What to see/do in Paris/Amsterdam

dartboardio

Myself and mr dartboardio are flying to Paris in June, staying 2 days in a city centre airbnb then training it to amsterdam through thalys.


It's turned out to be a pretty expensive trip because it's a long weekend, so we wanna make the absolute most of it.

what are things/activities/sights you would absolutely not miss if you go to Paris and Amsterdam ? Obviously things like the Louvre, Eiffel Tower , and then the Ann Frank museum, Red light district goes without saying,

but even some tips for eating out, non touristy things to do?!

thanks in advance.

PS. In Amsterdam we found it very difficult to find centre accom on travelrepublic (we wanna pay as we go) so had to stay up near vondelpark i think its called?.

are the night buses easy enough to organise? were young enough so will be planning on staying out alll night some nights.

appledrop

Paris is my favourite city + have been a number of times. 2 days is very little time so no way you can see everything. I actually much prefer the Muses D 'Osary over the Lourve. Now I know have been good few times so could make that call. Wouldn't be gone on Eiffel tower either. Yes of course I've done it but not one of my faves. My favourite thing about Paris is strolling around + soaking up atmosphere. Left bank great area for taking it all in. Get a table outside + watch the world go by. Visit the Jardins du Luxembourg, beautiful small park in heart of Paris. For a great view go up Arc de Triomph. From here you see the amazing symemetry of all the streets.

dartboardio

appledrop wrote: »

Paris is my favourite city + have been a number of times. 2 days is very little time so no way you can see everything. I actually much prefer the Muses D 'Osary over the Lourve. Now I know have been good few times so could make that call. Wouldn't be gone on Eiffel tower either. Yes of course I've done it but not one of my faves. My favourite thing about Paris is strolling around + soaking up atmosphere. Left bank great area for taking it all in. Get a table outside + watch the world go by. Visit the Jardins du Luxembourg, beautiful small park in heart of Paris. For a great view go up Arc de Triomph. From here you see the amazing symemetry of all the streets.

Great info, thanks, Left bank idea sounds right up our street. Sit and have a pint watching the world go by, or a coffee/croissant :cool:

And yeah, 2 days is very little, it was kinda an impulse decision tbh! the main attraction of the holiday is amsterdam, heading there for 4 nights Friday- Tuesday so that should be very interesting! hoping to have a quite little romantic trip in Paris before onto the madness of Amsterdam

holystungun9

In theory I should be able to give great advice as I was in Paris last weekend and spent 3 nights in Amsterdam last month but...
I'm not a good tourist in the sense of ticking stuff off a list and queuing for ages with crowds of others but here are some random things that I learned/liked.

Amsterdam, take an evening/night boat tour on the canals - do have a coat or scarf in case. Gives some perspective and shows the beauty of the city.
I was there for three/four days and was out near the football stadium. Having my 3 day travel pass was just great so we could jump on and off the train and trams as needed.
Many many narrow streets and lots of people, I was a bit taken aback by how tourist dense it was. Maybe I was naive. Do open your eyes when crossing junctions and roads. Seems so obvious but seen plenty of people/tourists stepping out in front of bikes and trams. No actual accidents but some close calls.
If you are a chocolate lover, do look up what are the famous chocoleteers?? I had to sit with my female friend while she had foodgasms and then panicked chocolate withdrawal and regret as I sipped my coffee.
If you want to go out to the big famous tulip farm place whatever it's called, double check that it's in bloom. I guess it must be starting now but when we went there, it was too early in the season. Obviously all the brochures have the summer full bloom glory of fields or tulips but it was just a big ploughed field / petting zoo with a very nice garden centre attached on our visit.

Paris, there are probably various ways to get in from CDG but I got the RER trains which was about €11 one way. I got off at the Nord station but it might continue some more stops. Not sure as this was first trip to Paris.
I managed to walk 38 km on the Saturday so let's just say I had a good look round. I found the city to be quiet pretty. You are crazy or maybe just dedicated if you endure the long queue to go up the Eiffel Tower. I guess the views are 'worth' it so factor in time for that type of thing if you want to go up.

The biggest difference for me is in Amsterdam I was only using cash and in Paris I got myself a card to pay for things. It's probably not a common issue but in Amsterdam I wanted to get a bus out to a suburb to get to a specific shop. My travel pass didn't cover it but I could buy the ticket in the station office and the bus only had card payment. Drivers didn't handle cash. It meant I couldn't do the simple thing of getting this particular bus. I'm an oldie I guess so cash is my preference but cards can be convenient for sure.

I loved both and want to go back to both but just today I bought some French language software as I really took a shine to Paris.

dartboardio

thanks a mill for the advice, yeah I'll be carrying little bit of cash day to day and using my card regularly i'd say.

I'd consider queing for the Eiffel as long as it wasn't like 3 hours or anything, but an hour no problem.. maybe an hour and a half
I must be a worse tourist than you, i'd never even heard of the tulip farms..

Definitely interested in the chocolate parts!

dudara

I love taking the Thalys between Amsterdam & Paris. It’s such a nice way to travel. I’ve lived in Amsterdam for about 2.5 years in the past while and I love the city.

My biggest tip is to book everything in advance online eg the Eiffel Tower, the Anne Frank House - it will make everything so much easier, less queuing etc.

Vondelpark is a nice part of Amsterdam, and there are plenty of trams which run into the city centre. I wouldn’t consider it out of the way at all. Check out the Foodhallen for something a little different for eating. Do a canal boat cruise, it’s absolutely worth seeing the city from the water. You can take the free ferry across the river to the north side and I’d recommend going up the A’dam Toren. It has great views out over the city.

The tulip fields are open now, but not for long more IIRC. They get absolutely jammed with tourists and buses though so I wouldn’t really recommend unless you absolutely want to do it.

In Paris, my top tip is to visit the catacombs. They’re utterly bizarre and wonderful. If you like steak, visit Le Relais d’Entrecôte

fdevine

+1 for pre-booking anything you can for both Paris & Amsterdam

We did a whistlestop visit to Paris before, starting early at the Arc de Triomphe. Walked the length of the Champs Elysee through the gardens to the Louvre. From there we tried one of the open top bus tours but as it was the Tour de France week the city was in shutdown and traffic was snails pace everywhere. Eventually walked to the Eiffel Tower with just enough time to see it from outside before getting back to our bus.

Amsterdam is much more laid back. Definitely agree with the advice on crossing the road as bikes rule over there.

To get away from the touristy throngs should you wish to, take a stroll down one of the lesser canals parallel to the main ones which will make it a much more pleasant experience.

Definitely see Amsterdam from the canals. Lots of boat tours and options. Theres a free ferry from behind Central Station that will take you over to NDSM Wharf with bars & restaurants and more.

Central Amsterdam is quite compact. Plenly of free or cheap things to see depending on what you're into.

Some recommendations I'd make would be Peter & Paul Church, Kalverstraat 92, Begijnhof, passing through the Rokin area and back towards Central Station. That's aside from the obvious sights like Dam Square, RLD, Anne Frank House etc.

Vondelpark itself is really nice & is close to the Van Gogh museum & Rijksmuseum, the I Amsterdam sign among other things.

Unless you're really really into your tulips & other bulbs I presonally wouldn't bother with the Keukenhof Gardens but they'll be closed as of 13th May anyway. I have never experienced hoards of tourists like I experienced there. It's bearable for maybe an hour after opening but after that I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

dartboardio

fdevine wrote: »

+1 for pre-booking anything you can for both Paris & Amsterdam

We did a whistlestop visit to Paris before, starting early at the Arc de Triomphe. Walked the length of the Champs Elysee through the gardens to the Louvre. From there we tried one of the open top bus tours but as it was the Tour de France week the city was in shutdown and traffic was snails pace everywhere. Eventually walked to the Eiffel Tower with just enough time to see it from outside before getting back to our bus.

Amsterdam is much more laid back. Definitely agree with the advice on crossing the road as bikes rule over there.

To get away from the touristy throngs should you wish to, take a stroll down one of the lesser canals parallel to the main ones which will make it a much more pleasant experience.

Definitely see Amsterdam from the canals. Lots of boat tours and options. Theres a free ferry from behind Central Station that will take you over to NDSM Wharf with bars & restaurants and more.

Central Amsterdam is quite compact. Plenly of free or cheap things to see depending on what you're into.

Some recommendations I'd make would be Peter & Paul Church, Kalverstraat 92, Begijnhof, passing through the Rokin area and back towards Central Station. That's aside from the obvious sights like Dam Square, RLD, Anne Frank House etc.

Vondelpark itself is really nice & is close to the Van Gogh museum & Rijksmuseum, the I Amsterdam sign among other things.

Unless you're really really into your tulips & other bulbs I presonally wouldn't bother with the Keukenhof Gardens but they'll be closed as of 13th May anyway. I have never experienced hoards of tourists like I experienced there. It's bearable for maybe an hour after opening but after that I couldn't get out of there quick enough.

thanks for the advice, good to hear that staying near vondelpark isn't such an inconvenience after all, as i was convinced it was a goodbit out of the way, were staying at central park hotel, which is apparently very near the park.

dartboardio

Hi again.

Unfortunately we ended up having to cancel this trip, because I didn’t save much money but we’re all booked and saved up now heading to Amsterdam on the 9th of October until the 13th. Would you recommend buying a ‘tourist pass’ Iamsterdam card? Or paying for attractions separately, were not sightseeing mad but would deffo like to see Heineken, Ann frank, house of bols maybe, the dungeon, etc. would it be worth our while buying a city Amsterdam card or paying separately since they don’t seem to cover that much? Just want the best value!

miamee

You'd want to book the Ann Frank house now if it's still available, it gets booked up in advance. I didn't use a card when there so I can't advise on that I'm afraid. I did miss out on Ann Frank's house though so don't make the same mistake I did!