The big Amsterdam thread

PowerHouseDan

Hey
6 of us heading over to amsterdam next tuesday for a few days all us in our 20's, besides the obvious what else do people recom etc?

johnnyrotten

Was there last October.
Apart from the obvious;) , its a beautiful city with amazing buildings. Get a canal tour at night. Also Madam Tussauds is worth a look.
Book a canal tour and Madam Tussauds together from Canaltravel opposite the Central station and you get a big discount, plus you don't have to queue at the wax works because you get a special fastpass.

Steveire

Here's a previous thread with a lot of info. Mainly on coffee shops mind...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=289025

ianmc38

I would highly recommend that you see "The Kashmir Lounge". take the number 7 or the number 17 tram to the suburbs. Get off at Jan Peter Heijerstradt and its just across the road.

Most laid back and cosy coffee shop ive found in 4 visits to Amsterdam.

Pal

Definitely worth a look.
Book on line to avoid queues.

Rembrandt/Caravaggio exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum

The Gecko

Firstly big a hat and scarf - was there for 5 days 3 weeks ago and its colder then Ireland at the moment.

If you intend to look around get a 3 day tram & Bus pass. You can get one from the information center outside Central Station. Its easy to avoid the trams and do alot of walking if thats what your into because everything is within a couple of miles.

Would Also recommend a trip down to Utrecht its about €12 on the train but worth the spin if you have the time.

There is also a tour of Ajax stadium. I have never made it but will do when I go back in July

For the obvious stay away from the likes of the grasshopper and La Canna although La Canna has a good number of pool tables and nice seating the beers are expensive @ €6.00 a pint and so is the obvious. But if you do go check the menu for beers like Duval 8% and cheaper then your average beer. And under no circumstances go into Teasers on DamRak its like a hooters but crazy money for beer and food.

Head out to ledesplein which is very near the museums - great coffee shops and atmosphere on a Saturday after you have visited the food market which is great. I would recommend the Irish Bar Aran for a fantastic mixed grill and a pint of bulmers.

If you plan to stay in the RLD for the 5 days, Planet Rock Bar, any of the the local Bulldogs and for a quiet drink during the day in a friendly bar with a pool table try Hotel the Crown. Would also recoomend the Green House Effect

Finally enjoy FEBO its a special place to eat!!!! and enjoy your daze in amsterdam

PowerHouseDan

Ment to ask actually ask i am not a Beer person what other drinks do they have there.. I HATE Beer

Juggalo

Get Jenever and Coke, it's a nice dutch Gin. Fairly cheap too. I find drink to be more expensive over there than here. The banana bar in the RLD is all you can drink for an hour for €45, believe me, if your in the drinking mood you can make your money back in 30 minutes.

PowerHouseDan

Def going to the banana bar... Any good clubs on there?

Tchocky

The Rijksmuseum is amazing, I think the Meisterwerken exhibit is still running. Also the Van Gogh museum is worth a look.

You're not on holidays for fun, so visit the Anne Frank Huis on Prinsengracht

breadmonkey

Why was that thread locked?

Steveire

If my memory is anything to go by, people had started discussing the price of fellatio, which is not on topic here. Something broke on boards that day, and the backup was used to restore the database. That is why you can't see the post, and why billythesquid thinks he's going crazy.

Don't worry about it, just don't start discussing the price list.

Tuesday_Girl

PowerHouseDan wrote:

Ment to ask actually ask i am not a Beer person what other drinks do they have there.. I HATE Beer

What do you drink at home?

Beer is the main drink here, maybe you would like white beer or brown beer? Otherwise all bars sell wine and spirits too, and the Irish bars sell Guinness, Kilkenny, cider, etc.

Blisterman

Just booked a week in Amsterdam, for me and my friends. I'm curious to know what's worth seeing there.
So far I've thought of
The Anne Frank House
The Heineken Brewery


Any other attractions, worth seeing?
We're not really into Art museums, unless they're really good.

Pighead

Theres a place called The Banana Bar where lovely ladies do lovely things to lovely bananas. Check it out.

Taters

The Anne Frank place is amazing, I was there last summer.
All the art gallerys are rather funky too, I though the Van Gogh paintings were good.
Then there is always the famous 'red light district'. Some people may find that fun.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

if it's anice sunny day, spend a few hours lazing about in the vondel park or one of the other parks.. lovely places.

you could also take a stroll around the canals and just see what you see, it's a great town

Mieneke

Hi There,

Am from Holland and can recommend doing a tour on a canal boat. It's worth doing at least once!
Check out http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/ (can be viewed in English)

Have fun!

Groetjes,

Mieneke

dos30

A wk is very long to go to amsterdam for.if your anything like me you'll spend a fortune.Spent most of our time in the cafe's and walking around the red light district stoned and pissed. The banana bar actually isnt great, the women in there are absolutely kicked!! There is a different place for live sex shows just down the road, could be called the molan rouge not sure. Its way better though

rizzla

I really like the canal rides, cheap and you get to see alot of the city. The hash and condom museum are a laugh too.

Evil_Bilbo

The zoo is a good laugh - spent ages in the aquarium section (shortly after a trip to a coffeeshop nearby) - they've got some cool animals - and the smelliest hippo in the world.

Its a nice place to just veg out and sit around looking at animals if you're into that kind of thing.

The sex shows I went to were just crap - though I have heard they can be quite funny (blowing out candles on a birthday cake - not with their mouths)

Kobie

Have a look here for a slightly more alternative event guide:

http://underwateramsterdam.com/

Check out the gigs in Paradiso or Melkeg - great venues & usually something decent on. Try OT301 (http://squat.net/overtoom301/) for something very different to what you're used to.

A week is plenty of time to see the highlights of Amsterdam and the best thing you can do is just chill and walk around - there's always something interesting going on. You can also go on a few day trips. You can rent bikes at most main train stations and in every town and once you get the hang of it again it's the best way to travel - much safer than in Ireland.

For suggested day trips try: Haarlem, Leiden, Utrecht, Marken, and Maastricht if you fancy something a little farther afield.

Of course you should do 'the obvious', but once you get that out of your system leave the centre and just explore the rest of the city - it's easily one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, but most tourists rarely see outside the RLD.

Enjoy,
K.

johnnyrotten

The sex museum is a laugh ( only about €2 admission) . Also as another has said the Canal boat trips are good , especially at night. Madam Tussauds is worth a visit too.
The banana bar is a rip off!!!!

Heineken Museum was pretty interesting too, and the bars inside were lovely!

you could easily convince tourists to give you their tokens for free drinks too..

beardybrewer

Madame Tussauds can be a bit of a laugh. Also the Van Gogh meuseum is very good.

gucci

get a train to den haag (bout hour away) and go to the m.c. escher museum, absolutely fantastic mind boggingly paintings/prints.
also the amsterdam dungeons are bit of a laugh for the ten year old inside you!

bongo85

Bump! ...incase anyone has any more suggestions?? I'm goin next month.. There's a heck of a load here to keep us busy for a week though, so probably not nessasary!! :cool:

Kobie

Here's the best source for what's on:

http://www.amsterdamweekly.nl/

Next issue is available tomorrow, so check then for next weeks event.

Enjoy!
K.

bongo85

Nice one!! Cheers man

Tuesday_Girl

There is tons to do but it really depends on what your interests are, nightlife, gigs, museums, gigs, etc. What are you in to?

aequinoctium

well nightlife obviously and something cultural for the day

stipey

I was in Amsterdam for a quick visit and wanted to get the full Amsterdam experience in the shortest time possible. So I talked to a hooker about VanGough while shoving tulips up her hole.

I thought it was funny, but the other people in the Anne Frank house.....
Neil Delamere

Not sure you'd want to try that approach however!

silvine

Four days is plenty of time for the Dam, you might just need four days off for when you get back. There's the red light district, Anne Frank's house, boating down the canal, shopping, the Heineken museum, clubbing and of course the famous coffee shops.

aequinoctium

sounds like good fun

tc20

@ OP - you'll have a blast. Plenty to do, great city to explore on foot, but expect to get lost/lose your bearings frequently - but its all the better for it.
If you go to the Heineken brewery, they only have 2 tours, 9am and 11am sharp IIRC. If its one of your birthdays,on the day of the tour, bring your passport - you get a little goody bag.
Anne Franks house is good, very solemn, but go early in the morn to avoid q-ing for ages.
The Rijksmuseum is huge and will eat up lots of time, if you wanna check out some arty type stuff, go to the Van Gogh, and the one beside it (Stadelijk or something like that). Theres a diamond house/operation directly opposite the Van Gogh.
For something a bit different, go to the movies. They are shown in English, a really cool old cinema is the Tscuhinsky (sp?) Theatre. Set up by some guy from Eastern Europe in the 20s, you can have a private box and champagne there for about E20
Canal boat trip is fun way to spend a couple of hours and get a different view of the city
Loads of great and reasonable restaurants
Coffee shops, need i say more.
Red light is very safe in daytime, at night you will get africans calling after you
trying to sell coke and stuff, it might seem a bit more seedy then.
Its one of my fave places, and certain things just 'happen', you'll know what i mean when you go.
Enjoy

aequinoctium

sounds exciting...i can't wait

Kold

Probably the city with the most things to do in You'll have absolutely no bother finding things to do... Even if it's getting BAKED and doing nothing...

Higgsy

If it is a nice day when you are there go to Vondelpark.

If you get sick of Amsterdam and fancy a day somewhere else, catch the train to The Hague, have a look around the parliament and go to the beech/strand (Schevenigen) nice restaurants on the boulevard. Good bars there too

Gazza22

Hi, heading to Amsterdam tomorrow for three nights. If anybody has any restaurant recommendations it would be much appreciative!

Anything really thats tried and tested, we like many varieties of food! Also especially a nice romantic restaurant for Valentine's if possible.

Any other pieces of advice on Amsterdam appreciated too.

Thanks

marathont

Amsterdam is a fantastic city, There is one street with loads of argentinian steak restaurants on it I went to one, and it was the nicest food ever. Go for a stroll in red light district - very romantic.

terrier98045

the place is brilliant something for everyone, definitely one of the most beautiful cities I've been in, can't remember the exact name of the good places we ate but just back from the damrak there were a few, or you could just stick with the cakes!

rick_fantastic

febo!

Northernsoul

Try the supperclub www.supperclub.nl for an eating experience you will NEVER forget! Food great but shows even better. Highly reccommended for trip to Amsterdam

ferdi

rick_fantastic wrote: »

febo!

oh dear god no!

qwertyphobia

www.Cilubang.com lovely indonesian restaurant over in the nine lanes area. Would go back to any time in amsterdam.

More high end fine dinning with a twist De Kas

Monkey61

Absolutely unmissable is the chinese restaurant near centraal station.If you stand facing the station with your back to the city, it is a short walk down to your right. It is basically standing on stilts in the sea - cool! Especially lovely if you get a window seat.

Amazingly beautiful and absolutely huge plates of brilliant food. It's always a highlight of my trips to Amsterdam.

xzanti

Monkey61 wrote: »

Absolutely unmissable is the chinese restaurant near centraal station.If you stand facing the station with your back to the city, it is a short walk down to your right. It is basically standing on stilts in the sea - cool! Especially lovely if you get a window seat.

Amazingly beautiful and absolutely huge plates of brilliant food. It's always a highlight of my trips to Amsterdam.

+1.. I ate here when I was in Amsterdam, the view alone is enough to go in for... Lovely food too.. It's just beside the Amstel floating hotel..

Mellor

Steak places on Danrak (main street fr5om station) are pretty good. There are one or two that do a steak special for €10, great steak for the price, only a small bit smaller than there regular €20 sirloin and with out pepper sauce.


For a quick meal, try wok2walk
there are a few of these around the city, very bright, orange and white places, choose a meat, then veg, rice or noodles, and its all cooked right in front of you, even if three of you order the same, each is cooked separately, wok is filled and emptied into a box, its a nice change from most take-aways that have large pots out the back

RuailleBuaille

Gaucho's FTW. The one on Spuistraat is way nicer than the one off Dam Square. Holy steaks is all I can say. And all you can eat ribs. MMMMMMMM.
Actually, evertything tastes good in the Dam, wonder why that is...

oblivious

Indonesian is also very popular and worth a try

SuperSean11

Try this
http://www.holland.com/amsterdam/gb/