also agree with just taking some time to walk the city, it's so beautiful.
Have fun!