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off to amsterdam

Posted by matthew on 24 Dec 2011 / 43 Comments

On Mon­day, my wife, son, and I are headed off to Ams­ter­dam for a week. (It’s one of the three trips my wife won while com­pet­ing on Top Chef All Stars.) We are excited to do some­thing dif­fer­ent for the hol­i­days. It will be inter­est­ing to expe­ri­ence New Year’s Eve in Ams­ter­dam. I’ve heard the city has a good fire­works display.

I have been doing a fair amount of travel research, but please leave a com­ment below if you have any rec­om­men­da­tions or sug­ges­tions for things to do, must see attrac­tions, inter­est­ing places to go in the city, shop­ping, good day trips out of the city, and — of course — good eats.

Thanks!

  • Ugo

    Have a great time guys.  Come see me in Lon­don!  seri­ously, ams­ter­dam is great.  i enjoyed the Ann Frank house and is it the Roudin museum.  enjoy!  best wishes for the new year to you all three of you guys.

  • Malth68706

    Anne Frank house is worth see­ing. Also the Heineken brew­ery is great

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks Martha. I’ve had sev­eral friends sug­gest tak­ing the tour of the Heineken brew­ery. The same for the Anne Frank house, though a cou­ple of peo­ple gave it a ho-hum review.

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Hi Ugo. Thanks for the recommendations.

    We are fly­ing through Lon­don (British Air), but we aren’t on the ground longer than an hour each way for a lay­over. Oth­er­wise, you know that we’d come see you.

    Happy hol­i­days, and best wishes for a great 2012!

  • Abower2

    If you want to try a tra­di­tional “pan­cake”, go to Pan­nekoeken­huis “Upstairs”,
    Grim­burg­wal 2
    1012 GA‎ Ams­ter­dam
    Netherlands

    Just watch the very seep stair­well. Awe­some place!

  • Han­nah

    Absolutely the Anne Frank house. And the pan­cake house next door to the Anne Frank house! Those Bel­gian pan­cakes are amaz­ing. So have a good cry at the Anne Frank house and then have some pan­cakes next door!

    The Van Gogh museum is fan­tas­tic. I spent hours there.

    I sec­ond the Heineken brewery.

    Uhh… a cof­fee­house? :-)

  • Med­wards

    Try De Kas, Restau­rant Greetja, Blauw, or Vis aan de Schelde. You do have to eat!

  • Abower2

    Oh, and a great lit­tle place for break­fast or lunch is De Bakker­swinkel http://www.debakkerswinkel.nl/

    You would also prob­a­bly really like Restau­rant As http://www.restaurantas.nl/m/

  • Abower2

    I you want a tra­di­tional “pan­cake” try Pan­nekoeken­huis “Upstairs“
    Grim­burg­wal 2
    1012 GA‎ Ams­ter­dam
    Netherlands

    Just watch the very steep stair­case! Such a cute place.

  • Yadira6268

    Ams­ter­dam this time of year reminds me of a win­ter vil­lage! You should ven­ture out to the town of Gouda & make your­self a fresh wheel to enjoy dur­ing your time there :)
    Also, if you’re into art, there is a museum with Van Gogh pieces.
    There is also the hot & ice bar. Although it’s gim­micky, I at least can now say I’ve sat on an ice cube while drink­ing my cosmo in an all ice cup in a room 15 below zero with ici­cles all around me. The expe­ri­ence is pricey & doesn’t last for more than 15 min, but I crossed it off my bucket list. Enjoy!

  • Juli

    You will have a great time, we live in Nieuwegein. You must try FEBO. This is an automat type food in the wall thingy. Not exactly fine din­ing but a tasty snack and fun. 
    http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting you have prob­a­bly been here already, there is an app also that can help. Pretty much every­one speaks Eng­lish and are friendly. 

  • Mcolic1

    My 14th visit to Ams­ter­dam will be in May. My favorite seafood restau­rant is Lucious. The Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum and The Heineken Expe­ri­ence are all worth doing. The city is con­fus­ing to nav­i­gate. Con­cen­tric cir­cles ema­nat­ing from the Cen­tral Train sta­tion mahe it a tricky nav­i­ga­tion even with a map. Mind the bike lanes. Even in win­ter they are omnipresent. Walk through the Red Light Dis­trict, it has a cer­tain sad, comedic appeal. The trams are easy to use, much cheaper than taxis. Take a canal cruise, prefer­ably at night. Mar­vel at the canal house boats. Look up at the top of all the build­ings and notice a hook…the houses are extremely nar­row, the only way to get fur­ni­ture and arge appli­ances in and out are via hooks and pul­leys. Go into a cof­fee shop, it is where the inter­est­ing folks are. The city is very safe, explore it with­out fear. Have fun!

  • Von­celle Volté

    For­get “must-see” for a moment. Remem­ber this “must-do” … Wear your money under­neath your sweater in a flat pass­port wal­let around your neck. Why? Those tight shop­ping dis­tricts near the train sta­tion are lit­tered with pick­pock­ets. Yes, you may get pick­pock­eted in pic­turesque Ams­ter­dam, if you are unaware of them. So con­sider your soon-to-be Euros informed.

    Since you will be trav­el­ing with your son, “don’t see” The Red Light Dis­trict. Beware of the cof­fee bars with pot para­pher­na­lia. Oth­er­wise, he will be robbed of his inno­cence, visu­ally and aromatically.

    If you fol­low my travel tips, Ams­ter­dam and the day trips will be prachtig aka wonderful.

    Stay tuned in The Light.

    Illu­mi­nat­ingly,
    Von­celle Volté

  • Leightara

    Ice-skating in the museum plein ( near van gogh and rijk­mu­seum) is pretty and fun. Fol­low with hot choc and an oliebollen from one of the stands.

  • Rachel

    Def­i­nitely go to the Anne Frank house. If you are the kind of per­son who gets goose­bumps when you know you are stand­ing in such a his­toric place, you will be glad you went. I remem­ber it as one of the few places on my 7 coun­try tour that didn’t have a gift shop at the end!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you! Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you, Rachel! We def­i­nitely are the type of peo­ple that love vis­it­ing places of his­tor­i­cal sig­nif­i­cance. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you! I hope it’s cold enough for ice skat­ing. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you. We’ll be care­ful with our belongings. 

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks for the sug­ges­tions and tips. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks Juli. I’ve been look­ing at iamsterdam*com. Lots of good ideas there. We’ll look out for FEBO. Sounds fun. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks for the sug­ges­tions! Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks! We can’t pass up a good pancake. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks again!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you! Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks Han­nah! I think the Anne Frank house is a must, so we’ll look for the pan­cake house next door. I love Van Gogh, so vis­it­ing that museum is a must, too. A num­ber of peo­ple have sug­gested the Heineken brew­ery.  Though I’m not a big beer drink (wine guy), I like vis­it­ing brew­eries and distilleries. 

    Happy New Year! 

  • Anony­mous

    De Kas is one of the best meals I’ve eaten in my entire life. Make a reser­va­tion NOW! Stop by the choco­late shop Puc­cini Bombini for an amazigy dis­play of sweet deli­cious­ness. Also, make sure to check out the food mar­kets in the Joor­dan to see how the Dutch shop. The fire­works are mostly a DIY thing, so watch out when you are walk­ing around on NYE.

  • Anony­mous

    One more thing, don’t miss the Her­mitage Ams­ter­dam. It’s eas­ier than a trip to Russia!

  • Thun­derys­tormy

    The Kat­tenK­ab­net! It’s a cat-related art museum, com­plete w some 4 legged fuzzy curators!

    Bazar Ams­ter­dam has tasty mid­dle east­ern food and the atmos­phere is really cool, it’s in an old Dutch Reformed church.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/James-Stephen-Longo/563220887 James Stephen Longo

    See if any­one is play­ing at the Concertgebouw–I’ve sung there, and the acoustics are magnificent.

  • Kieren

    A num­ber of us tour guides and Ams­ter­dam locals got together and wrote up this blog. You may find it of use for your trip. We found you google +. Have a great trip. We are draft­ing a blog for peo­ple with your ques­tion about new years.

    http://wheninamsterdam-omyamsterdamtours.blogspot.com/2011/10/all-time-top-10-things-to-do-in.html 

    Have a great trip to Ams­ter­dam, we love the place and hope you do as well.

    http://www.omyamsterdamtours.com

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you, Kieren! I will def­i­nitely check out the blog right away. Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks James! I’ve heard that it’s a great hall.

    Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks! We love cats in our house. The Bazar Ams­ter­dam sounds inter­est­ing, too.

    Happy New Year!

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thank you! You got me with good food and choco­late.  Mak­ing a men­tal know ab out the fire­works. :-)

    Happy New Year!

  • Lakeeter

    All of the art muse­ums are worth see­ing, as well as the Anne Frank House. The pan­cake houses are great — very dif­fer­ent kind of pan­cakes.  Some are very savory instead of sweet.  Be pre­pared for rain.  When I lived there for 9 months, we only had 11 days of sun­shine.  But if it snows, it’s a lovely walk through the canals.  I also enjoyed short trips out of the city — Delft, Gouda and oth­ers. If you have time you might want to tour a dia­mond fac­tory.  I still have my grandmother’s dia­mond ring she bought at the end of a tour!  Just be care­ful — Ams­ter­dam can be tricky as far as crime goes.  Just like any big city.  Have fun!

  • Mene­hune­me­dia

    Anne Frank House, Rijksmueum to see the huge Rem­brandt “Nightwatch“VanGogh Museum, & finally the casino @ Shiphol Air­port to get rid of your € before head­ing back to the States (of course we ended up win­ning 50 MORE € instead). Have fun!

  • Cindyjohnson1

    Rem­brandt House is also worth the trip (along with Van Gogh museum and Anne Frank house). Have a won­der­ful trip!

  • Zachzilla

    Enjoy it ! Carla deserves it after her awe­some per­for­mance in the beach chal­lenge! Maybe find some Ams­ter­dam let­tuce wraps :) )

  • Boopers80

    Be sure to check out Von­del­park, it’s beau­ti­ful. Not sure how beau­ti­ful in the fall/winter but it’s a great place to walk through or just sit and watch ALL the bikes go by. Fan­tas­tic! Also you HAVE to get fries and mayo, so good!!! Happy Trav­els!  :)  

  • http://www.matthewdlyons.com/ matthewd­lyons

    Thanks. We walked through Von­del­park yes­ter­day for about an hour while wait­ing to take a canal tour. Even though it was chilly, it was a great walk. 

    I’ve had fries with mayo at Bel­gium mus­sel restau­rants in DC. Fun­nily enough, yes­ter­day my son (16) said he thought fries and mayo sounded gross. This only strength­ened my resolved to get some while here.

    Thanks for the tips and well wishes. Have a happy New Year!

  • kieren

    Matthew sorry for the late­ness but here is the New Year’s Eve spe­cific blog for you and the blog­ging com­mu­nity. Happy New Year every­one and good blog­ging in 2012.

    http://wheninamsterdam-omyamsterdamtours.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-years-eve-in-amsterdam-bloggers.html 

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