My sister and I (both in our 60's) will arrive in Amsterdam at 0900 on a Friday in the middle of November. We will be coming from Budapest after a cruise and should be fairly fresh. Will be leaving Wednesday at 1400. I was hoping for suggestion on what to see. We like art and architecture but don't want to spend 5 days in museums. Are day trips to Delft and Haarlem worth the trip at that time of year? Also, will it be too cold to do much outdoors like a boat trip on the canals? We have researched Rick's trip videos and suggestions but I would like more info that is relevant to a November trip. All suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9099 posts
Plug your travel dates into the excellent Iamsterdam site to get a listing of exhibits, concerts, shows and festivals during your stay:
Posted by
Florida
4 posts
Last year my husband and I (also in our 60s) were in Amsterdam near the end of November and there are a lot of things to see after you go to the art museums and other sights. The open air museums and windmills were closed although you could walk around on the grounds. We took the bus to Haarlem and loved it, seeing the canals and Franz Hals museum and marketplace and churches. We took the train to The Hague and Delft and loved both of those cities, too. The weather was lovely, but cold. Amsterdam has a very pleasant zoo and the Maritime Museum is very interesting. Buy transportation cards so you can take the trams around the city. Have a great trip!
Posted by
NorthCarolina
930 posts
We were there in December - yes, cold - but we dressed warm and did lots of outside stuff.
A canal cruise is a great way to start your day there! Such a great way to see Amsterdam on the water, plus some history too.
We had finished a River Cruise thru Austria & Germany -so we were pretty 'museum-ed' out. We did do the VanGogh Museum and wish we would have done the one across the street - the Rijksmuseum.
The best thing we did was the Anne Frank House - it's one of the best things I've done in all of Europe. Get your tickets online NOW if you haven't already. They give you a fantastic brochure that 'details' each room as you walk thru.
We also enjoyed a WINE & CHEESE tasting at one of the many GOUDA shops. This is the one we did, but there are MANY
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g188590-d1903817-Reviews-Reypenaer_Cheese_Tasting_Room-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html
And the flower district was a fun walk thru.
We got most of our ideas on TripAdvisor.
Another fun thing to do would be a FOOD TOUR - check out EATING AMSTERDAM - go ahead and get your tickets - they sell out fast. They have many different tours to choose from. Not only do you sample LOTS of amazing food, but you walk thru fantastic parts of Amsterdam and see things and learn history. We try and book a couple of these.
http://www.eatingamsterdamtours.com/?gclid=CNbm4-L8jcgCFVc7gQodI5EONw
Posted by
St. Louis , MO
228 posts
A canal cruise in Amsterdam is in a covered boat ( glass roof ) so it is never too cold. In Bruge the canal tours are in a small open boat and in march 2013 , with a spell of very cold weather , I just about froze .
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15576 posts
If the weather is good, Delft is lovely. It's about a 20-minute tram ride to The Hague, so you could see a bit of that city on the same day. . . . Madurodam is fun, the Mesdag panorama is different, as is the Escher Museum.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, OH
32 posts
Thanks so much for all of the great suggestions! I feel better about choosing Amsterdam as our destination for our extra week.