Theater Hall, Cafe, Internet Cafe, meeting place extraordinaire! Right on the Leidseplein – where it’s happening at night in Amsterdam with a hundred restaurants, nightclubs, bars and coffeeshops within a block or two – and of course the Melkweg and Paradiso are right nearby as well.
Phone: 020-624-2311
Huis Marseille is a monumental old canal house on the Kaizersgracht which is now the Foundation for Photography.
Opened to the public on 18 September, 1999, there are four large exhibition rooms on different levels inside.
The Huis Marseille Foundation is based in the 17th century house on the Keizersgracht to which it owes its name. There is a stone tablet on the facade, with a map of the harbor of Marseille, dating back to the French merchant who had the house built in 1665.
Info:
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Phone: + 31 20 5318989
The popular Blokker chain of stores can be found in most every shopping district in Holland. They sell a good range of household items, focusing on kitchenware, house cleaning utensils, small electronics, plastic goods, seasonal items, gifts and various sundries.
Check out their weekly flyers for specials.
Prices are good but be prepared for crowded tight aisles jammed packed with merchandise and shoppers.
There’s a big three story Blokker on the Nieuwendyke, but most are smaller neighborhood stores like the photo above.
One of my favorite Blokker’s is on Beethovenstraat, in Amsterdam, it is located in the map below, and also found everywhere through Holland.
Situated in the heart of Amsterdam’s red-light district, Het Paleis van de Weemoed, is an old style theatre restaurant full of charm, nostalgia and romance A full evening’s entertainment includes a top quality 4-course meal intersperced with a parade of cabaret stars and wonderful musicians. “The Palace” can be compared to a “30’s Spiegel Tent Dance Salon, the Cotton Club or a small version of the Moulin Rouge. It presents an international programme but remains intimate. Come and enjoy an evening of fine dining and imaginative entertainment.
The Palace is situated in the historical Old Town of Amsterdam. Our 17th century canal district (“Grachtengordel”) is even on the Unesco World Heritage List.
From April 1st our terrace is open on sunny afternoons. Please come and enjoy Amsterdam life with a diner, or dinershow and a drink.
The three very narrow aisles stock a wide range of products that will remind you of home. Or perhaps some exotic place you wish you could be. Like a good selection of Patak’s curry pastes and condiments, soy sauces including light and mushroom flavored, canned hummous and tahini, real hot jalapeño peppers from Mexico (not the mild Old El Paso ones, which they also carry), Betty Crocker cake mixes and frostings, Mrs. Dash salt-free seasonings, Phad Thai noodles, a good selection of beans, chocolate chips (very difficult to find in Holland, despite so much chocolate everywhere), and too much more to mention. You really need to see this place to believe it.
The manager is very good about locating and stocking items that you can’t find. My request for hummous was filled by my next visit!
The biggest drawback to this place is how cramped it is. You can barely work your way down these short aisles before someone tries to squeeze by. And the lack of space doesn’t leave much room for fresh produce, and the selection in the one cooler isn’t much.
Perhaps success will enable them to expand and increase their selection further. While the prices on some items are very reasonable, others like the cake mixes are expensive (7.50 euros is a lot for a mix that’s around $2.50 or less in the states). But if you’re jonesin’ for that special treat to remind you of home, you just might find it here!
I haven’t yet ventured into the take-away yet, but judging by how busy it is, I’d say it’s a good value.
Update: You might want to check the expiration dates on items before you purchase them, as I’ve noticed certain things that don’t sell remaining on the shelves for a very long time.
Phone: 020-671-7708
The Hortus Botanicus is a great place to chill and wander, marvel at the gardens and enjoy life.
The Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is perhaps one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world. This garden was established in 1638 as a “Hortus Medicus”, an herb garden for the physicians and pharmacists of Amsterdam.
The Hortus interacts with the community in a special way, offering guided tours, the services of a “plant doctor” who will diagnose your plant’s problem or identify it for you.
The showcase is the special Three Climates Greenhouse, built in 1993 and has tropical, sub-tropical and desert sections within.
The Palm Greenhouse was constructed in 1912, and houses some really unusual palm trees in high Victorian style.
Info:
Open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
From 1st November until 1st April the garden closes at 4 p.m. The Hortus is closed on 1st January and 25th December (Christmas Day).
Adult admission is 9.50 euros, but seasonal discounts apply, and reductions for children and seniors.
Great store on the Kalverstraat near the Spui. Extensive collection of English language materials on several floors. Helpful staff will guide you through the eclectic collection. Lots of fun, ex-pats can always find something to read.
The Treehouse is their venue around the corner on the Voetboogstraat, which has open mike nights and a gallery with showings of art.
Phone: 020-535-25-73
The John Adams Institute provides an independent podium for American culture in the Netherlands. For three decades now, we have brought the best and the brightest of American thinking from the fields of literature, politics, history, technology and the arts. Love it or hate it, the United States plays an important role in the world: what happens in the US is of continuing relevance for the rest of the world, and we provide a window onto that.
The John Adams Institute was founded in 1987 by the cooperation of the West India Foundation of Holland and New York’s Dutch American West India Company Foundation to promote lively debates and lectures in historic venues within old Amsterdam.
This non-profit organization is dedicated to preserving the historic links between Amsterdam and New York City in particular, and the U.S. as a whole.
Located in the West India Huis, which was once the headquarters of the Dutch West India Company, the John Adams Institute holds a series of approximately eleven lectures or talks every year. These lectures have proven to be popular, and have sold out in advance many times. The speakers tend to be world-famous guests such as writers, artists and scientists with profound viewpoints.
The institute was named for John Adams, former president of the United States, who is also a former resident of Amsterdam. Adams was the first ambassador to the Dutch Republic from the U.S., and enjoyed a life of culture here in Old Amsterdam collecting and reading books, hobnobbing with European royalty and furthering U.S. interests here in the Netherlands.
Info:
Located in the West-Indisch Huis at Herenmarkt #97.
Comfy, cozy and on the Leidseplein. In the American Hotel. Hiply extravagant, but worth it. Music, drinks, food.
On the Waterlooplein is the modern City Hall and Nationale Opera & Ballet (Muziek Theater) complex, which looms over the Inner Amstel River.
Aside from all the city’s business, this place is for the arts, and regular performances of ballet, opera and classical music are offered. The seasonal series of tickets make this affordable, otherwise it can be pricey – but all of Amsterdam society will be out for these performances, which should make for an amusing experience.