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Amsterdam is famous for its canals, the Red Light District, its liberal attitude and trendy nightlife. Whether you visit for a few days or a few months you’re sure to fall in love with this city, it’s historic architecture and it’s people.
This site is for those who wish to discover what makes Amsterdam unique. We believe Amsterdam is one of the coolest places on the planet and deserves more than a casual visit.
This site contains hundreds of photos and articles about Amsterdam, Holland and the Dutch people. We also have reviews of hundreds of popular Hotels, restaurants, coffeeshops and other retail establishments so you can find what you’re looking for easily. We are constantly adding more Reviews and revisiting those already listed to provide the latest info.
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Open daily during the summer for tourists, the Royal Palace is not the home of any royalty, it’s a museum and venue for important state events held by the Dutch royals. Recently renovated and spruced up for the wedding of Willem-Alexander and Maxima this place is worth a visit if you haven’t been inside before.
Of note are rooms replete with their period furnishings, carvings, bas-reliefs of bizarre historical notes and artworks left behind when the royals abandoned the place.
If you’re craving some fish and chips, look no further than Al’s shop. Featuring a variety of fish including the usual cod (kabeljauw), salmon (recommended!), halibut or whatever is available that day. The fish, cut in huge pieces, is usually done to perfection. The coating is crispy if a little greasy, which only adds to the authenticity. The chips are likewise good.
A fish and chips plate is certainly a filling meal. A selection of pies, including the ubiquitous steak and kidney are available too.
The interior is your typical fast food joint, with stools and tables, often littered with English and Dutch newspapers for your reading pleasure. No swank, just good fish. Enjoy!
Info:
Address:
Nieuwendijk 10
Amsterdam 1012 MK
Phone: 020 427-4192
In business since 1887 and at this location since 1958, Vleminckx Sausmeesters have mastered the art of the “French” fry. Actually these are Belgian frites, those large, mouthwatering, golden brown crispy fries that are served in a paper cone and smothered in rich sauces.
Until you’ve tried these, you haven’t experienced the best. And with an amazing assortment of sauces to choose from (they call themselves sauce masters after all), including curry and sate, ketchup or mayonaisse (the Dutch preference) seem rather tame. But you can get those too.
For around two Euros you can experience this delicacy the way it was intended.
Warning: After eating these, you will forever disappointed by every other fry you come across. That’s the price you pay for perfection!
The only drawback is there’s no tables and chairs, you must eat standing up or find a seat on a nearby stoop.
Info:
Open Mon-Sat. 11am-6pm, Sun. 12pm-5:30pm
Address:
Voetboogstraat 31, just off the Spui
Amsterdam
The Oosterpark is located on the east side of Amsterdam, in a culturally diverse section of town. Thus it’s a popular venue for cultural activities involving various groups including Surinamese, Indonesians, Indians, Muslims and others.
But anyone can enjoy this beautiful park. I found the design intriguing as the paths lead to sudden viewpoints offering different perspectives on each section of the park.
Another interesting feature of the park are numerous metal sculptures like the one above. One statue honors a sheepdog named Albert, who helped track down 200 fugitives for the Amsterdam Police department. A new monument will be unveiled July 1st, 2002 to commemorate the Slave History of Holland, which brought the ancestors of those who live around the park to the Netherlands.
You can view a variety of birdlife in the ponds at the Oosterpark.
If you’re one the fortunate few who have a Makro card, you can shop at one of the best stores in Amsterdam. Like its distant cousin, Costco, the Makro specializes in quality goods at wholesale prices. The catch is that you must have a registered business to qualify to shop there. That means a KvK number (Kamer van Koophandel – Chamber of Commerce).
If you can pass that hurdle, you’ll be amazed at what you can buy all in one place, and how marvelous the prices are! The store is divided into two sections. A food store and a department store. You must visit each separately and checkout twice, a real hassle.
The food section has a very good selection of quality wines. After consuming numerous cases I can state unequivocally there were no bad bottles in the bunch. And prices are very good too. Their selection of hard liquor and sweet liquers is likewise good. Unlike the wine, beer and soda is sold here by the case only.
You’ll want to stock up on their canned goods at great prices. Of course just like Costco, you must be prepared to buy by the case. This means you must bring a car to shop here. And you should have enough storage in your Amsterdam flat to put all this stuff! Otherwise go easy on the large items.
Their produce section is good with very high quality the rule. Prices vary, but certain items can be very cheap compared to the supermarkets.
The frozen food section is unsurpassed anywhere! It’s huge! On my last visit I scored 800 grams of 20-29 count shrimp for 12 Euros, and they were really good, too! There’s also fine deals on other seafood and prepared frozen items.
Their bakery and cheese selection is good too. You can easily spend 1-2 hours just in this part of the store.
But hopefully you’ve already visited the dry goods section, because you don’t want to have perishables sitting in your car while you explore the department store which is even larger than the food section!
The department store has household goods, electronics, major appliances, clothes, toys, computer supplies, an excellent selection of glassware, bakeware, cooking items, etc. It’s all spread out on two floors, so be prepared to spend another hour or two exploring this part of the store.
There’s a nice restaurant upstairs if you need a break or to catch a bite while shopping.
Parking can be a nightmare here! Either arrive early, near opening time, or wait for a spot to open, or just hoof it in from the far reaches of the lot.
The worse part of the whole thing is the checkout. They don’t allow you to bring in boxes or bags, so everything must be loaded on to the conveyer belt one item at a time. If you have a lot of wine (like me) this is a big hassle.
Then you must stand in another line so someone can review your register receipt against what’s in your cart (like Costco). But here they count every item. And you stand there praying it matches the total on your receipt.
Hopefully you remembered to bring boxes or bags in your car, otherwise you’ll have to be careful how you load up bottles, produce and other items…
And just when you’ve gotten that put away in your car, you get to come back in and do it all over again on the otherside of the store! What fun!
This vast park/exhibit is a great place to take the kids or just explore on your own with a camera. The scenery is awesomely photogenic, and teams of landscape artists are constantly roving the grounds making sure everything is perfect.
Floriade is a fantastic presentation from the Netherlands to the world of its scientific mastery over gardening and evidence of the Dutch role as a leading horticultural knowledge center. The 65 hectare space is filled with gardens, greenhouses, technological displays, lakes, waterways, paths and mazes ~ and all these can be seen from high atop Spotter’s Hill. Held once every ten years – this is the fifth Floriade! The major attractions of the exhibit are the Horticultural Experience, Wonderwaterland, Spotter’s Hill, and the Gardens of Emotion.
Of the two park entrances I chose to enter at the South Entrance, and quickly found myself in another world of beauty and space perfumed by billions of flowers. This is the Holland you dream of – miles and miles of lush landscaped areas with flowers everywhere.
At the South Entrance you are on the banks of the Harlemmermeer Lake, which is surrounded by the most natural areas of the park – if that’s possible. Walking around the shore you’ll find nature areas and a variety of garden examples, and a fine open-air theater in one corner.
Comfort and enjoyment are planned into this experience, with nice wheelchairs available to cruise the easy pathways and areas of the park. Amongst the gardens and paths are nicely designed cafes literally covered with baskets of flowers, offering cold drinks and more stuff for tourists – with places to sit and relax under umbrellas or shady plantings. In the main area under the Roof is a fine restaurant, and you’ll find ice cream stands here there and everywhere through the park.
After touring the lake area, I walked across the bridge to the other side of the park and checked out Spotter’s Hill with its amazing views all the way to Haarlem. From here you get a great vantage point of the entire place and if tired or curious, spend 1.50 euros to ride up and down the pyramid shaped hill in a futuristic air-conditioned battery-powered self-driving car. The sculpture dominating the top of the hill is a good reference point to use when wandering around lost in this maze.
A visit to the Horticultural Experience gives an amazing educational insight into the growers, traders and organizations that make Dutch horticulture such an important part of their economy – and life. The underground exhibits are found in the center of a maze of islands covered with examples of how they do it Dutch style.
You can’t miss the Wonderwaterland exhibit, the path runs right through it – and inside is the “Timeship” which takes you through 10,000 years of geology explaining the area, and then details how the Dutch have worked to hold back the sea and drain more and more land for agricultural and living space over the ages.
The most amazing greenhouse I’ve ever visited is located near the Roof, and the high-technology inside rivals anything that NASA is doing. Displays of hydroponic miracles are here to be seen, with tomatoes as large as your head. Cucumbers as long as your arm dangle from vines high overhead, and peppers glowing red and green decorate their bushes like Christmas tree ornaments. Huge trays of plants on moving beds are constantly rotating to get the best sunlight, with electronic keypads at the row ends to computer control the flow of nutrients and water. This is an amazing greenhouse, with a computer controlling the windows opening and closing for air, and shades in case there is too much sun. Heaters come on line at the computer’s will, maintaining a perfectly controlled environment with virtually no pests – therefore this greenhouse garden is completely organic according to the technicians I interviewed on the spot.
And finally I entered the Roof, which the energy firm Nuon built with 30,000 square meters of solar collecting electricity producing cells. At one end of the “Roof” is the Great Taste Restaurant, which supposedly offers organic edibles from the gardens. The size of four football fields, the interior of the Roof is filled with the most amazing displays of decorative plant and flower arrangements you’ll probably ever see in your life. These displays from around the world vary from desert landscape scenes to elaborate Chinese and Thai pagodas replete with decorations of orchids and other exotic flowers. But don’t let the kids miss the collection (HUGE) of carnivorous plants! They’re here for you to actually touch and enjoy – stick a twig into a Venus Fly Trap and watch it snap shut!
Just past the Roof is the North Entrance, collection of tourist shops and cafes, restrooms and a nice place to have a seat and relax. The visit to Floriade was fun, and if you’re stuck in the city all summer, at least visit Floriade to get some relief.
Info:
Open daily from April 6th 2002 until October 20, 2002. Park opens at 9:30 am and closes at 7 pm. Ticket price is 17 euros for adults, 8.50 for kids. To get to Floriade it is easy to go to any ticket window of the Nederlands Spoorwagen (Dutch Railway) and buy an entrance ticket as well as the transportation tickets for around 22 euros from Amsterdam Centraal to Schiphol via train, then the Zuidtangent bus to Floriade. Buses and trains run every half hour. If you must drive, there is parking.
Address:
Harlemmermeer Lake
Amsterdam
Phone: 0900 0555
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, is home to a large collection of art and history of the Netherlands. The museum has an famed collection of paintings from the seventeenth-century Dutch Republic, the Golden Age, works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and other paintings such as Frans Hals and Jan Steen. At the very heart of the museum is Rembrandt’s “Night Watch”.
The Rijksmuseum houses more than just paintings: there are collections of silver, delftware, doll’s houses, prints, drawings, Asiatic art and Dutch history. Art on paper, prints and drawings, and the photographic collection, are shown four times a year in different exhibitions.
The Rijksmuseum is at one end of the Museumplein which is also bordered by the Van Gogh museum, the Stedlijk museum and the Concertgebouw. The Museumplein is a good place to take a break on a nice day. It’s especially refreshing if you’re attempting to do more than one museum in a day.
Info:
Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Closed on January 1.
Admission is 8.50 euros for adults.
Address:
Stadhouderskade 42
Amsterdam 1071 ZD
Phone: 020-674-7047
Amsterdam’s Chinatown is growing daily, with new shops opening along the edge of the district, servicing the booming restaurant trade and immigrant population as well as the growing interest in Asian food among Europeans.
Toko Dun Yong, a multilevel department store, has been selling a wide variety of products made in China since 1957. This is the class market in Amsterdam’s Chinatown, with far more items than the other, smaller markets carry.
Their excellent selection of food, kitchenware, ceramics, furniture, books, music, restaurant equipment and decorations are without peer in Amsterdam. Whether you’re looking for just the right size wok, or that special kind of tea you’ll find it here or nowhere.
If you can make it past the first floor’s enormous selection of edibles, venture downstairs to the basement’s treasure horde of kitchen and restaurant items. You’ll be sorely tempted to buy that long desired kitchen implement. I was amazed to see such a range of items, including things I didn’t expect to find in a Chinese store, like Paella pans (in 2 sizes!).
With all the other Chinese specialty stores around, the prices might not be the best on certain items, but it’s hardly worth the time to shop all over to save a few cents, when this place has it all.
Info:
Open: 9am – 6pm daily, Sunday Noon-6pm.
Metro: Nieuwmarkt
Address:
Stormsteeg 9
Amsterdam 1012 BD
Phone: +31-(0)20-622-1763
I must admit I’d passed by this quaint Thai restaurant in the Red Light District many times before I finally took the plunge. Klaas Compaen is named after a man who journed to India but ended up living happily in Thailand because he liked the women and the food.
Klaas Compaen claims to be the first Thai restaurant in Amsterdam, operating here some 30 years. The entry way leads you down some steps into a scent filled basement room. This relatively small restaurant which has just a half dozen tables and more seats at the bar is very cozy. Those sitting at the bar can watch the chef at work creating those Thai delights we know and love.
We had ordered our usual test for Thai restaurants consisting of spring rolls, Tom Yam soup, Pad Thai and red curry. These are the standard dishes served up at all Thai restaurants and reveal the food quality and consistency.
All the dishes were fresh and authentic, although I found the very thin noodles used for the Pad Thai to be lacking in flavor and ingredients. It was mostly noodles with few vegetables or chicken pieces to be found. This was the only drawback to what otherwise was a very tasty meal.
As we were the only patrons for most of our meal, the staff of three provided perfect service. When the place is packed, which I noticed is common on weekends, it may feel a bit claustrophobic or gezelig (cozy) depending upon your personality. Fortunately a bank of air conditioners should prevent the usual Dutch restaurant smoke from being a big problem in such a small room. Ask them to turn them on if you feel uncomfortable.
Info:
Klaas Compaen does not accept credit cards!
Hours: 5pm – 9:45pm
Address:
Raamgracht 9
Amsterdasm
Phone: 020-623-8708
Quaint old Dutch home on the side of a canal in the heart of the Red Light district which features a “hidden” church in the attic.
Originally built in 1629, the church was added in 1661 – 1663 during which time it was illegal to be a Catholic in Holland, hence the hidden churches you will find here and there – usually in some wealthy patrons home.
Now open to the public, the house is just as fascinating as the church.
Info:
Admission: MJK holders free, Adults &
Address:
#40 Oudezijdes Voorburgwal
Amsterdam 1012 GE
Phone: (0)20 624 66 04