Amsterdam, I love you! I visited Amsterdam for the first time this year and it has become one of my favorite new cities that I have been to. Dan had a work conference in Amsterdam this year, so I knew that I had to go too! It got even better when my friend Meredith flew over to keep me company while Dan was working. It was the best time!!

We spent a full 7 days in Amsterdam. To be honest, the first night was not planned. We booked the hotel on a nonrefundable rate and messed up the dates (by booking an extra night on the front end.) We actually ended up going one more night earlier than we needed to, but it still worked out. This is what happens when I’m so busy planning everyone else’s trips that my own got overlooked – oops! Anyway, I think this is a great amount of time to spend in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is central to so much that it’s easy to train to other areas nearby which makes for great day trips. You could definitely do 3-4 nights here instead, but because I have spent so many recent trips on the move from hotel to hotel, it was really nice having a home base and then getting to train to other areas nearby. We stayed at the Melia INNSide Amsterdam. This hotel is a little outside of City Center but was perfect for us. Dan needed to be close to the conference center and we wanted to be close to the train station, so this was the best spot. Most hotels in Europe only sleep 2 people in each room. We found a great 2 bedroom option so that Meredith could have her own space and we had our own room/bathroom as well. This is perfect for families. The hotel was clean, close to the train, and we felt super safe. We are already planning on staying here again next year!

There is so much to see and do while in Amsterdam. My favorite part is roaming the streets and stopping for a drink at a cafe on the canal. I booked all of our activities in advance so we had room for our own plans but the most important activities were already booked. I highly recommend doing this in advance, especially during the summer in the busy season. Locations can be booked up and for some of them, you can only get in with a ticket. If they sell out, you are out of luck. Book in advance!! There is so much to see and do, so we split up our activities. You don’t want to have to rush from one thing to another and you’ll also want to try and pick things that are close to one another on the same day so you aren’t walking all over the city. The train system is super easy to navigate but the city is also very walkable.

Things To Do

Van Gogh Museum

Heineken Experience with rooftop access

Anne Frank House

Flagship Amsterdam Boat Canal Cruise

Anna + Nina Permananet Jewlrey (we got bracelets!)

Ink Your Skin (we got piercings lol)

Christmas Palace (great for Amsterdam ornaments)

Flower Market

Red Light District (We walked through it just so we could see what it looked like!)

Restaurants

Dante (Dinner)

Blue Amsterdam (Brunch + Drinks)

Ted’s (Brunch)

Breadwinner (Bagels)

Rudi’s Stroopwafels in Albert Cuyp Market (Freshly made and SO good!)

Winkle 43 (Apple Pie)

Marghertita Tutta La Vita (Italian)

Floor 17 at Leonardo Hotel

Sky Lounge

Fabel Friet (French fries)

3 Sisters Pub

Pancake Bakery

Tony’s Chocolate Shop (great for gifts)

Brasserie NeL

Cafe Bouwman

Bruincafe ‘t Centrum

The Grasshopper

De Luwte

De Spiegel (such good pancakes!)

Day Trips

Zaanse Schans

Brussels, Belgium

Amsterdam is pretty central to other great places to visit. We took a day trip to Zaanse Schans. This is a 20-minute train ride to the Dutch village full of windmills. This village is famous for clog making, cheese, and more. Everyone recommends the bus to get there, but I found the train to be super easy as well. It’s not a far walk from the train station to the village at all. In fact, when you walk, you’ll pass by the major chocolate factory where you can smell the chocolate outside, pass by a cute restaurant for drinks overlooking the village (be sure to stop here), and then you’ll be at the village. Try to visit here on a day when the weather looks good. It’s so hard to predict how the weather will be in Amsterdam because it changes so quickly, but the lower the chances for rain on this day, the better.

Dan and I visited Brussels last year, so since we were so close to Brussels, Meredith and I took a day trip via the Thalys train to Brussels for the day. I booked the train tickets well in advance and highly recommend you do that same, regardless of where you’re going because these international trains book up quickly and you will want a seat! I LOVE Brussels. It’s so cute and you can easily see/do the highlights in a day and head back to Amsterdam that night. We arrived in Brussels around 10 AM and left around 7 PM and that was plenty of time for us. I’ll be sure to share my recommendations for Brussels in my next blog post!

Planning a trip to Europe? Be sure to check out my packing list for an international trip on this blog post.

Ready to plan your trip to Amsterdam? I would love to help you! Whether you’re looking for a land tour or want to visit on a river cruise, there are tons of great options to get you here! Contact me and let’s get planning your next trip to Europe!