Amsterdam Trip

Amsterdam is the pearl of Europe. Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris. Amsterdam is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe with its narrow streets smelling of history, colourful houses, centuries-old museums and a modern atmosphere. In addition, it is considered one of the most tourist-attracting cities in the world. For entertainment enthusiasts, the Red Light District is the most famous area. Here you will find my 2 nights 3 days Amsterdam trip notes.

Transport

After my 4-day trip to Heidelberg, I decided to take the bus to Amsterdam. I bought the bus ticket from Heidelberg online for 21 Euros with a discount in advance. As you know, there is a very developed train network in Germany, but it is expensive. If I had preferred the train, I would have paid 3-4 times that amount. On a rainy day, I took the bus to Heidelberg around 2 a.m. The driver and the bus driver were Turkish. 😊 Towards the morning we arrived at Amsterdam Schipol Airport. The weather was overcast. Since Amsterdam is a city located in the north of the Netherlands, it is not considered very hot even in spring. I know that even when my parents went there in May, they froze because of the ice. You can reach the city centre from the airport by train or bus in 20 minutes.

There are three different types of cards to be used in the city centre. These are GVB Day Ticket, Amsterdam Travel Ticket and I Amsterdam City Card. I bought I Amsterdam City Card for 48 hours. This card offers many advantages such as free city transport, discounted entrance to the museum, free canal tour and detailed city map.

There is one thing you should pay attention about transport, no matter which transport you take in Amsterdam, you have to read your ticket to the machines when you get on and off, if you don't, there are fines. You can see the scanning devices inside the stations at the railway stations and inside the buses and trams.

Accommodation

Before going to my hostel, I arranged it through Booking.com. I stayed in the hostel located in Amsterdam city centre, next to the Red Light District, for 2 nights in a room for 8 people with boys and girls. It was nice and fun to stay in the same room with friends from different countries. It was affordable for me. I paid 112,13€ to the hostel for 2 nights accommodation.

Places to visit

I started my tour from Dam Square, the most famous and lively square of the city. Dam Square is home to the Royal Palace, De Nieuwe Kerk, the new church and Madame Tussaud's Museum.

Dam Square

If I talk about the history of the square, it dates back to the 13th century. In those years, Dam Square emerged with embankments built to protect the city from the floods in the region. I started walking from Dam Square towards Kalver Street (the famous shopping street).

A little bit above Dam Square, there is Anne Frank's House. This is one of the most touristic places in Amsterdam. There is a queue at the door every hour and it is not a queue that can end. To buy a ticket over the Internet, you need to buy it 2 months in advance, I looked 1 month ago but it was full, so I could not enter.

Let me briefly tell you who Anne Frank is. Anne Frank is a Jewish little girl. She and her family hid in this house during the Hitler era. She kept a diary for 2 years in the diary given to her as a gift from the house where they were hiding. When she was 16, they were denounced and sent to concentration camps. She and her sister Margot died of typhoid fever. Her father, as the only survivor of this house, turned her diary into a book. Anne Frank's Diary became one of the most read books all over the world and the film was shot in 1959. I also read the book and I liked it very much, I recommend it.

You arrive at the Singel canal, one of the most beautiful canals, via Kalver street. There are many canals in various parts of Amsterdam. Like me, you can walk around the canal without doing a canal tour, the historical houses around the canal are wonderful.

You can also see dancing houses during the walk. It is also possible to see boats used as houses in the canals.

On foot, I arrived at Bloemenmarkt, which is one of the favourite spots of tourists in Amsterdam. It is also known as the floating flower market.

It has been in operation since 1862. The market is open until 5:00 p.m. and you can find souvenirs as well as flowers.

A short walk from the flower market takes you to Rembrandtplein, another famous square. The sculpture of the famous painter Rembrandt's Night Watch, which was erected in 1876, is located in this square. There are cafes and restaurants around the square. It is very crowded, especially in the evenings.

I went to Leidse Street, a shopping street very close to the square. You can see the stores of brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, MAX&Co, Hugo Boss, and H&M on this street, which is lively all day long. Leide Street is close to Vondelpark and Museum Square.

When you reach Museum Square, you can see the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum. Since they are highly visited museums, whichever museum you decide to visit, it is useful to buy the ticket online months in advance. Otherwise, you may not find a ticket.

2 months in advance I had bought tickets for the Van Gogh Museum, which contains more than 200 paintings and the largest collection of Vincent Van Gogh.

The next day I joined the Edam-Volendam-Marken-Zaansa Schans half-day tour to visit the fairytale-like villages of the Netherlands. If you have a limited holiday schedule like me but you say "I want to visit the city centre and see the villages", you can spend 1 day in the towns around Amsterdam. I am sure you will find it perfect with its nature, people and market. Besides, it is possible to see windmills, wooden shoe manufacturing and cheese factories during this tour.

Windmills

Miniature wooden shoes and windmills are very popular as souvenirs in Amsterdam.

Wooden Clogs

Eating - Drinking

Finally, if I talk about eating and drinking in Amsterdam, Dutch cheese is very famous. In addition, fries, waffles, herring and noodles are very popular in Amsterdam. If I talk about drinks, I can say that the beer brand Heineken factory is located here. If you have time, you can organise a day trip to the factory. Since I didn't have time, I couldn't go to see the factory... But I know the taste of beer is great 🙂