We've just returned from a whirlwind 4 days in Amsterdam, celebrating our (almost) 10 years together. Here's our trip report of what we got up to during our 4 days in Amsterdam, plus our highlights and recommendations to try if you're visiting the city.
Day one
Our flight was at 8am from Gatwick, so we got up super early, had some breakfast and a couple of drinks at the airport and were in the air in no time. At roughly one hour long, I was surprised at how short the flight was, and we arrived safely in Amsterdam by 10:30am.
Getting from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal
Buying your train tickets to get into the city couldn't be simpler! Lots of these yellow kiosks are around at the station. You can select your chosen language from the menu, pick Amsterdam Centraal and your ticket class and you're done! Public transport is also pretty cheap in Amsterdam.
There are screens all over the station to tell you which platform to board. Alternatively if you’re using your phone, Google Maps was really handy, telling us what platform we needed and what time.
You need to validate your ticket before travel. As you make your way to the platform, you’ll see lots of machines like the above dotted about. Just hold your train ticket up to the screen and it will flash green to show your ticket is now valid for travel.
Where we stayed
Booking only two months in advance, we were lucky to find a room available in the very lovely Houseboat Little Amstel. Located South of the canal district it is a little walk to and from the city centre (about 30 minutes) but the Little Amstel was totally worth it!
We booked a standard room which was simple, but everything we needed. We had a super comfy bed and pillows, TV, fridge, tea & coffee facilities, hair dryer and private bathroom. The houseboat is located on the corner of a road and bridge, so it’s pretty isolated and out of the way. I was worried we’d hear a lot of noise and traffic, but actually the room was surprisingly quiet and our sleep was never disturbed, even with the window ajar.
Day 1 in Amsterdam
We caught the 11am train and had a free walking tour booked at 1pm, so first priority was to find a bar and get some bearings! Arriving on a Sunday meant places were either closed or opened later that afternoon, but we came across Café Oporto which turned out to be a pretty good choice! Drinks were cheap and the service was good. Then shortly before 1pm we headed towards the Old Church (Oude Kerk) to meet our tour guide.
We booked with Freedam Tours after reading the great reviews online. This was our first ever free walking tour and we were really impressed. Our guide, Coos, was really fun, engaging and knowledgeable. We learnt all about the history of Amsterdam, how it was built and developed, the architecture, laws and tolerances and how a lot of what Amsterdam is known for today (coffeeshops / light drug usage and sex) is founded from deep history. There were also a lot of fun facts, like how many bicycles end up in the canals each year.
The tour lasted 2.5 hours and covered miles of the city centre. We started in De Wallen (the Red Light District), moving through China Town, towards the south of the city centre, Begijnhof, and north up the Singel Canal, ending in Dam Square. Coos also grabbed a lovely group shot of us all!
Check-in was at 2:30pm, so we decided to head to our houseboat, check out where we were staying and dump our bags. We arrived at 4pm, which was enough time to make friends with our neighbours (the swans and ducks), shower and freshen up for the evening!
We stopped off at a street art bar for cocktails. The place was super cool and we'd planned to pop in again during our trip, but unfortunately our 4 days in Amsterdam raced away. Craving Italian for dinner, we came across the Ristorante Italia Oggi. Oli had a lush pizza and I ordered the pasta, which was flambéd in a parmesan wheel and was the best thing I have ever eaten in my life.
Exploring the Red Light District
After dinner, Amsterdam's night life had peaked our curiosity and we found ourselves outside Casa Rosso purchasing tickets for their sex show. Tickets were €55 each (which included 2 drinks each) and we figured it was worth it just for the experience!
We arrived about 10pm and the show lasts for 90 minutes. You can arrive at any point, as the same acts are repeated throughout the night, so once you start to see repetition you can get up and leave (you can leave at any point at all if you like). It's quite small and intimate inside, with theatre seating, so you feel very close to the stage.
Our very first act was a girl riding a guy cowgirl style - so the bar was set for what the rest of the show would be like! Couples perform on a small rotating stage and after a few minutes the curtains draw and the stage is reset with a new couple. And repeat. We had a great time here - it was fun and not serious at all.
We stayed for the whole 90 minutes and then decided it was time to grab some much needed sleep back at our houseboat. I don't think we got back until about 1am, so all in all a pretty jam packed first day and we couldn't wait to catch up on some sleep.
Day 2 in Amsterdam
With an early start, we grabbed breakfast at The Pancake Bakery which was delicious and the pancakes were huge! The menu is full of different options, from sweet to savoury, so there is something for everyone there.
At 10am we had tickets to Anne Frank's House, it was pretty quiet at that time of day so we were glad we went early and could look around at our leisure. Definitely buy your tickets in advance online, which you can do on the official website. I know so many people who said they didn't go to the Anne Frank Museum because they didn't get their tickets in advance. General admission also isn't until 3:30pm, which by then huge queues have formed.
It's so worth a visit though. There is so much information and history, and this was just the Franks' story. It's hard to understand the magnitude of what happened and how many hundreds of thousands of people were affected. There are audio guides as you walk around the building, slowly working your way up to the attic. Everyone was silent as they read about the items on display and it was incredibly moving to be in the space where they lived. Anne Frank's House was definitely a highlight for us.
After the museum we explored the Jordaan area, which is a really beautiful neighbourhood. As we were in the area on a Monday, we also happened to come across the morning textiles market and we enjoyed people watching and seeing everyone buy their fabrics and patterns.
We spent an hour wandering the area, and with achey feet decided popped into t'Smalle for a drink. It was really chilly outside and the warmth when we stepped inside was incredibly welcoming. Lit by subtle lighting and candles, with huge beautiful sash windows, we sat at the bar to order our drinks and felt very cosy.
Having quenched our thirst we took a stroll back towards the city centre. I was excited to learn that there was a Christmas shop - The Christmas Palace - in the city centre! We have started a bit of an accidental tradition of buying tree decorations when we go on our travels, so we picked up a cute red windmill to add to our collection.
Amsterdam Coffeeshop Culture
The rest of the afternoon was ours, and we fancied experiencing one of Amsterdam's famous coffeeshops. We heard good things about 420 Cafe and Dampkring. Although having wandered past quite a few, we'd say it's more important to pick-up the vibe and whether it's the place for you. We went to Dampkring as we were closer and the above sentiment towards coffeeshops is more of a hindsight feeling. We definitely saw other coffeeshops during our 4 days in Amsterdam that looked more appealing and in-tune with our personality, but still...
We went up to the counter were asked whether we wanted it with or without tobacco (I have no idea what is better). We assumed the staff would advise the options, but we were given 2 pre-rolled joints, paid €15 and that was it. We sat down, ordered a tea and coffee and sat back.
On the whole, it seemed quite weak? It took a long time for the effect to take hold and after finishing our drinks we decided to find a bar instead. Big mistake as the fresh air accelerated the effect and I started to feel incredibly anxious. It definitely wasn't a good high, so we do recommend perhaps researching what you want to go for.
We ended the night with a takeaway pizza in the houseboat, so all in all, a good way to wrap up the day!
Day 3 in Amsterdam
We woke up reasonably early to a beautiful, crisp, sunny morning and enjoyed some breakfast with the locals (the ducks of course). We had a few activities planned for the morning and our first stop was the Van Gogh Museum. We'd pre-booked our tickets online and the museum was really quiet at that time of the morning. We were able to wander around at our own leisure and not have to navigate around various groups of people.
We're not really massive art lovers, but we enjoyed our time there all the same and reading about Van Gogh's life. After the museum we took a walk through Vondel Park and explored the grounds. It's a beautiful part of Amsterdam, and we enjoyed exploring and people watching, before grabbing a late breakfast at a cafe in the park.
In the afternoon, we went to House of Bols, which was so much fun! We had the whole place to ourselves, which was great. We made our way round via a self-guided tour, with audio guides. The tour tells you about the history of Bols, creating their Geneva drink and about the flavours and distillation process. At reception, you are also given a small vial of (what I think was) a Bols liqueur and advised not to drink them until you come to "the doors" - it became apparent as we walked through what "doors" she meant. You step inside your cabin and experience a show for the senses!
At the end of the tour, you get to pick your own Genever cocktail by selecting the kinds of flavours you like. You then take it to the bar, who will whip up your cocktail of choice (these are also included in your ticket price). There is also a private room and booth where you can practice your cocktail making flair, which was a lot of fun!
We stayed there for an hour, then made our way back into the city centre as we had a very exciting tour booked later that afternoon!
Private Red Light District Tour
We'd been intrigued by the Red Light District and it's history, but weren't sure how to learn more about it. Should we book a group tour? But would it be too touristy and would we be inadvertently supporting an industry that had more negativity beneath the surface than people realise? We were a bit clueless about it, but wanted to know more.
Before our trip we came across the PIC (Prostitute Information Centre) and saw they offered private tours. The PIC was set up by Mariska Majoor, who used to be a sex worker in one of De Wallen's windows. She found that people judged her for her work and didn't view the sex industry to be "as normal" as she viewed it. She set up the PIC to proactively support the industry and to help people learn about sex work and help change their perceptions.
This sounded exactly like what we were after, and what an opportunity to learn about the industry from a sex worker's perspective. The PIC offer small group tours during the week. Unfortunately due to our Sunday - Wednesday dates it meant we couldn't participate in these, however the PIC also offer private tours. The cost was €100 total and we also had the opportunity to view a working sex-room to see life behind the windows. The tour lasted 2.5 to 3 hours and we were able to ask our guide literally anything we wanted.
We met her at the PIC, and we had a quick chat to tell her a bit more about ourselves, before we headed out. We went through the door, where the ladies would usually be in the window. I don't know what I expected the rooms to look like, but the reality took me by surprise all the same. I won't give anything away in case you book a private tour (and you should) but we both really enjoyed ourselves.
All the rooms within the building block are interconnected by internal doors, so we could walk amongst the rooms and see the set up. We then sat down in a communal area within the building and asked our guide question after question! The conversation flowed freely and our guide was so informative and knowledgeable. She was also very open and transparent and we were able to ask her anything at all.
One of my concerns was about sex trafficking and how many girls do the job not by their own choice. I may have been naïve or maybe everyone wonders the same thing, but she explained the processes and regulations that are in place and the difference between sex trafficking and illegal sex work. The whole tour was incredibly insightful and was a huge highlight for us - we learnt so much and it was great to hear it from a different perspective.
Our guide ended the tour at a local tasting house where they made their own Genever, which was the perfect way to end our tour. We learnt so much and it will definitely be an experience that will stay with us for a very long time.
That evening, we had dinner at the amazing Bird Thai Restaurant, which did not disappoint. The staff were lovely and very attentive, and the food was even better!
After dinner we started to hunt for drinking spots. We both love a rooftop bar, no matter where we are, so after hearing that the Hilton hotel had the Skylounge, we couldn't resist popping in! The place was packed for a Tuesday night, but the atmosphere was great! There were one or two rare tables free by the windows offering beautiful views of the city at night, but we saw the rooftop terrace was practically deserted. We sat outside and ordered our cocktails, enjoying having the place practically to ourselves and the beautiful views of the city below us.
Day 4 in Amsterdam
Our last day in the city was a bit more of a relaxed affair. We'd hoped to rent a private boat and poodle along the canals, but it turned out to be more expensive than we thought, so we decided to do more self-exploration instead.
We wandered up and down the canals, working our way back towards the city centre, stopping at a cafe or two to people watch and dream about what Amsterdam must be like to live in. We had certainly fallen in love with the city, with it's relaxed vibe and atmosphere, well-dressed locals and beautiful architecture.
We grabbed lunch at Greenwoods Keizersgracht who served amazing burgers, before catching an Uber over to Brouwerij 't IJ, a brewery at the bottom of a windmill which was great (all you kraft beer lovers, this is the place for you). We spent a couple of hours enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and recapping on our amazing trip!
Coming up to 4pm and getting closer to us having to leave for the airport, we caught another Uber over to the A'Dam Lookout, which was so much fun! Again we pre-booked our tickets online but we really didn't need to, the place was so quiet! We headed straight for the roof - which was SO windy (silly photos to ensue) but we had a hilarious time and enjoyed the views over Amsterdam. They were also running the swing that goes out over the edge of the building and looking out over the city below - no way we were getting on that! But we enjoyed watching the others who were crazy enough!
We grabbed the free ferry back over to the train station and caught our train to the airport, ready for our 8pm flight home.
Amsterdam is an incredible city, filled with lovely people, beautiful scenery, history and culture; there is so much to see and do! I am so glad we spent 4 days in Amsterdam to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, it was the perfect mix of culture and new experiences and there is still so much we didn't get to see and do!
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