amsterdam

Take a boat ride on the canals,, visit a coffee shop, walk through the Red Light District, have some fries with mayo, visit the Rijksmuseum, or the Van Gogh museum,, visit Anne Franks House( my most memorable sight) ..

I recommend you get the Rick Steves Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels book. He has a suggested itinerary for 2 days in Amsterdam. Then, you need to modify it for your interests; look at the descriptions in the book to see what interests YOU. I was in Amsterdam last month; prior to that, I'd been there in 1990. I'd agree with Pat that the Anne Frank House is a must see, as it's unique. Follow Rick's instructions about getting advance tickets, or you may not get in (or will wait hours to do so). Otherwise, nothing is a "must see" or "must miss" universally; it's all about your interests. For instance, I found my visits to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museums very worthwhile, as Pat did. But, if you're not interested in art, these may just be a waste of time. Conversely, the coffeeshops are a big draw for many visitors, but I don't smoke pot, so I did other things instead. I saw Rembrandt's House in 1990 (Rick recommends this on a two day trip) and was bored; I'd never recommend it to someone else on a short visit, unless they had a specific interest. And even though the diamond polishing demos are free, you'd have to pay me to waste my time there. Other people wouldn't miss them. However, this time I did spend much of a day seeing the Resistance Museum and the nearby Jewish history sights. I also spent a fair amount of time looking for used CD's. Again, if these are not your interests, there's no point in someone giving details about them. I think you get the message. One way to approach your questions is with another question: what made you pick Amsterdam? If you let us know that, you can get much more useful answers.

Major Amsterdamse tourist traps (I live close by a.t.m.): - Amsterdam Dungeon - Sex Museum, Torture Museum - Ultra-touristic and low-quality "typical" restaurants on the Slinge or near the Dam
- Wasting any minute of your life watching stoned foreign teenagers near coffee shops or women on windows (this is also offensive to the dignity of women displayed there, but that is another issue)

Note that most of the Rijksmuseum is closed for renovation. The "200 masterpieces" (decorative arts as well as paintings) they have open are very good, but already (early May) badly crowded. This will be a madhouse by July. Actually, I liked the 100 Masterpieces of the Mauritshuis (in Den Haag) moved to the Gemeentmuseum (Den Haag) better. And they own Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp", which is nearly as good as "The Night Watch" in Amsterdam. Plus they have Paulus Potter's "Standing Cow" and Vermeer's "... Pearl Earring" briefly before it's loaned out in later Summer 2012.

I thought you had to be an adult to go in a coffee shop,, so teenagers are allowed in too Andre..? Never heard of that.. interesting. So does the shop you go in allow teenagers? No wonder people are upset.
Last time I was in a coffee shop was over 20 years ago,,and we must have wandered into the one for senior citizens,, as most of the people in there seemed to be twice the age of any teenager ..

One has to be at least 18 to enter a coffeehouse. This is strictly enforced by both the police, and the owners of the establishment. The police conduct regular ID checks at all coffeehouses, those under 18 will receive a fine, and escorted out. If you don't have ID on you to prove your age, that's another fine you can get.

I rather thought so...but Andre lives near there and feels there are many stoned teenagers around so I though perhaps things have changed,, I haven't been there recently enough to be sure.

Canal boat ride, coffeeshops, walk around the Jordaan, walk around the RLD at night the canals are lite up and very pretty, and you can shop till you drop.