Something Special Amsterdam

On Friday nights the Van Gogh Museum is open until 22.00 and there’s always something special going on. Every Friday night, lounge chairs, video projections, live music, DJs and a bar transform the museum’s central hall into a relaxed place to meet.

The Van Gogh Museum is on Museumplein in Amsterdam, between the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum.

One of the best ways to see Amsterdam is from the water. Rent a boat and explore the canals at your own leisure. For example with Boaty Rental Boats (the boats are electrically driven).

You can also hire a boat with its own captain. Classic Canal Charters organises tours aboard classic ships and salon boats along the waters of Amsterdam. You decide the route, where your stop off and how long the tour takes. Same goes for the food and drinks. They also offer running dinners, for each dish they will hit a different restaurant.

With the city beaches Amsterdam offers a refreshing twist on the traditional sun and sand experience during the summer.

For example Strand West: a broad sandy expanse with a panoramic view of the River IJ. Laze in a hammock or beanbag, sip a cocktail, snack on tapas. Open from around 1 April to 1 October from 10am-11pm.

Another popular sandy beach, with a bohemian vibe, is Blijburg aan Zee. Situated on the eastern side of the modern IJburg island complex. It hosts evening campfires and often a DJ or live band.

Science Centre NEMO has an impressive ‘roof with a view’. From June to September, under the name 'BovenNEMO', a beach is set up on the roof complete with lounge chairs, olive trees, ice-cream, exotic snacks, cocktails and sand.

Address: Muiderlaan 1001, Amsterdam
Website: Blijburg aan Zee (NL)

Address: Oosterdok 2, Amsterdam
Website: BovenNemo on top of Nemo

The Floating Dutchman is a bus and boat in one, specially for tourists, day trippers and passengers arriving or transferring at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

The Floating Dutchman has a capacity of 48 and collects passengers from Schiphol Plaza. The bus boat then continues to Amsterdam and enters the water at the Splash Zone near the Nemo Science Centre to continue its journey as a water launch through the canals of Amsterdam. After the trip, the bus emerges from the water and continues its journey back to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Or hop on this futuristic bus opposite Central Station. In just about 45 minutes they will take you on a journey toward the Amstel River and the Skinny Bridge.

The Floating Dutchman is the most spectacular way to experience Amsterdam. It is powered by 198 batteries and is therefore a silent and CO2-neutral way of sailing through Amsterdam's many canals.

 

Website: Floating Dutchman Amsterdam

The IJ-Kantine with its fabulous terrace on the NDSM harbour (Amsterdam North) occupies a wonderful spot at the water’s edge. They serve international dishes throughout the day. Or just go there for a coffee or a beer.

Take the free ferry behind Central Station to NSDM werf. The trip takes 10 minutes and the ferry arrives next to the IJ-Kantine.

The Amsterdam Restaurant Week takes place twice a year, in March and August. During this week guests can enjoy a three-course dinner for 27,50 euro, or a three-course lunch menu for 22,50 euro (excluding drinks).

The participating restaurants in Amsterdam include top restaurants like Le Garage and restaurant d’Vijff Vlieghen. For reservations go to restaurantweek.nl Book as quick as you can - this sells out fast!

 

Address: Staalstraat 17 and Singel 184, Amsterdam
Website: Pucinni Bomboni

Best burgers in Amsterdam

Burgermeester offers a great variety of burgers on fresh bread made with the best fish, lamb, beef or vegetarian options. To stay or take away.

There are three locations:
Albert Cuypstraat 48
Elandsgracht 130
Plantage Kerklaan 37.

 

See 17th-century art for free

Inside the arched gateway to the Amsterdam Museum at Kalverstraat 92 lies a hidden passageway, the Schuttersgalerij (Civic Guards' Gallery), filled with enormous 17th-century paintings of wealthy citizens from the Dutch Golden Age. Entrance is free to the public during museum hours (10.00 - 17.00).

Free walking tour

On daily tours they take you where others don’t and tell you the stories you’d never hear otherwise. From the wild history of prostitution and drug decriminalization, to the tragedy of Anne Frank’s story and Nazi occupation.

 

These guides work on a tips-only basis. If by the end of the tour, you feel the tour was worth paying for, you can tip your guide.

 

Centraal Station Pick-Up Point 11:00 AM & 1:00 PM. Meet in front of the Tourist Information Center. Start Point 11:15 AM & 1:15 PM on Dam Square in front of the National Monument.

REM eiland Restaurant offers a fantastic view on the IJ, Minerva harbour and the new architecture of the Spaarndammerhout.

REM eiland (island) is a platform used in the Sixties by an offshore ‘pirate’ radio and TV station off the coast of Holland. After it has been towed to Amsterdam harbor, it functions since 5 July 2011 as a unique restaurant.

 

€€€ - French. You can reach REM eiland Restaurant by car or by boat.

 

Tel: 020 – 6885501 (Reservations after 14.00).

 

 

 

The Amsterdam Public Library (OBA) is located on the Oosterdok Island, close by Central Station. With a surface area of 28.000 square metres and 25 kilometres of book shelves, it is the largest of its kind in the Netherlands. A 270-seat theatre and a restaurant and terrace with some fantastic views of the city, are located on the 7th floor.

Our Lord in the Attic is one of the oldest and most remarkable museums in Amsterdam. Behind the characteristic facade of the house by the canal lies a largely original 17th-century home and a complete hidden church. This hidden church 'in the attic' was built during the Reformation, when Catholics were forbidden to hold public services. The museum lies in the heart of the oldest part of Amsterdam, in the centre of the famous, and infamous, red light district.

 

Address: Oosterdokskade 143, Amsterdam

Website: The Amsterdam Public Library

Address: Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40, Amsterdam

Website: Our Lord in the Attic

 

The most popular park in Amsterdam is definitely the Vondelpark.

Order take-out at Dish Global Kitchen (Overtoom 255) for a picnick or get a picknick basket at Café Vertigo in the Vondelpark.

 

The Eden Amsterdam American hotel is located near the Leidse square. Café Americain is a great place for lunch or high tea (mondays to saturdays). Enjoy the art deco interior with the tiffany lamps and murals featuring Shakespeare's Midsummer night dreams.

 

Website: Dish Global Kitchen

Website: Café Vertigo/CityPicknick

 

Address: Leidsekade 97, Amsterdam

Website: Eden Amsterdam American Hotel