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Hey there!
I'm gonna travel to Netherlands this Friday and stay there till Monday, I was wondering if you can give me any tips on what to see, what to do and what most definitely to not miss!
The house I'm staying in is situated in Rotterdam, but we will most likely spend at least two days in Amterdam.
The place where I'll be staying is near Troelstralaan metro station, any tips on good pubs/restaurants nearby? (
Also, is there an easier way how to get from Eindhoven airport to Rotterdam metro other than bus+train+train? 
Oh, and I don't smoke pot, so cofee shops are kinda out of question 
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go bike diving in amsterdam, you're bound to find something in the waters there!
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Might as well post about going to a bar and asking for tips for non drinkers =p
for amd, the reijk museum and the van gogh are sweet. anne frank's house is a long wait and money to walk thru and see vids you probably read about a million times over. the dutch don't really have any specific cuisine that appears in restaurants, or at least not any around there. it's not like going to spain or italy in that sense.
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On March 15 2011 06:44 ondik wrote:Oh, and I don't smoke pot, so cofee shops are kinda out of question
do it anyway
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* Smoke a lot of weed!
* Go to the sex museum
* Go to the weed museum
* Visit vondelpark!
* Walk through the red light district @ night. Good fun! ^_^
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On March 15 2011 06:55 Zeburial wrote:
* Smoke a lot of weed!
* Go to the sex museum
* Go to the weed museum
* Visit vondelpark!
* Walk through the red light district @ night. Good fun! ^_^
That sounds like exactly what I'd do if I went to the Netherlands. Listen to this man
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It always bothers me that if you go to Italy you can visit Florence and Rome, with just about the most cultural heritage in the world, yet for the Netherlands people advise to go to seedy things such as the red light district and coffeeshops.
You could actually visit the zoo in Amsterdam: Artis. It's easy to find, quite close to the station and you can take a route through all the nice big avenues (don't really know the right translation, but it's marked on the maps).
I remember when I was 17 I won a trip to Artis, so I took the train there, visited the zoo and when returning I took a wrong turn and ended up in the red light district. I didn't notice at first, but then I looked through a window to the left of me and saw a naked girl signaling me. I'm still traumatized. :o
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On March 15 2011 07:22 Grumbels wrote:
It always bothers me that if you go to Italy you can visit Florence and Rome, with just about the most cultural heritage in the world, yet for the Netherlands people advise to go to seedy things such as the red light district and coffeeshops.
You could actually visit the zoo in Amsterdam: Artis. It's easy to find, quite close to the station and you can take a route through all the nice big avenues (don't really know the right translation, but it's marked on the maps).
I remember when I was 17 I won a trip to Artis, so I took the train there, visited the zoo and when returning I took a wrong turn and ended up in the red light district. I didn't notice at first, but then I looked through a window to the left of me and saw a naked girl signaling me. I'm still traumatized. :o
You could say that your attractions are in the present not the past
Also: Your fleet was bigger.
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It's a pity you're going to Amsterdam. If you want to go to a nice Dutch city go to Utrecht ^^. I've never been to Rotterdam, so I don't really know what you can do there. I really don't like Amsterdam though, too many foreigners, it's very not-dutch. Actually, when I tried to ask direction there (in Dutch) most people gave me a weird look because they couldn't understand it -.-'.
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the sex museums are really cool but some of it is pretty... well imagine 4chan but worse... there was one room where they gave you a special warning not to go in if you are nervous and these are these panels on the wall and a description of what its showing at the bottom. after seeing a picture of a woman with her arm inside a goat i made sure i looked at the description before the pictures... but they are really fun apart from that and actually very interesting too.
i couldn't really recommend any particular restaurant but the breakfast stuff is usually pretty awesome, lots of extremely unhealthy pastry things smothered in chocolate :D The bars are pretty good too, lots of really nice rareish beers everywhere and lots of friendly people. the beer choice isn't as good as belgium but you should try some new ones! I didn't really do it when i was there but i think the clubs are meant to be some of the best in europe too.
i'm kind of guessing thats the kind of trip you're going for anyway but otherwise the anne frank museum is in amsterdam and its also just a very beautiful city to walk around, one of the prettiest cities i've been to in europe really.
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Try a few heavy drugs you have not tried before, that should knock you out for about four days.
Other then that, the Netherlands does not offer that much to do/see. Amsterdam is a beautiful city though and I'm sure it's full of places that is worth a visit. Check in at the local tourist agency and see what they can recommend.
If you have the time, go watch some speedskating (longtrack). If you could mail me an autograph from Sven Kramer I'll be your bitchslave for a long, long time.
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In Rotterdam you can go climb the Euromast for a beautiful view over the city and take a tour by boat through the harbor (several options. Just google "harbor tour Rotterdam"). Both are things I really enjoyed. Rotterdam also has some of the best authentic Chinese restaurants I've been to due to it's large Chinese population as a result of the harbor.
If you want to visit a museum go visit the Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Or go visit the zoo if you're into that. Diergaarde Blijdorp is fun to do if you like those things.
For other options on what to do in Rotterdam go visit the Rotterdam Tourist Board
Don't go to Amsterdam if you are not interested in hookers/weed. It's almost all it has to offer except for some good musea. Imo it's an overrated dump.
ps. Also listen to Liveon. I live in Utrecht and it truly is the best city of the Netherlands.
pps. Bus+Train+Train is the best you can do as far as I was able to find out. And then you still have to take the Metro. 
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On March 15 2011 07:41 Stenstyren wrote:
Try a few heavy drugs you have not tried before, that should knock you out for about four days.
Other then that, the Netherlands does not offer that much to do/see. Amsterdam is a beautiful city though and I'm sure it's full of places that is worth a visit. Check in at the local tourist agency and see what they can recommend.
If you have the time, go watch some speedskating (longtrack). If you could mail me an autograph from Sven Kramer I'll be your bitchslave for a long, long time.
Dude, Sven trains in Heerenveen, that's the other side of the country (and how small the Netherlands is, you'll be traveling about three hours to get there ).
Next to that, As Golden Ghost and I have said before:
- Amsterdam's not interesting *at all*.
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Help us to find mountains.
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meh, too bad I'm really not interested in two things people are suggesting the most - drugs and sex museums (i've seen a lot on internet )
but thanks for all the advices, I'll definitely think about going to Utrecht if Amsterdam is not that good!
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There is a really cool Zoo called Apenheul in a small town called Appledoorn. (some) Monkeys run free and it is seriously some cool cool stuff.
check this link for some pictures of the place.
here are some more, and visitor reviews.
It is huuuge and again, very cool. Here is their website: http://www.apenheul.com/
Have fun
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On March 15 2011 08:07 Johnny Yen wrote:There is a really cool Zoo called Apenheul in a small town called Appledoorn. (some) Monkeys run free and it is seriously some cool cool stuff. It is huuuge and again, very cool. Here is their website: http://www.apenheul.com/Have fun
"Apenheul is now closed. In 2011 we will be open every day from March 30"
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On March 15 2011 08:07 Johnny Yen wrote:There is a really cool Zoo called Apenheul in a small town called Appledoorn. (some) Monkeys run free and it is seriously some cool cool stuff. check this link for some pictures of the place. here are some more, and visitor reviews. It is huuuge and again, very cool. Here is their website: http://www.apenheul.com/Have fun
It's Apeldoorn, no apple association there. It's a cool place, I think even there was some primate studies done on the apes there with books being written about it and documentaries that were made of it (a lot of fun).
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Oops, sorry about that. To think, all those "cools" were wasted!
I really enjoyed the day I spent in Utrecht and wish I had spent more time there. It is a university town and it won't be flooded with tourists. The two restaurants we ate at were really tasty. The city had some very cool design aspects that appealed to me, good bars as well.
Honestly if I were going again I would try to check out some speedskating. I didn't realize it was big for their culture when I was there. I've always liked it as a sport, so I missed out.
edit: Oh damnit, I consciously meant to spell it Apeldoorn... How did I miss it?
Also, to Saechiis: I did find some hills in some place called "tripoint". Spectacular! :D
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seriously, just go to a coffee shop and smoke A joint, at least A joint, for me.
No matter what, even if you "don't" do it, nothing bad will come of a wonderful experience in a little weed shop, smokin and having a coffee
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Apenheul is awesome though, but you should not bring a hat or bags that are not closed with 1000 locks! Those monkeys are not shy at all and will do anything to have fun or food. But the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam is pretty awesome too, used to go there lots of times to see the Komodo dragons (my favorite animal). The zoo is trying to minimize the cages and trying to get a decent habitat for animals (although certain older parts are still not yet as big as they could be).
For museums I would go to Amsterdam, because the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum are great. For bars or clubbing I would go to any student city, especially the ones with old cities (Utrecht, Leiden, Delft, Maastricht or also Amsterdam if you know where to find the good ones). Also The Hague is a good place to go to bars or clubbing.
It is pretty hard to find Dutch cuisine though, most of the affordable and trendy restaurants have a foreign kitchen. Dutch cuisine is a kind of 'peasant' cuisine, not as refined as the French, but it has great game or seafood dishes.
If I were you I would visit the harbor and zoo in Rotterdam and visit Amsterdam for its beautiful old city and museums.
I think you don't need bus-->train-->train, I think bus-->train will do to get you to the metro. From Eindhoven Airport take the bus to Eindhoven Central Station, then take the train to Rotterdam Central Station.
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oh also since i'm guessing lots of the dutch people in this thread are from amsterdam or have been there etc can i ask a Q about the place? when i went to amsterdam there were like vending machine things with a guy cooking them just behind in what was basically a cupboard. What the fuck!? do people actually eat them? how can that be hygienic?
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You mean like this?
![[image loading]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Febo5.JPG/450px-Febo5.JPG)
I think it is about as hygienic as any other fast food restaurant. Those things get cleaned as often as the trays in McDonalds.
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my buddies just came back from amsterdam and they both tried the whole red light district thing.
they paid, got did and had fun lol.
their reasoning was, they wanted to try a hooker at least once.
i dont know, they thought it was worth it; you can always try =D
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As a resident and student in Amsterdam who knows his way around quite well I can safely say there is quite a lot you can see/do here apart from smoking a Jay. It really comes down to where your interests lie.
History
If you are Into HistOry I recommend visiting the replica tradingship of the "United East Indies Company" (VOC in Dutch). Amsterdam's History is all about its seafaring and the wealth and culture it brought to the city. Normally i'd say visit the maritime museum, but is closed for renovations so you will only be able to visit the ship itself; which is awesome on it's own. It's near central station you can't miss it. The general historic museum is also decent if you've never visited Amsterdam. It's located in the centre at a 15 minute walk from central.
The post earlier about the "Anne Frank House" is sadly correct. The book is much more impressive than the museum.
The Allard Pierson Museum is a great museum about historical artifacts from Classic times and before from around the Mediterranean and Middle East. It's near Dam Square. The only thing is it's not about the Netherlands so it wouldn't be my first pick for your trip.
Art
If you're into Art the aforementioned Rijks Museum and Van Gogh Museum are usually places people like to visit. The Rijks has a broad collection of Dutch Masters where as the van Gogh museums main focus is of course Vincent van Gogh. The latter museum has an exposition of Picasso's now, though I haven't seen it yet. If you're Into Modern art I can recommend the Stedelijk Museum Which has works of Matisse and Mondriaan for example. All these are near the museumsquare Which is a 15 minute tram ride from Central.
I like the photomuseum (FOAM) Which is great but closed on 18th and 19th Which is when you're probably visiting Amsterdam so that sucks monkeybum.
Sightseeing
A rather fun albeit a bit corny Way to see Amsterdam is by a canal tourboat Which lasts about an hour and will set you back anywhere between 7.5 and 10 euro's (yikes). It's fun to Start with and does show you Amsterdam through a different perspective.
The Centre has many historic buildings so walking around along the canals is good. A guided tour will give you some background info. The Vondelpark near the museum square is Nice to picnic of the weather is good.
The recommendation to rent a bike is a good ONE as it's how everyone gets around. That and it's Really Dutch. For the ReaL Dutch experience though.. You'll have to buy a bike off a bum. People steal your bike here all the time. Go to Leidsesquare, Museumsquare or the edges of the red Light districs at night and you can be the proud owner of a "barrel" (shitty bike) for as little as 10 euro's. Some bums even sell them with locks... I shit you not. Make sure to haggle  .
Pubs
All shapes and sizes but most are expensive and touristic. I can safely recommend the following.
Belgian Beer Café's "De Zotte" and "De Spuit" are near Leidsesquare (just ask someone) and have large selections of well.. Belgian (and Dutch) Beers.
LB café is a whiskey bar also near Leidsesquare. They have real nice and affordable whiskeys. Also it's very snug or "gezellig" as we would say in the Netherlands.
For the best Beer in Amsterdam though you'll have to go to Brewery "t IJ". They are a local brewery of the bést special beer in Amsterdam. They sell it at their brewery from 15:00 to 20:00 for cheaper than elsewhere; but you can get their beer in about half of Amsterdams bars (the good ones). They are a quite a bit out of the centre (15 minutes by tram) but near a scenic windmill (which is also typically Dutch). This one is well worth your time investment in my opinion.
Restaurants
I have no money to eat out that leaves me with very little recommendations...
I would go for typical Dutch food such as Stew "Stampot" if you want to know how my childhood was like. Otherwise stick with "Fries Drowned in Mayonaise".
Partying
There is too many places to go dancing to list so it really comes down to your music preference. Dance music is more prevalent than anything else though. I'll just list what I like:
Paradiso/Melkweg - Prime venues for all kinds of International bands and such. Tickets for those things are best bought in advance. Near Leidsesquare. Has parties after the Live acts are done.
Trouw/Canvas - Decent dance clubs a little out of the centre Which offer a varied program of electronic music. They are situated in old newspaper buildings Which the City loans out to all kinds of artists and startups. Student hotspot. You can get there by metro; the stop you're looking for is Wibautstraat.
Cafe Alto - Jazz Bar near Leidsesquare. Every night Live music and requests. It's PACKED in the weekends so you'll need to go early. Usually no admission but it varies. If you're Really good and you have huge balls you can ask to sit in and they'll probably oblige.
(And my own student societys bar which has a strict non-tourist policy..)
SC2
A little further then Leidsesquare is "The Mad Processor" Which is a Gaming cafe. You can own your friends back at home, (for a modest sum) so they don't forget who's boss while you're gone. Or teach the locals a lesson of course...
Other
I like theatre, for which Amsterdam is without a doubt a good place but not everything is in English and I haven't kept track what's on this week as I am studying.
Lastly there are the sex shops, "The Red Light", the coffeeshops, "The Heineken Experience" and the "Sex Museum" ... This is what we are "famous" for. I'm partial to a good hookah with some weed but with hookers I have no experience...
This post has gone on way longer than It should have but I felt this thread was not representing Amsterdam as I know it. Might have to make this into a blog post myself :D. I have exams this week but I will be free in the Weekend. Drop me a pm and I might be able to meet up so I can show you around for a bit.
I can also extend that invitation to all my fellow countrymen who are of the opinion that Amsterdam is not interesting *at all* (lack of experience?) Maybe in return you can show me Utrecht as I haven't gotten futher than "The Stairway to Heaven", "Tivoli", "Winkel van Sinkel" "Jaarbeurs" and "de Dom" which I think isn't really the best Utrecht has to offer either.
GG!
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On March 15 2011 09:31 rolfe wrote:
oh also since i'm guessing lots of the dutch people in this thread are from amsterdam or have been there etc can i ask a Q about the place? when i went to amsterdam there were like vending machine things with a guy cooking them just behind in what was basically a cupboard. What the fuck!? do people actually eat them? how can that be hygienic?
Yeah not exactly tastiest things but they do go in a pool of fat which is heated to about 180 degrees. I'm pretty sure that gets rid of most germs. The Netherlands has loads of regulations in every field though. I'll bet you all my E-sports dollars that each of these estabishments have a hygiëne certificate..
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On March 15 2011 09:35 Vandro wrote:You mean like this? I think it is about as hygienic as any other fast food restaurant. Those things get cleaned as often as the trays in McDonalds.
yeah thats it exactly! i dunno its just people touching the release thing and flap without washing their hands and stuff, i mean i doubt mcdonalds employees wash their hands as much as they should but... i mean they're exposed to the outside as well. i dunno, i might be being silly but who eats them? the only people i saw get them were really damn high
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
lol wtf i ate that cupboard fried snack thing in amsterdam its pretty good LOL
hahah oh and super nice informative post a few posts above!
i went to rijksmuseum and van gogh museum too, so nice! :D (well i love art a lot so yea.. but rembrandt man!)
hm i took a train out of amsterdam to see some windmill place.
oh yea it was DE ZAANSCHE. haha prtty nice i guess. i bought cheese there too sooo freaking yummy. smoked gouda?
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On March 15 2011 10:17 Beastie wrote:
SC2
A little further then Leidsesquare is "The Mad Processor" Which is a Gaming cafe. You can own your friends back at home, (for a modest sum) so they don't forget who's boss while you're gone. Or teach the locals a lesson of course...
GG!
One thing you might wanna note is that you'll need a one-time membership for 15 euros. But besides that it's a great place to hang around,,, I actually went there for the first time like 2 days ago!
Restaurants:
You'll have 't pakhuys' near the shopping center, very much near Waterstones bookstore at the 'spui' you can have a 'daily special' steak with fries and some salad for like €8,- and otherwise you'll have other choice in dinner as well for like up to €15,-
Near Leidseplein you'll have a lot of choice in food as well, you'll have a lot of "cheap" restaurants, mostly Italians with like €5,- pizzas and stuff. A lot of them are pretty terrible, there's one Italian there that I really like though, slightly more money but very good food. It's on the corner of the 'lange leidsedwarsstraat' across a Greek called 'Zorba the greek' <-- don't eat at the greek it SUCKS! >: Otherwise just try out things foodwise! Definatly try the 'kroket' ofcourse.
Besides that in Amsterdam, living there myself as well: Don't do drugs if you're not into it.
Don't walk on the cycling paths (they're usually red), you'll be run over.
Don't cycle if you;re not used to cycling in a busy city, instead buy a 48 hour Public transport ticket for €11.50 instead of an hourly ticket for €2.60, because it'll cost you less in the end and public transport will get you pretty much anywhere in Amsterdam.
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On March 15 2011 10:17 Beastie wrote:As a resident and student in Amsterdam who knows his way around quite well I can safely say there is quite a lot you can see/do here apart from smoking a Jay. It really comes down to where your interests lie. HistoryIf you are Into HistOry I recommend visiting the replica tradingship of the "United East Indies Company" (VOC in Dutch). Amsterdam's History is all about its seafaring and the wealth and culture it brought to the city. Normally i'd say visit the maritime museum, but is closed for renovations so you will only be able to visit the ship itself; which is awesome on it's own. It's near central station you can't miss it. The general historic museum is also decent if you've never visited Amsterdam. It's located in the centre at a 15 minute walk from central. The post earlier about the "Anne Frank House" is sadly correct. The book is much more impressive than the museum. The Allard Pierson Museum is a great museum about historical artifacts from Classic times and before from around the Mediterranean and Middle East. It's near Dam Square. The only thing is it's not about the Netherlands so it wouldn't be my first pick for your trip. ArtIf you're into Art the aforementioned Rijks Museum and Van Gogh Museum are usually places people like to visit. The Rijks has a broad collection of Dutch Masters where as the van Gogh museums main focus is of course Vincent van Gogh. The latter museum has an exposition of Picasso's now, though I haven't seen it yet. If you're Into Modern art I can recommend the Stedelijk Museum Which has works of Matisse and Mondriaan for example. All these are near the museumsquare Which is a 15 minute tram ride from Central. I like the photomuseum (FOAM) Which is great but closed on 18th and 19th Which is when you're probably visiting Amsterdam so that sucks monkeybum. SightseeingA rather fun albeit a bit corny Way to see Amsterdam is by a canal tourboat Which lasts about an hour and will set you back anywhere between 7.5 and 10 euro's (yikes). It's fun to Start with and does show you Amsterdam through a different perspective. The Centre has many historic buildings so walking around along the canals is good. A guided tour will give you some background info. The Vondelpark near the museum square is Nice to picnic of the weather is good. The recommendation to rent a bike is a good ONE as it's how everyone gets around. That and it's Really Dutch. For the ReaL Dutch experience though.. You'll have to buy a bike off a bum. People steal your bike here all the time. Go to Leidsesquare, Museumsquare or the edges of the red Light districs at night and you can be the proud owner of a "barrel" (shitty bike) for as little as 10 euro's. Some bums even sell them with locks... I shit you not. Make sure to haggle . PubsAll shapes and sizes but most are expensive and touristic. I can safely recommend the following. Belgian Beer Café's "De Zotte" and "De Spuit" are near Leidsesquare (just ask someone) and have large selections of well.. Belgian (and Dutch) Beers. LB café is a whiskey bar also near Leidsesquare. They have real nice and affordable whiskeys. Also it's very snug or "gezellig" as we would say in the Netherlands. For the best Beer in Amsterdam though you'll have to go to Brewery "t IJ". They are a local brewery of the bést special beer in Amsterdam. They sell it at their brewery from 15:00 to 20:00 for cheaper than elsewhere; but you can get their beer in about half of Amsterdams bars (the good ones). They are a quite a bit out of the centre (15 minutes by tram) but near a scenic windmill (which is also typically Dutch). This one is well worth your time investment in my opinion. RestaurantsI have no money to eat out that leaves me with very little recommendations... I would go for typical Dutch food such as Stew "Stampot" if you want to know how my childhood was like. Otherwise stick with "Fries Drowned in Mayonaise". PartyingThere is too many places to go dancing to list so it really comes down to your music preference. Dance music is more prevalent than anything else though. I'll just list what I like: Paradiso/Melkweg - Prime venues for all kinds of International bands and such. Tickets for those things are best bought in advance. Near Leidsesquare. Has parties after the Live acts are done. Trouw/Canvas - Decent dance clubs a little out of the centre Which offer a varied program of electronic music. They are situated in old newspaper buildings Which the City loans out to all kinds of artists and startups. Student hotspot. You can get there by metro; the stop you're looking for is Wibautstraat. Cafe Alto - Jazz Bar near Leidsesquare. Every night Live music and requests. It's PACKED in the weekends so you'll need to go early. Usually no admission but it varies. If you're Really good and you have huge balls you can ask to sit in and they'll probably oblige. (And my own student societys bar which has a strict non-tourist policy..) SC2A little further then Leidsesquare is "The Mad Processor" Which is a Gaming cafe. You can own your friends back at home, (for a modest sum) so they don't forget who's boss while you're gone. Or teach the locals a lesson of course... OtherI like theatre, for which Amsterdam is without a doubt a good place but not everything is in English and I haven't kept track what's on this week as I am studying. Lastly there are the sex shops, "The Red Light", the coffeeshops, "The Heineken Experience" and the "Sex Museum" ... This is what we are "famous" for. I'm partial to a good hooka h with some weed but with hooke rs I have no experience... This post has gone on way longer than It should have but I felt this thread was not representing Amsterdam as I know it. Might have to make this into a blog post myself :D. I have exams this week but I will be free in the Weekend. Drop me a pm and I might be able to meet up so I can show you around for a bit. I can also extend that invitation to all my fellow countrymen who are of the opinion that Amsterdam is not interesting *at all* (lack of experience?) Maybe in return you can show me Utrecht as I haven't gotten futher than "The Stairway to Heaven", "Tivoli", "Winkel van Sinkel" "Jaarbeurs" and "de Dom" which I think isn't really the best Utrecht has to offer either. GG!
Awesome post, I was just about to post something to because of everyone just going 'hookers and weed', glad you brough some quality to the discussion.
Amsterdam's an extremely touristic place. You'll notice that with the food especially, it almost feels like you're in NY sometimes with the type of restaurants and food that are on the main streets. If you're fine with just being a tourist, you can do the usual touristy stuff, sex museum, Anne Frank museum, red light district, coffee shops, etc., but eh... You're not really getting into Amsterdam itself if you do that and it's also going to be very expensive. My suggestion would be to try to meet locals and get a more real feel of Amsterdam instead of just fucking a hooker, which honestly, you can do anywhere in the world and mostly cheaper than in Amsterdam.
You'll need a way to get around. Don't take taxis. When I go to Amsterdam I always rent a bike, but public transport's fine too.
Everyone speaks great English. Literally everyone. Don't even bother asking anyone whether they speak English, they all do. And people are generally very friendly, so ask people to help you out if you get lost or need something.
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