Amsterdam City Break
After a very busy summer moving into my new flat and returning to tour guiding, I was in need of a holiday again. I took my sister on an Amsterdam city break for her birthday in September. She’s an art history lover, so there were a few museums and galleries she was keen to visit. And while I have been to Amsterdam and the Netherlands before, it was part of a longer Europe trip, and I didn’t explore it in-depth. So I was happy to return and experience more of the city. We took a 4-day, 3-night long weekend trip, with convenient direct flights from Edinburgh.
Day One
We took an early-morning flight, which meant arriving well before our hotel check-in. After dropping off our bags in the Museum Quarter, we grabbed coffee and pastries to take to Museumplein, the park near a few of the major museums. From there, we took a leisurely walk towards the city centre and our tour meeting point. The route took us through classic Amsterdam streets, lined with tall, narrow buildings with gabled roofs along the city’s many canals. Cobblestone roads, flower-clad bridges and bicycles galore! We were very lucky with the weather for most of the weekend too, with the city doused in sunshine.
Walking Tour
As a tour guide myself, I like going on walking tours of new cities, to get your bearing and an overview of the city’s history and culture. We chose Freedam Tours, which met in Beursplein and took us mainly through the city centre, around the De Wallen area. Amsterdam doesn’t have heaps of specific tourist attractions, so much of the tour focused on different neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and the Jewish quarter. It also touched on historical figures, including artists and the monarchy. All tours are no longer allowed to go through the Red Light District – the workers don’t wish to be treated as tourist attractions, which I think is fair! – but our guide did explain a little about it.
My favourite part was learning about the ‘dancing’ buildings, which I’d already spotted several of earlier. Amsterdam is actually built on a reclaimed swamp, hence all the canals. The buildings are on tall stilts sunk into the earth, and as they slowly rot at different speeds over centuries, the buildings tilt and lean into each other! It was wild to see, yet hardly any of them are deemed unsafe for use. Fascinating!
Dam Square
The tour ended in Dam Square, the city’s largest and busiest square, with the National Monument in the centre. On the western side is the Royal Palace, official home of the Dutch monarchy, and De Nieuwe Kerk (the New Church) sits alongside it. Both had some scaffolding on during our visit! Overall, we really enjoyed the tour and got a great introduction to the city. I liked the mix of larger, busier streets, as well as quieter back canals with hardly anyone else around. And at the end, the guide shared a link to lots of local recommendations from the guide for the rest of our trip.
We were both pretty tired after an early morning, so we checked into the hotel to relax for a few hours. Later in the evening, we took a wander through the nearby De Pijp area and ended up at Arie for dinner and drinks. Then it was back to the hotel for an early night!
Day Two
Rijksmuseum
The next day of our Amsterdam city break kicked off with our first art gallery, the vast Rijksmuseum at the end of Museumplein, an easy walk from our hotel. We started by grabbing a map to figure out our route, as there are hundreds of artworks over several floors and wings! My sister’s main interest here was works by Rembrandt, one of the most famous Dutch masters who lived and worked here in Amsterdam. The museum has a selection of his paintings, but the largest and most significant is The Night Watch. It takes up an entire wall, kept safe behind a second wall of glass, in the centre of the gallery. I’m no art expert, but the size and amount of detail in it are certainly impressive!
We roamed several other floors, choosing to mainly focus on the galleries of artists from the 16th to 19th centuries. Naturally, there are many Dutch artists featured, but plenty of other countries are represented too. I wasn’t familiar with a lot of the names – though Vermeer and Van Gogh are obviously recognisable ones! – but I enjoyed just wandering and seeing which artworks caught my eye. There are sculptures, decorative objects and other artefacts throughout as well. I thought my sister would want to stay longer than me, but she was content after a couple of hours, which suited me fine. We grabbed a mid-morning coffee at the museum cafe, browsed the gift shop, then headed back out into the sun.
Bloemenmarkt and Spui Art Market
Wandering back towards the city centre again, we went window shopping past the many antique shops along the way. Our next destination was the Bloemenmarkt, the flower market, a series of greenhouse-like stalls next to a canal. Since we were here in autumn, it wasn’t the prime time for flowers in bloom. To compensate, a lot of the stalls sell fake flowers, made of fabric or, quite popular, wooden tulips of all colours. Which at least makes everything colourful and pretty to walk through! Most of them sell packets of seeds as well, which is probably easier for most visitors to take home anyway.
Not far from there, we headed to Spui, where there is an outdoor art market on Sundays. We’d planned our itinerary to be here on the right day! It’s not huge, maybe two dozen or so stalls, but they are all local artists selling their own work. Many of them were too big and/or expensive for me to consider making a purchase! Or just not my personal style. But I still love getting to see and appreciate people’s creative expressions. We also had lunch in the neighbouring square, squeezing into a narrow pavement cafe.
De 9 Straatjes and Jordaan
After lunch, we crossed another canal and headed into the 9 Streets (De 9 Straatjes) neighbourhood, west of the city centre. It spans several canals, with the streets mainly full of shops. Next to it, west again, is Jordaan, a similar area though with maybe a few more residential streets. We were basically just roaming around at leisure, popping into a shop every now and then, and enjoying the canal views, dancing buildings, tree-lined streets and late summer sunshine. I recommend that any Amsterdam city break include a bit of time to just wander and appreciate how pretty the city is!
There aren’t many specific sites to visit in this area, but there is one major one – the Anne Frank House. We weren’t planning to visit, as I remember seeing massive queues last time I was here. But we went to see the building from outside, standing on the opposite canal bank.
Then, after walking ourselves out, we decided to stop for a drink next to the Singelgracht, the canal that forms a ring around the city centre. Our destination of choice was Waterkant, a bar and eatery that sits beneath a brightly painted multi-storey car park. It’s more scenic than it sounds! It has plenty of outdoor seating, and we got a table right by the water, watching the many boats cruise by as we sipped our drinks.
Evening Canal Cruise
After a stop back at our hotel to change, we headed out again in the early evening, back to Damrak. The many piers here are where the city’s numerous canal cruises start and end. We’d booked an evening cruise, seeking to enjoy the city in the golden hour glow. We’d chosen a cruise with Stromma in their open boat with drinks included. Weather permitting, the open boat means you don’t have to deal with reflective glare through the windows in your photos! And the drinks were just a lovely plus, serving ourselves from the array of wine and beer in the centre of the boat.
There were only about a dozen people on board, and our skipper gave us commentary throughout. It was interesting how it varied from the walking tour, taking us to different areas and covering different topics! And even when we did repeat locations, seeing it from the water still makes it worthwhile. The canals were pretty busy with boats – I assume many locals own their own vessels – and it was interesting seeing the ‘traffic’ rules at work! Again, we were very lucky with the weather most of the weekend, with it staying warm, dry and sunny all evening. I think a canal cruise is a must-do for an Amsterdam city break and we definitely enjoyed this one.
Afterwards, we stopped for dinner at Tia Rosa, a tapas restaurant. I know, not exactly Dutch cuisine! But even our tour guides said there aren’t a lot of specifically Dutch dishes (especially for a mainly vegetarian like me). And the city is full of restaurants of all cuisines, all over the world, plus my sister is a picky eater. We had a delicious array of dishes, seated outside next to the canal again!
Day Three
Countryside Day Tour
My sister is notoriously not a fan of cities for more than a few days, so we thought a day tour was a good way to break up the trip. It would also allow us to see a bit more of the Netherlands beyond just Amsterdam! We looked for something that would allow us to see a few different things, without having to spend too much time on the bus (some options in our research were a very long drive away!). There are quite a few companies that offer similar itineraries, visiting some combination of smaller towns to the north of Amsterdam. Usually involving windmills, cheese and clogs along the way. Plus tulips in spring, of course, but we were here in the wrong season for that!
We ended up choosing this tour of Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam and Marken. I always book direct instead of through 3rd party booking sites, to avoid the actual tour provider having to pay loads of extra fees! The tour started early, meeting near the train station to set off out of the city. It was quite a big coach, with English on the top deck and Spanish on the bottom. The guides provided commentary for the drives and an orientation walk around each location visited. The group didn’t feel quite as big while walking around once we split languages! It definitely did feel quite touristy, but it was a convenient way to get out of the city. We covered more than would have been possible on public transport, making it a good option for an Amsterdam city break when you have limited time!
Zaanse Schans
Our first stop was Zaanse Schans, which is famed for its historical windmill village. A dozen traditional timber-built mills line the riverbank, with a cluster of timber houses nearby as well. Some of these function as shops or museums, while others are still residential. Our guide gave us a quick walk through then left us to explore more on our own. While not that far from Amsterdam, there were definitely more countryside vibes, with ducks waddling around and fields of sheep amongst the houses.
We took a stroll up past the windmills, watching as some of them turned their blades. There wasn’t enough time to visit inside lots of them, and some were closed and/or charged an entry fee anyway. We did browse a couple of the shops in the village, which mainly sell souvenir goods. My only disappointment was that only one coffee place was open, and of course, the rest of the bus had already formed a huge queue by the time we got to it! Although overcast, it was certainly a scenic stop overall!
Edam and Simonehoeve
Next up was the town of Edam, most famous for its eponymous cheese. Our guide gave us a tour here, including stops at the Kleine Kerk and the site of the cheese market. We wandered along cobblestone streets and past the canals that criss-cross the town. There are also ‘dancing’ houses here, with one building on a corner looking like it’s about to keel over into the street! It’s a small town, and we focused on the historical area in the centre, so this was a short visit overall. The guide probably helped us understand more about it than we would have got by just wandering!
Just outside Edam, there are a few farms and workshops that produce traditional Dutch goods: clogs and cheese. We visited one, Simonehoeve, for a tour from their staff, covering how both processes work. Cheese was up first, and of course, the real process is a very lengthy one, so we mainly listened to a summary of how it all works. Whereas in the next room, they actually used the machinery to demonstrate parts of the clog-making process. It was pretty quick, and you can tell they cycle through dozens of tour groups every day, but for a quick summary, it was interesting! Then, through in the shop, we got to try several samples of different cheese varieties. However, due to new EU rules, you can’t bring dairy products back to the UK, which ruled out us bringing any home as a souvenir.
Volendam
A short drive took us to the next town, Volendam, which sits on the coast. A huge sea wall protects it from flooding – an ever-present risk in such a low-lying country. We walked along the wall towards the town centre, which was also our lunch stop. There was actually a festival on that day, an ‘end of summer’ type celebration, which involved a lot of fancy dress costumes and day drinking in the streets. I’m sure it’s very fun for the locals, but the crowds made it very difficult and stressful to get along the street.
We made it into the restaurant eventually, and my sister and I ended up sharing a table with a couple of other people from the group. The recommended dishes were mainly fish or meat-based, so as a pseudo-vegetarian, I gave them a miss. We still had a little time to spare after lunch, but my sister and I found an alternative route back towards the bus, through quieter residential streets and a park, away from the waterfront crowds!
Marken
Our final stop for the day, which might have been the prettiest in my opinion – it helped that the sun came out – was Marken. This is actually an island just off the east coast, linked to the mainland by a causeway. You can also reach it by boat from Volendam, but we were driving. The town is full of wooden houses, painted white with green trim and shutters. Naturally, there’s water all around, and we wandered past the harbourfront area. Our guide took us on a walking tour through the town, which felt very quaint and peaceful. The population is small, but it does have its own school, and we saw many children leaving for the day, riding bicycles through the village. It was just a lovely little stroll through such a picturesque place to finish the day.
Vondelpark
Once we returned to Amsterdam that afternoon, the bus dropped everyone off on the northern side of the largest canal that bisects the city. Which meant hopping on the free foot ferry to get back to the train station and into the city centre. Since it was only mid-afternoon, we hopped on a tram and went for a walk through Vondelpark. This large green park is just south of the Museumplein, and filled with trees, flowers and water features. We were naturally quite tired after such an early start, so we stopped to sit and have a beer at a cafe in the middle of the park. Then finished our walk past the park’s many ponds, before heading back to the hotel.
That evening we’d booked a table at Sampurna, an Indonesian restaurant our tour guide had recommended on the first day. The Netherlands previously colonised Indonesia, which is obviously problematic in the way all colonialism is. I only mention it to give context as to why there are so many Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam now! It certainly seemed to be a popular place, as we wouldn’t have gotten a table without our reservation. I enjoyed my meal, but unfortunately, my sister’s was rather on the dry side.
Day Four
De Pijp and Albert Cuyp Market
The last day of our Amsterdam city break was a half-day, as we had to head back to the airport in the late afternoon for our evening flight home. Instead of going back into the city centre again, we headed east of our hotel to the De Pijp area, where we’d had dinner the first night. We started off with a leisurely brunch at Ceintuur Theater, a theatre which has been converted into a cafe and restaurant. We sat on the ground floor, but there’s also a balcony level, which really showcases the height of the building!
From there, we wandered along to the Albert Cuyp Market, which runs along the pedestrianised street of the same name. The vendors range from food stalls to clothing to jewellery and souvenirs. I picked up a pair of earrings made from recycled post stamps, which I thought was a cute idea! It was a pretty grey, wet morning, so we also dipped into a few of the shops lining the street. We were mainly browsing the ones selling artwork or the copious amounts of ‘Delftware’ porcelain, the blue and white patterns inspired by Chinese imagery. We also made one very important food stand stop: Rudi’s Original Stroopwafels. These thin, syrupy waffles are a Dutch staple, and this stall has been selling them for almost 50 years. Freshly made on the spot and as big as your hand – don’t miss them!
Van Gogh Museum
Our final destination was my sister’s other main reason for the entire trip, the Van Gogh Museum. As the name probably gives it away, this museum is entirely dedicated to the famous Dutch artist, housing dozens of his paintings. The artworks are displayed through galleries across several floors around a central stairwell. I believe they’re arranged largely by time period, though there was a room on the ground floor entirely of self-portraits. There was also one area closed off while we were there, meaning there must have been a few paintings we missed out on seeing.
Of course, some of his paintings are more famous than others. The most recognisable ones here, at least to me, were the Self Portrait in a Grey Felt Hat; one of his Sunflowers series paintings; and Almond Blossom. There were plenty of others I didn’t know so well, but very much enjoyed. And then there were some in slightly different styles that I was less fond of – the Potato Eaters is a little creepy to me! Naturally, this museum doesn’t have all of his artworks. Starry Night is famously in New York, though I actually saw one of his Irises paintings instead when I was there. There was another Irises painting in Amsterdam, so it’s cool to now compare them both!
Amsterdam City Break
After the museum, we picked up our bags again and made our way to the airport for our flight home that evening. Four days was a great amount of time for our Amsterdam city break, as we were able to fit in a lot of things, but without it feeling too rushed. It was also a nice mix of visiting specific sights and museums or doing tours, alongside time to stroll, browse, and stop for food or drink while soaking in the city’s atmosphere.
Of course, sunny weather helped, but Amsterdam felt very relaxed, laidback and safe to me. Possibly not what some would expect from a city with a nightlife reputation, but then that’s not what we were there for! I did my share of partying here on my first visit (I was about 19 and still in university!). The canals, the dancing houses, the bridges decked with flowers, the bicycles whizzing over cobblestones… it was all very lovely and scenic! And yes, it was fairly busy, but I think September was a good month to go, after the worst of the summer crowds, but still clinging on to decent weather, aside from our last day. My first trip to Amsterdam was a whistle-stop tour, so I’m glad to have experienced it again, more in-depth and slower-paced.
