Two senior travelers are starting vacation with three days in Amsterdam. We are staying a block from the Anne Frank house. Would like to hear from people who have recently been there. We like to take local transportation to sight see and eat (no surprise there). Given the short stay, what are must see, do and restaurants to get the most out of our short visit?
Thank you in advance.
Posted by
Calgary
1744 posts
The first couple of posts in my Amsterdam and Italy trip report tells what my husband and I did in 2 1/2 days in Amsterdam last November, in case you might get any ideas from that. We were both 63 at the time.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
Also see our host's suggestions about Amsterdam under "Explore Europe" in the upper left corner of this website.
Posted by
Southeastern US
2622 posts
Here's my trip report from Sept. this year (Amsterdam starts on day 10). If you're interested in Dutch restaurants we enjoyed both The Pantry and Moeder’s. If you like art the Rijksmuseum is very impressive.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14821 posts
I'm a senior and my "must-do" might be different from yours. I love the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. The Van Gogh needs booking well in advance while the Rijksmuseum you might just need a few days out. I'd monitor the official website for both to see how far ahead they are selling out - the Van Gogh definitely sells out.
BTW, when I visited the Van Gogh last May they were not selling ANY tickets at the museum, they all had to be bought ahead online. It looks like right now they are fully booked just a week out. Last spring they were fully booked several weeks out.
https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/visit/tickets-and-ticket-prices
Do you have a smartphone and some skills with it? I purchased all my museum tickets online and then took a screen shot when I was emailed the ticket and saved it to an album in my Photos on my phone as well as adding them to a folder in the Notes app on my iPhone.
I also thought the Resistance Museum was awesome. It's closed until next month for a re-do but should be open for your visit next September if it's of interest to you. I would monitor this website also for how far ahead you might need to book, if at all. It's not a real busy place like Anne Frank Huis or the 2 biggies I listed but good to be informed.
https://www.verzetsmuseum.org/en/world-war-ii-in-the-netherlands
Posted by
Pacific NW
203 posts
We were there this summer and the trams and public transportation were fantastic. For eating - we did the Hungry Birds food tour in DePijp and it was a highlight of the trip for us. So much fun and a great way to see a lovely neighborhood (turned out to be our favorite area in Amsterdam). We tried tons of food and our guide changed things on the fly for us - my daughter mentioned she likes boba tea and our guide found a new place to get her some.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8337 posts
I suggest you go to Google Maps and plug in the address of where you'll be staying. Hit CTL and + a couple of times to magnify the map of the neighborhood.
Then click on restaurants and all of the local restaurant icons will pop up. You'll find a number of restaurants in close proximity of your hotel.
Most transportation around Amsterdam is by trams. You can easily find Tram maps online of Amsterdam. I think Tram 8 is a circular route that takes you to many of the popular travel sites. Anyway it goes, you're not far from the train station, and getting around Amsterdam is not at all difficult.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3575 posts
During our 3 days in Amsterdam this past July, we enjoyed the Rijk museum, a canal cruise, a tour of the Royal Palace and all 3 Rick Steves audio guided tours.