Things to do, places to eat in Amsterdam

The Anne Frank House is still one of the best things we've done in all of Europe. Get on the website and learn about when and how to get tickets and be up at 4am (EST) (depending on where you live) as tickets sell out everyday.

A canal cruise is also a great way to see the city.

Walk, Walk, Walk - it's an amazing city to explore-- just watch out for all the bicyclists - they are horrifying.

I really liked The Pantry for traditional Dutch food. I was afraid it might be a tourist trap, but made a reservation based on recs from this forum & was not disappointed. It was definitely mostly tourists there, but the food was awesome (I can still taste the oven dish-so good) and the service was friendly. Very reasonably priced too.

I also had a nice steak (and unlimited fries!) at a place called Black and Blue which was close to the Anne Frank house.

My favorite bar was Cafe de Doktor - don’t miss the house jenever! But really, every brown cafe was great.

For activities, I did a lot of the top things, so no hidden gems, but as noted, the Anne Frank house is somber but very well presented and absolutely worth the visit. I loved both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum. I also went to the Rembrandt House on a whim & that was pretty cool. They were doing a demonstration on how he made his paints. I wish I’d spent more time just relaxing in Vondelpark, it was beautiful. Fun beer garden in the middle too (try to spot the parakeets!)

The rijsttafel meal-sorry I don't remember the restaurant where we ate it.

Don't discount having a smoke. Katsu Coffeeshop in De Pijp is somewhere I first went to over 30 years ago and it's still around. Paradox in the Jordaan is Rick Steves' favourite.

There's others I can mention if keen. Some are more popular with youth, those two are good if you're in an older age bracket.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/JThFb1it9d8SFfAs7 - Paradox on Google Maps

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZmZz6uGKiQc3uth87 - Katsu on Google Maps

Completely agree with eating at The Pantry for traditional Dutch food. We made a reservation for lunch well before our trip. It happened to be very hot when we were there in April, so I hesitated about eating such a hot heavy meal when a light salad seemed more appealing. But, when in...Amsterdam! The young petite woman who was a Delta flight attendant was sitting inches away; ordered something casserole comfort like, so I asked her what it was and ordered the same thing. We both polished them off.

The Anne Frank house was by far the most moving and memorable experience and not to be missed. Please check the website and this forum on how to secure tickets on their official website. You need to purchase on a Tuesday about six weeks out at 10am Amsterdam time; so be sure you are clear on exactly when your dates will go on sale. They sell out quickly. I believe they may release some one week out, but we didn't take that chance.

Many here mention Our Lord in the Attic, which we unfortunately missed but do look into it. Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, canal cruise. Side trip to Zaanschee Schans or Haarlem.

I have a love/hate relationship with Amsterdam. It was my first stop on my first trip, I have loved it through the years, been back more times than I recall (ten?), but also get a bit discouraged seeing all the change and crowds. We keep saying we really do not need to go back, but we were there as recently as May, will be back at the end of August (Blame Delta, they make it cheap to fly in and out of there)

End of October should be fine, it will be a little cooler, and a chance of rain greater. I really do not need to touch on the tourist sights, you can figure out what interests you, all I have been to are interesting.

Are you into Beer or Gin (Genever)? If so, I can add some recommendations.

If you like markets, hit the Albert Cuyp market, good chance to get common street foods (Herring, Stroopwaffel, Poffertjes, kibbeling) plus lots more snacks and even lunch.

As for other meals, we always have problems in Amsterdam, Dutch food is pretty basic, but Indonesian is big (a former colony), savory pancakes a nice change, and a variety of other cuisines. I guess the issue comes down to coming up with which direction to go. Really, just look for what sounds good.

As for other things to do, just chilling by a canal, with a beer, on a nice afternoon, is my favorite; just watching the city go by. I think the Red Light District is well worth a stroll during the day to see the great canals and buildings, and again at night, but I'll be honest, the RLD anymore is a fraction of what it was, and maybe now too crowded, and a bit sad per my memories of what it was. They have shut down (or the workers have abandoned) most of the windows, and they are being replaced with more tourist type shops.

If you have any other specific interests, I might have some specific recommendations.

Great responses to your post! Agree with them all.

If you want a simple meal, try https://www.rotisserieamsterdam.nl/ When I first visited the Netherlands in 1983 on a multi-month work trip we ate lots of rotisserie chicken. Now, I always visit this chain when I am in Amsterdam on holiday.

I will also recommend The Pantry. We had a wonderful dinner there this past June. definitely make a reservation. We also had a delightful seafood dinner at Lucius Seafood. Again, reservation highly recommended.

We were in Amsterdam in February and I did a bunch of reviews on things we did and places we ate. Check the reviews area of the forums and you will find it all there.

Our favorite thing right in Amsterdam was the canal cruise with Captain Jack. There is a link for it in the reviews, but our hotel suggested it and they were spot on. We did not care for the regular canal cruises.

We had a great meal at The Pantry that many on this thread have mentioned. See my reviews though for additional places.

The evening canal tour with Those Dam Boat Guys was great. Our friends did a cycling tour that they enjoyed, don’t know the company.

These are great suggestions all, thank you, and I did go to the "reviews" page and read all the reviews, which were super helpful.
It turns out the Citizen M is within a short distance of the museum district, a 15-minute walk, $12 cab ride or 7-minute tram, so we are happy with this choice. We like Citizen M and it has decent prices for the quite expensive Amsterdam. Thanks also for the suggestions of the gin, but I am not a gin person, and also for "coffee" shops that don't exactly trade in coffee, but we have plenty of access to cannabis products here in Denver, where it is legal and in vast supply; alas, we found out, when we moved here bought about $300 worth of excellent cush and other products, and discovered, alas, that our metabolisms had changed since the 70s and 80s, and we no longer liked it: SIGH.

Ah that's a shame you're not smoking. The coffeeshop experience in Amsterdam is something I don't think there's an equivalent to, even in Canada or the legal states.

Hope you have a great trip!