In May I spent a delightful weekend in Amsterdam with my mum and my sister. We strolled along the picturesque canals, watched the world (and the bicycles) go by from cafés, ambled around some striking art galleries and museums, and ate a lot of delicious food. I feel that Brits often stereotype Amsterdam into seedy streets and ‘coffee shops’, endlessly popular with stag and hen dos. However there’s so much more to Amsterdam than this. Read on to find out what we explored during our stay and would recommend.

Food

• De Hallen – you can’t go wrong with a food hall and this indoor market was no exception. We opted for some fresh Vietnamese summer rolls, but there were so many other vendors that looked great too.
• Massimo Gelato – there are multiple of these gelaterias around the city, outside which you may often find a short queue, and with good reason. High quality gelato with a good range of flavours in both gelato and sorbet.
• Back to Black (café) – perfectly situated for refuelling after a visit to the Rijksmuseum, the coffee, chai lattes and banana bread that we sampled were all delicious.

Massimo Gelato

• STACH Café – a great people watching spot (and sketching spot!) with good coffee and lunch options.
• The Happy Pig Pancake Shop – with plenty of delicious options to choose from and served pre-sliced for ease of eating, the Dutch certainly know their pancakes.
• Coffee Room – the paninis and open sandwiches here were very tasty, which we ate basking in the sunshine, making the most of the outdoor seating.

The Happy Pig Pancake Shop

Dinner

• Café-Restaurant Amsterdam –the culinary highlight of our trip, located in a quiet residential area this restored industrial turbine room dishes up some excellent food.
• Moeders – serving traditional home-cooked Dutch fare.
• Oresti’s taverna – a mix of Spanish and Greek small plates.

Café-Restaurant Amsterdam

Places

• Houseboat Museum – it’s not every day that you get to step on board a houseboat, and this museum has preserved how a family would’ve lived both when the boat was used to transport freight and also following conversion into a houseboat.
• Begijnhof – tucked away is Amsterdam’s oldest courtyard, a quiet oasis amongst the bustle of the city and free to explore.
• Vondelpark – it’s always a good idea to include some time in a green space during a city break. We rented a couple of bikes from nearby A-Bike Rental & Tours and enjoyed cycling around the park (we didn’t quite feel up to joining the hordes of cyclists on the streets so this was a great way to sample the Dutch cycling experience!)

Vondelpark

• Our Lord in the Attic Museum (Former Hidden Catholic Church Museum, Ons’ Lieve Heer op Solder) – this museum is a great opportunity to wander around a preserved 17^th century house along with a striking hidden church built into the attic.
• Canal boat tour – an absolute must on any trip to Amsterdam. We opted for Rederij P.Kooj which has smart looking boats and the start point is away from the busy centre where many other tours start. A great way to take in the scenic surroundings and learn some interesting facts and history about the city too.
• Antiekcentrum Amsterdam – this expansive site is well worth a visit if you love vintage and antique shopping
• De 9 Straatjes – a lovely area to mosey around filled with many great shops

Shops

• Dille & Kamille – a Dutch version of Sostrene Grene, arguably even lovelier! Very affordable homewares, kitchenware and accessories.
• Things I Like Things I Love – beautifully designed clothes and homewares, I picked up some gorgeous earrings and my sister bought a lovely candle holder.
• De Hallen – as well as the food market there are a plethora of shops in this space. The Maker Store has a wide range of products from local makers, and Gathershop features beautiful ceramics and candles.
• Sissy-Boy – accurately described by my sister as a cross between Oliver Bonas and Anthropologie, full of fun colours and designs across clothes and homewares.

For my next visit (some things we didn’t fit in on this trip!)

• Winkel 43 – rumoured to have some of the best apple pie in town
• Café Restaurant De Reiger – well regarded restaurant taking walk-ins only
• Kartika – Indonesian restaurant
• Museum of the Canals – self-explanatory!
• Lindengracht Markt – fresh food market
• Utrechtsestraat – a street with lovely shops
• Waterlooplein Market – flea market

View from Houseboat Museum

We stayed in the Jordaan neighbourhood, which proved to be a great base as it is walking distance to a lot of things whilst not being right in the busy centre. We also used the trams a few times which were super easy to tap in and out of using a bank card (we all had Revolut cards as these have no fees for spending abroad). We did bring some euros in cash too but could’ve got away without as so many places take card.

Jordaan

As well as the places described above we also visited the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum which were both fantastic. We booked Van Gogh several weeks in advance, and Rijksmuseum the day before. The Rijksmuseum is huge so it’s worth picking out a few key things you want to go see from the amazing variety on offer. I really loved the library and the dollhouses.

Rijksmuseum Library

Probably the only underwhelming experience was visiting the Bloemenmarkt (Flower Market). I had visions of a sea of blooms but in fact the stalls predominantly sell bulbs which is not nearly as aesthetic! So we didn’t spend much time there. Lastly, we did call into the Tony’s Chocolonely superstore. It’s very popular so avoid going on a weekend if you can. You can join an extra queue inside to ‘create’ your own chocolate bar where you select the flavours and the chocolate. We skipped this but did enjoy the view of the machinery creating the bars, and of course bought some treats to bring home.

View from Our Lord in the Attic Museum

I hope this inspires a future visit to Amsterdam!

Alexa

P.S If you enjoyed this you may like to read Vanlife Around the Isle of Skye and Solo Trip to Porto.