The capital of the Netherlands and a major European seaport dating back to the 13th century, Amsterdam is one of the most popular European tourist destinations. It sits on a canal that connects to the North Sea, and the inner city is composed of a network of canals that separate about 90 islands. It is known for being one of the most bicycle-friendly cities and for its Red Light District, De Wallen. We only spent a half day to spend there, which consisted of touring the canal roads, walking through the red light district, and visiting Zaanse Shans, a neighborhood 15 minutes north of the heart of Amsterdam. I have provided the specifics of what we did, as well as other recommendations from locals and travel books which I hope to check out on subsequent visits.
Table of Contents
- General
- Transportation
- Food
- City Center – Canal Roads, The Anne Frank House, The Flower Market, Red Light District “De Wallen,” Dam Square, A’DAM Lookout Tower, Vondelpark, Albert Cuyp Market
- Zaanse Schans
General
Currency: The Euro. In October 2025, 1 Euro = 1.16 USD. Most places accept credit card.
Language: Dutch. “Hello” = “Hallo”, “Thank you” = “Dank je” with the “j” pronounced like a “y”
Transportation
The easiest way to get around the city is via bicycle, foot, or boat. It is not super friendly for drivers, with parking in the city center being around 7,50 Euros per hour. If you do rent a car, I would recommend parking at the ferry station at IJplein, where parking is just over 1 Euro per hour. There is a free ferry that departs from there every 5 minutes or so, with the ferry ride only lasting a couple of minutes and landing directly in the center of the city.
Canal Boats
The city center is composed of a network of canals that you can take a boat through on a tour as a great way to quickly see a lot of the city in a short amount of time. We did not do a cruise, but we were told by locals that it is much cheaper to buy them online – looks like the cheapest are around 13,40 Euros and last about an hour, but there is a large selection to choose from. There are many different points that the cruises start at with popular ones being at the Anne Frank House and at Main Lovers Pier at Central Station. Here are a couple of sites that provide cruises:
Bicycling
Amsterdam is one of the most bicycling-friendly cities in the world, with an extensive network of bike lanes and well-established bike culture. As we traversed the city we found there were more bikers than cars, with the railings lining the canals jammed with locked bikes, and with it being commonplace to see a mother pulling her children behind her bike in kid trailers. On a return trip I would definitely rent a bike to experience this aspect of the culture and see more than on foot.
Food
Dutch savory food is generally quite bland, consisting mostly of meat and potatoes. Fries are very popular there, with fry stands offering a wide variety of sauces to put on your fries. The classic dipping sauce is mayonnaise rather than ketchup, which I thought was quite strange. Pickled herring is also very popular around any dutch coastal towns, and can be found at any grocery store.
The Dutch have quite a sweet tooth, with a classic breakfast being toast with chocolate sprinkles. You will also find a variety of pancakes commonly throughout Amsterdam, from Dutch crepes to poffertjes (fluffy balls of pancake topped in powdered sugar). It is also well known for its licorice, which comes in a variety of forms from traditional very strong black licorice to that coated in mountains of colored sugar, as well as stroopwafel.
In the grocery stores, most packaged foods have a “Nutri-score,” from A to E based on a number of factors such a sugar content, reflecting the overall health of an item.
Pepernoten or Kruidnoten are a small spiced cookies reminiscent of gingerbread. While both are often called pepernoten, the pepernoten are technically softer and chewier and the kruidnoten are crunchier. Growing up we used to celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, a Dutch holiday in mid-November that celebrates Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) coming on his white horse. We would leave our dutch shoes out for Sinterklaas to fill up with goodies, and leave carrots out for his horse. Per tradition, we would also sing a specific song in Dutch while “Sinterklaas” (i.e. my parents) threw pepernoten onto the freshly cleaned floor for me and my sisters to gather up into our bags. You can buy traditional pepernoten/kruidnoten in the stores or candy-coated versions.
City Center
Canal Belt “Grachtengordel”
The Canal Belt is the main structure of canals that wrap in a half-circle around the city that were build during the late 16th and early 17th centuries during the Dutch Golden Age. The four inner canals – from innermost to outermost – are Single, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht. The canals themselves are beautiful, and you can walk along them or take a cruise through them as mentioned above. Along the canals there are also numerous attractions, including the Anne Frank House, Bloemenmarkt (the Flower Market), several museums, and several historic buildings. One of the most popular area of the Canal Belt is “De 9 Straatjes” (the nine streets), an intimate shopping area with many specialty shops, museums, restaurants, and hotels.
The Anne Frank House
An extremely popular tourist stop in the Canal Belt, for which you must buy tickets online at the official website (Anne Frank House Tickets) for a specific time slot. Tickets cost 16 Euros each, with tickets selling out days ahead of time.
The Flower Market “Bloemenmarkt”
Located in the Canal Belt along the Singel Canal, the Bloemenmarkt is the only floating flower market in the world. It consists of a series of shops selling flower bulbs, flowers, and various souvenirs and is open from 0900 to 1730 every day except Sundays, when it opens at 1130.
Red Light District “De Wallen”
Amsterdam’s main Red Light District is De Wallen, a network of alleys and canals filled with sex shops, “coffeeshops,” strip clubs, and the like. It is known for having prostitutes in windows which we did not see, though we only toured during the day. One fun street to walk down during the day was Warmoesstrat Street, which included several cafes selling fries, pancakes and the like, gift shops, and cannabis shops.
Coffeshops: Not for espresso but rather are shops where customers buy and smoke marijuana.
A’DAM Lookout Tower
Tower situated behind central station, where you can get a view of the entire city. The tower is open from 10am-10pm, with last entry at 9pm. When purchased online, tickets are slightly cheaper and cost 16.50 Euros to ascend to the top of the tower (A’DAM Lookout Tower Tickets). At the top there is a Skybar and Restaurant. The tower also offers the thrill swing “over the edge,” and a VR Ride or virtual rollercoaster over the city.
Vondel Park
Amsterdam’s largest outdoor park situated southwest of city center. It includes many trails, an open-air theatre with free concerts, the historical Pavilion and many other attractions.
Albert Cuyp Market
Situated just south of the city center, Albert Cuyp Market is the largest outdoor market in Europe, composed of 260 market stalls selling anything from fresh fruit/vegetables to clothing to flowers to street food. It originated in 1905 originally only open on Saturday evenings, but is now is open 0930-1700 every day except Sunday.
Dam Square
A major town square home to the National Monument, the Royal Palace, the 15th century Gothic Niewuwe Kerk (New Church), the Madame Tussauds Amsterdam Waxx Museum, Rippley’s Believe it or Not!, and major department stores. The National Monument is a white pillar that was completed in 1956 as a WWII monument, with a national Remembrance fo the Dead ceremony held annually on May 4th to commemorate the casualties.
Zaanse Schans
Website: Zaanse Schans
About 15 minute drive North from city center is Zaanse Schans, a neighborhood known for historic wooden houses and Dutch windmills that line the Zaan River. You can park but the Windmill Museum and then walk walk along a scenic paved path that passes by several different windmills. There are also longer unpaved trails that start at the watchtower and traverse through the fields alongside canals. There is also the Zaans Museum (about the Zaan region Zaan Time (about the clock industry museum, and many historic sites. You can purchase all-inclusive tickets for the various attractions for 29.50 Euros per person.
