Amsterdam mid-December

I visited Cologne Germany, and Amsterdam last December for a week. If I had to do it all over again I would have spent the entire week in Amsterdam and skipped the German Xmas markets; they were too crowded to enjoy it. Whereas Amsterdam was more manageable, and just as festive. Best part is December is when the annual Light Festival happens and their are special evening canal boats to view the exhibits.
Hotel rates are pricey in Amsterdam (even in December) so book early. Any hotel in the city center will be fine, I can't think of any area that has any safety issues. There many tram lines that will take you anywhere you want to go, and many sights are within easy walking distance. There are so many thing to do in Amsterdam it's impossible to list them all here. Head over to https://www.iamsterdam.com for lots of choices.

Thank you so very much for your input! It certainly helps!

On Facebook, there's an Amsterdam group(s) you can join that includes a lot of helpful, real-time information. You don't have to contribute or post using your name, you can just "lurk". Even after I have returned from the Netherlands, I enjoy just reading the posts. Have a great trip!

Thanks! Will join now..

How long will you be there?

You will enjoy both the Van Gogh and Anne Frank house. I would also encourage a visit to the Rijksmuseum and, depending on weather, you should take a day and wander. Other suggestions will depend on how much time you have and how you get your jollies.

My favorite museum in Amsterdam is the church in the attic. My daughter and I really enjoyed our last visit!

My daughter and I were in Amsterdam in early February. We stayed at the Hotel Estherea and absolutely loved it! It was perfect for a girls trip. It sits right on a canal, is very quiet, yet a short walk to so much. We never needed to take a tram the entire week we were there, and I was coming off of a knee replacement, to give you an idea. On their Instagram page, they had a promo code that included breakfast. That was a great deal as that ran about $27 per person per day, and the breakfast was exceptionally good. If I go back, I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Go to the reviews pages and I posted reviews about the hotel, restaurants and the canal cruises and day trips. So I won't repeat all of that here, except to say the private canal tour was the best money ever spent (and it was not expensive, IMO). Our day in Delft was just perfect. The factory/museum was so much more than we were anticipating! Everything there is hand made, so not cheap, but beautiful stuff. They make Christmas plates and ornaments, so that might make for a lovely keepsake.

Here is a way to do Amsterdam and Iceland. Take Icelandair and do the stopover. We did just that on this trip, and it was my 6th trip to Iceland. It is amazing and I head back again in September. Anyway, if you do that you can stay in Iceland for up to 7 days at no extra flight cost. And then you can just continue on to Amsterdam from there. If you decide to do this and want any help, just ask. We usually go for several weeks at a time, just in Iceland alone.

During the holiday season the canals are lovely at night with holiday themed lights.
If you want to be adventurous and take in a lovely (but busy) Christmas market take the train to Maastricht and stay overnight. Lovely old historic city. It could be done in a very long day but it might be fun to venture to another area.

Be sure to book Anne Frank House and the museum with Van Gogh as soon as they go on sale or you will be out of luck. They are truly playing as not to be missed.. Enjoy your trip!