\nA great way to orient yourself to the city is with a walking tour. You\u2019ll learn some history, find out where the major sites are, and explore all those winding canals. Free walking tours are a wonderful first activity in any city. I recommend the free New Europe walking tour. It covers a lot of ground and gives you a general overview of the city and landmarks. The tour meets in the main square and lasts about 2-3 hours. (Be sure to tip your guide though!)<\/p>\n
Canal tour<\/strong> Van Gogh Museum<\/strong> Rijksmuseum<\/strong> Anne Frank House<\/strong> The Jordaan area<\/strong> The Tulip Museum<\/strong> Amsterdam History Museum<\/strong> Red Light District<\/strong> Do a bike tour<\/strong> FOAM<\/strong> Jewish Historical Museum<\/strong> Oosterpark<\/strong> Museum Amstelkring<\/strong> The Rembrandt House Museum<\/strong> Museum Van Loon<\/strong> Vondelpark<\/strong>
\nAmsterdam is a city tied to the water \u2013 it grew around its canals and the taming of the Amstel River. The canals of Amsterdam are incredibly beautiful, and there\u2019s nothing like seeing the city from a boat. Skip the big canal boat tours you see around the city \u2014 they\u2019re overpriced. You can often hire a private boat tour for about 20 Euros an hour (look for guides around the Red Light District). Moreover, you can also take the open-air Canal Hopper Small Boat. This is the company I use when I run group tours to the city \u2014 the boats are small, the tours more intimate, and your driver will give you a good personalized tour. The tours last about an hour.<\/p>\n
\nThis may be one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city, but don\u2019t let the crowds deter you. The museum features many of Van Gogh\u2019s best works of art alongside an excellent biography of his life and is laid out in chronological order, starting with his earliest works. Though not a huge museum, I can spend hours just staring at the paintings as Van Gogh is one of my favorite painters. The museums also has paintings by other famous artists of the period, like Monet, Manet, and Matisse. Try to come late in the late afternoon when the crowds subside.<\/p>\n
\nThe Rijksmuseum is located right next to the Van Gogh Museum, and after years of renovation, it\u2019s now beautifully remodeled. The museum still features an extensive Rembrandt collection, and you\u2019ll be able to see the famous painting \u201cThe Night Watch.\u201d Besides Rembrandt, there\u2019s also an incredible and robust collection of other classic Dutch painters, like Frans Hals and Johannes Vermeer. Over one million works of art, craftworks, and historical objects are kept in the collection, and around 8,000 objects are on display in the museum so be sure to budget a few hours!<\/p>\nDay 2<\/h3>\n
\nIn all honesty, I don\u2019t like this place. I found it to be anticlimactic. You basically do a slow walk through the house as the crowds pack the place. You don\u2019t get to let everything soak in as you\u2019re being pushed from behind by the endless crowds. It\u2019s maddening! But, if you don\u2019t mind waiting in line and you\u2019re curious about Anne (I think the Jewish History Museum does a more thorough job of relating the events in Anne Frank\u2019s life to the Holocaust), it might be worth the visit for you. You can book tickets online up to two months in advance, which lets you skip the line. If you don\u2019t do this, get there very early in the morning to avoid the long queue that develops over the course of the day!<\/p>\n
\nThis heavily residential area (an old working-class neighborhood turned hip) is probably the most missed part of Amsterdam. Although it\u2019s right near the city center, hardly any tourists enter this maze of restaurants, cafes, and shops. It\u2019s peaceful and a great place to wander while avoiding the mass of tourists crowding the main streets just a few blocks away. While in the area, be sure to eat at Moeders (traditional Dutch food) and Winkel 43 (apple pie).<\/p>\n
\nLocated in a room inside a tulip shop, this little basement museum does a wonderful job of telling the history of tulips in Holland and the infamous tulip craze. It\u2019s one of the best off-the-beaten-path attractions in Amsterdam<\/a>. You\u2019ll never find a crowd, and it\u2019s only 5 euros (3 euros for students)!<\/p>\n![\"tulips\"](\"http:\/\/demo.slicejack.com\/karta\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2016\/05\/tulips.jpg\")
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\nThis museum features a very thorough history of Amsterdam. It\u2019s big, and you\u2019ll need 3\u20134 hours to really go through it in detail. There are a lot of relics, maps, paintings, and audiovisual displays throughout the museum. My favorite is the computer graphic at the entrance showing the growth and construction of the city over time. I can\u2019t recommend this museum enough. It\u2019s one of the best history museums I\u2019ve ever visited.<\/p>\n
\nThough much tamer than in previous years, the Red Light District manages to balance sex and seediness with being a major tourist attraction. During the day, it\u2019s a quiet place. If it wasn\u2019t for the red lights and sex signs everywhere, it would look like any other part of the city. But, at night, the area becomes awash with drunk, gawking tourists moving slowly down the street as they stare at the girls in the window while going from bar to bar and coffeeshop to coffeeshop. It\u2019s a place to see and experience for a very brief time.<\/p>\nDay 3<\/h3>\n
\nBikes are to Amsterdam like wine is to Bordeaux. The city loves bikes, and there are supposedly more bikes than people in Amsterdam. In fact, forget about keeping a lookout for cars \u2014 it\u2019s the bikes that will run you over. Seeing Amsterdam and its surroundings from a bike is something I definitely encourage you to do. Mike\u2019s Bike Tours is the best company to use, whether for a tour or to rent a bike on your own.<\/p>\n
\nThis photography museum houses wonderful pictures and sees few crowds despite being in the main part of the city. It\u2019s a must for any photography lover<\/a>. The exhibitions are constantly changing so you never know what you might see! They have a beautiful outdoor garden too. It\u2019s a small museum and doesn\u2019t take long to see.<\/p>\n
\nOften overlooked in favor of The Anne Frank House, the Jewish Historical Museum tells the history of the Jews\u2019 prominent and influential position in Amsterdam. The exhibit on World War II does a great job of highlighting Dutch complacency, resistance, and guilt over the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
\nEveryone goes to Vondelpark to sit around, bike, or get high, but east of the main city center is a beautiful park with fewer people and green space that is just as relaxing. It\u2019s about a 30-minute walk from the city center, but the walk\u00a0takes you through residential areas of the city not often seen and way off the tourist map. I enjoy coming here because it\u2019s far quieter and more peaceful than Vondelpark. If you wanted a quiet park experience, this is it!<\/p>\nDay 4<\/h3>\n
\nOns\u2019 Lieve Heer op Solder (\u201cOur Lord in the Attic\u201d) is one of the most interesting churches in the city. Hidden inside a 17th-century canal house, the clandestine Catholic church was built during Protestant rule. It was never really a secret but it was out of sight and out of mind for the authorities. The drawing room here is quite beautiful and the furnishings make it one of the most best 17th-century rooms left.<\/p>\n
\nRembrandt lived and worked in this house between 1639 and 1658. Daily demonstrations show modern visitors how he worked and you can also explore the house and see a recreation of how it was decorated during Rembrandt\u2019s time. I wasn\u2019t too impressed, but Rembrandt enthusiasts shouldn\u2019t overlook it.<\/p>\n
\nThe Museum Van Loon is a double-sized canal house (built in 1672) located on the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam. The house was owned by the wealthy Van Loon merchant family who set up a beautiful art collection. Now it\u2019s a museum with period furniture, art, and family portraits. There\u2019s a beautiful garden here too. This is definitely a place not to miss.<\/p>\n
\nAmsterdam\u2019s largest and most popular park is a great place to walk, bike, people-watch, or relax, especially after a visit to a local coffee shop. There\u2019s a playground as well as places to play sports, and numerous areas for kicking back. During the summer, Vondelpark is filled with people, especially locals who hang out at the caf\u00e9 \u2018t Blauwe Theehuis for drinks in the center.<\/p>\n
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