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Amsterdam between Christmas and New Years

I am going to be in Amsterdam from December 27th-30th this year. First time there. Any suggestions on what we should or shouldn't do? I appreciate your help!

Posted by
985 posts

Off the top of my head...
1] Do a night time canal cruise. They will have the light festival going on and it is great!!! To me this would be a MUST. We went with ThoseDamBoatGuys and greatly enjoyed the cruise. They had pots of gluhwein for us to enjoy and had rented larger, heated boats. Maximum load was twenty people. They offered both smoking (not just cigarettes) and non smoking cruises. No smoking inside the covered structure, only outside.
2] If you like museums, this is a great time to do them. Short or non existent lines... it seemed to us that many visitors were lined up in the center, waiting to enter Madame Tussaud's. smh
3] One of the things we enjoyed doing was indulging in gluhwein while walking the canals to the antique market. Not all restaurant/bars sold it but we found it at P96 on the Prinsengracht which was right on our way to the Elandsgracht area. It is also sold in jugs at the grocery/liquor store if you have a way to heat your own.
4] The Christmas market at Museumplein should still be running and there is an ice skating rink there if you want to skate.
5] Explore the Nine Streets area. I can recommend Cafe Wheels as a good place to rest with a beer/cocktail and to grab a good burger. They have seating both in and outside depending on weather.
6] Wander over to Cafe Bern in Nieuwmarkt in the evening for the best cheese fondue and entrecote. If you arrive when it opens you can sit at the bar to drink/eat, otherwise you must make a reservation for a table, and don't wait until the day of to make it....

Posted by
4 posts

Thank you for your replies.

One person asked me what we liked to do. So in response to that, here are some things.
We love to explore and get the feel of the culture, people and country. We are not into fancy big restaurants, but love to eat local food. We like museums, walking through neighborhoods, and since I am a professional photographer, I will always have my camera with me. I know we don't have a lot of time, but hope to maximize it while we are there.

Thanks again for any replies.

Posted by
7731 posts

There is a Diamond Museum.
There is the Van Gogh Museum.
There is the Rijksmuseum (classic dutch paintings like Rembrandt you may have seen in text books in school).
There is the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, modern art.
If you like Heineken there is a brewery tour.
They have coffee shops where you can buy consume marijuana legally.
There is the Concertgebouw if you like classical music.
There is Bimhuis if you like jazz music.
It is a great walking city visually a lot of canals 16th 17th century old buildings.