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Living in Amsterdam, I get a lot of questions from friends of friends about where to go, and what to do while in Amsterdam. I’ve added my tips to my blog, partly out of my own selfish convenience so I don’t have to always rewrite them, and to help you out!

Without further a-do here some tips what what not to miss out on when you visit Amsterdam. 

1. Gezelligheid : Yes, a word that is nearly impossible to pronounce by non-Dutch speakers, this is the main thing to experience. Gezelligheid means coziness. This can be experienced a lot of ways, but the best is to sit on a terrance in the sun (in the summer) with some friends, or head to a brown cafe lit by candle light in the darker months, order some bitterballen (a must try), and a few biertjes (beers) and spend your time unrushed, chatting, watching the world go by. Gezellig!

2. Rijksmuseum : Yes, this really is a must see. It is very impressive and very much worth the visit. Download the Rijksmuseum App on your phone to listen along to the guided tour (make sure to bring your headphones), so you don’t have to buy the audio tour. Try to book tickets in advance online.

3. Rijks Restaurant : feeling a little swanky after your visit to the museum? Check out the restaurant next door. They make the best Dutch food I’ve ever had… and that is really saying something. Its probably safe to book in advance on this one. Check out my Yelp review for more info

4. Van Gogh Museum : Also a must see - book tickets in advance and make sure to get the audio guide. 

5. Vondelpark : A huge park in the center of Amsterdam. As my mom described it “everyone is so happy there!” Its a great location to sit and have a picnic in the summer - if you visit then, you’ll wonder if Dutch people actually work, since so many people will be sitting out on the grass drinking wine in the summer sun. 

Below: Vondelpark

6. Boating along the canals : Weather permitting, I really recommend renting your own boat and touring the canals. It is really easy to steer the boats yourself, and you can go where you want, bring snacks and beer, and the company will provide a map for you. This is really the best way to see the city, you can really experience the canal houses in all their splendour from the low perspective on the water. Plus you’ll probably pass a lot of other boats with music and drunken revelry, so that’s an added bonus.  There are many companies you can rent a boat from - most cost about €90. A few companies you can rent with are listed below

    - Boats4rent.nl

    - Boaty.nl

    - mokumbootverhuur.nl

Below: a sunny day on the canals

7. Watch out for cyclists! and taxis! and buses! and trams! and cars! : Most visitors to Amsterdam are not familiar with the amount of bike traffic they will experience as a pedestrian. Please, for the sake of me and all the other bikers in Amsterdam, look both ways several times before crossing the street. And unless you are a very alert and good cyclist, do us all a favor and don’t rent a bike.

8. Drugs : If you want to hit up a coffeeshop and smoke to your heart’s content, go for it! Ga maar lekker roken! Most people in Amsterdam don’t really smoke weed regularly, but you’re on vacation, so go for it. Just whatever you do, don’t buy drugs from people on the street. Your mom was right when she said don’t talk to strangers. In the past people have died in Amsterdam from trying white heroin thinking it was cocaine - and that’s not a good way to start your trip!  

9. Tipping : This must be the most practical question I get. We Americans (well not so much me anymore since I’ve lived here too long), are accustomed to leaving hefty tips of 15-20% for waiters, bartenders, etc. You will be happy to learn that in the Netherlands this amount is not necessary! Wallets everywhere rejoice! After a meal its fair to leave up to €5 as tip, but I wouldn’t go too much over that unless you’ve dropped over a hundred on the meal. Don’t worry about how the waiters will survive - they don’t have the poor pay that ours in the states have - they get by on a salary that can support a decent living standard!

I thought I knew what expect the first time I visited Amsterdam: Flashing red lights with girls in windows, people smoking weed in public, making an utterly adult playground. These are the things I think most people expect to see in Amsterdam. It is the Amsterdam they’ve heard about. Like the souvenir shirt says, “Good boys go to heaven, bad boys go to Amsterdam." 

When I was back in California after studying in Utrecht I got the typical questions like, "OMG, what kind of crazy drugs did you do there?”, “is the weed in Amsterdam better than in California?”, “is the Red Light District real?” and general nods of approval that I had lived in a country where pot is legal. Somehow Amsterdam has become the Tijuana of Europe in everyone’s minds. 

After my first visit to Amsterdam I realized it’s not nearly what it gets played up to be in the movies. First of all, yes there is a red light district. Once you’ve walked around the Red Light District for about 5 minutes, you pretty much get over it and move on to something more interesting. Yes, you can buy weed here. But here’s the zinger: I know very few Dutch people who smoke weed on a regular basis. Most of them view it as more of a tourist thing, and I’m fairly positive that there are more habitual pot smokers per capita in California than in the Netherlands. If you want to party like a Dutch person, go to one of the many summer festivals, or just have a couple of beers in a hole-in-the-wall bar.

I have seen just as many (if not more) crazy things happen on the streets of San Francisco than in Amsterdam – but there was the woman I saw on Queen’s Day who was breastfeeding a baby doll, and that was pretty weird, and a bit visually scarring. 

I really love Amsterdam, but not because it’s such a wild and crazy place (by the way, if you are looking for a wild and crazy place, I’ve heard Warsaw is a top spot). I love Amsterdam because of its beauty. Europe has dozens of beautiful cities. Paris has sophisticated beauty with the iconic Eiffel Tower. Rome has grandiose beauty with over the top churches and colorful plazas. But Amsterdam… Amsterdam is different.

Amsterdam is much like the Dutch themselves: humble. Street after street of simple four story brick buildings wedged against each other like a pack of sardines has a simple beauty to it. The houses are not gaudy, the architecture is not over designed nor meant to be impressive, they were just built for practical purposes. At night when the calm canal waters reflect streetlights and narrow streets packed with ordinary brick houses and small bridges, the city’s is quaint and laid back vibe is most evident.

Amsterdam’s charm is that it doesn’t try too hard. It just presents itself for how it is. If you go to Amsterdam, get all of the crazy stuff that the city is famous for out of your system, then go sit on a terrace, drink a beer, and bask in the atmosphere that makes Amsterdam so cozy. 

“This is very lucrative. Paul and I can finally buy that timeshare in Batastenbos, Amsterdam’s premier private sex garden. They have genetically altered men there with menataur heads that chase you through the brambles” - Jenna Maroney, 30 Rock