Finally got my flights booked.We land back from Canada on a Sunday morning, fly to Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon and will most likely not do very much that day.Then we have all week and leave on Friday afternoon.
The Poezenboot is a must see as we have 7 cats ourself!
I'll have a browse through the other recommendations shortly.Accomodation is top of the list so I'll have a look there first.
I am a cat.
There are some decent AirBNB options as well. They could proof excellent value for money when you stay a few more nights. I agree with the others you'd want to stay central, public transport is excellent, or go proper Dutch and hire a bike data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Hotel De L'Europe is one of my favourites but it may depend on your budget. Generally I don't find hotels good value for money in Amsterdam and breakfast really isn't a big thing either in the Netherlands. I am Dutch and for me it is still two slices of dark brown bread with cheese and a cup of milk data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 But last time I tried Hotel De Witt, and whilst the service was great, breakfast was a surprise, I wasn't impressed with the rooms and location but everything else was full.
Anne Frank has been done up, booking and arriving at your time slot is a must. It really is.
I agree it isn't necessarily a Citi with lots 'to do', not like Copenhagen for example, however it is more about soaking up the atmosphere and exploring the various areas. My favourite is letting the time pass away in the Jordaan. But Vondelpark is nice as well.
As I went with teenagers we had to do some activities, and the Amsterdam Dungeon was a hit, that was actually really good fun. And yes the canal tours are recommended as well.
If you have 4 days, I would probably take the train and go see The Hague/Scheveningen for a day as well. As the capital with the government it is a fantastic Citi. I think the train return is only about 10 euros (guessing as it was 8.36 from Schiphol when I had to go there for work).
Be prepared for a relaxed chilled out time opposed to an activity pack time. Great atmosphere, nice restaurants, fantastic looking old areas and streets.
I was thinking about a day trip to Belgium too.Antwerp is an hour on the train, Brussels 2 hours.
The boss says she doesn't want to go to Antwerp unless I'm buying her a diamond though...
If you had to choose between the two I'd go for Brussels; It is actually a nice journey with changing landscapes. Then go to the Grande Place, Manneke Pis, and shopping on Avenue Louise...
However I think it is worthwhile doing a multi city trip by itself to Belgium. Go to The Hague in the Netherlands and/or Utrecht or Delft. Or if you like cheese go to one of the markets in Alkmaar or Gouda or Edam. Another nice and rather unique trip would be to Giethoorn. Or depending on when you go to the Keukenhof, the flowers are amazing.
Entirely your choice of course data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
we tend to go to over there every year (went twice last year - got a mate there data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 ) - but haven't been to amsterdam for years...too full of stoned tourists etc...
we tend to stay at different places, and utrecht is a fave, more of a relaxed place... and there are lovely little places like leiden, delft etc...
One of the best tourist attractions of the Netherlands is the hair of politician, Geert Wilders.
Tourists the world over flock to the country to marvel at and photograph his amazing swept back mane.
It’s the only “positive” thing he’s got going for him data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7 But don’t be alarmed there are a few others who have even better versions.
We've just come back from 4 nights in Amsterdam, my regular birthday trip. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
We stayed at the Hotel American on leidseplein which is absolutely lovely, I'll be staying there again the next time we go. If you wanted a base in the city centre but away from all of the dam square/red light madness then this would be right up your street.
If you're not a smoker or a drinker then some of the best fun to be had in Amsterdam can be nothing more complicated than going for a night time walk along the canal rings. It's a beautiful city if you're the kind of people who like to walk and talk and dream.
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^^^
Nice picdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Went there for my first time as part of a twin place stag doo (very tame-all sensible peeps) last Autumn.
Managed to find enough to do for the 2 days we were there.
Beer factory tour.Walks along the canal. Boat trip.General wandering about.Nice eating/drinking places.
Was planning on going back again with another bunch of people this Spring/Summer.
Not 100% commited yet (looking at other places). Accomodation over there is eye bleedingly expensive.I know its a capital city but circa £100 for a dorm roomdata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7