For most people, a visit to Amsterdam will include enjoying a relaxing stop to a Coffee Shops and a wander around the red light district. Neither of those experiences interested me when I visited in autumn 2015 so I thought i'd share some alternatives for those with similar interests to me.
First of all, autumn (or fall depending on where you come from) is a stunning time of year to visit. The colours surrounding the canals are incredible with bursts of gold, orange and red. It is generally a quieter time to visit as well meaning less crowds and sometimes lower prices.
One of the first things I did when I got to Amsterdam was hire a bike. Amsterdam is basically the bike capital of the world and it is the best way to see the sights. I hired my bike from Macbike which has a couple of locations. They rent out the iconic red bike which not only looks great in photos, it means they are harder to steal (bikes are a sort after commodity here). I spent a few hours each day just getting lost biking round the streets and paths by the canals taking endless photos!
A must do when in town is visiting one of the many markets. I was staying near the Albert Cuyp Market so stopped in here on my way out exploring most days. This market began in 1904 and now has around 300 stalls. It is here I tasted a couple of Dutch delicacies... Herring and Poffertjes. And I can definitely say the Poffertjes were my favourite out of the two. The Dutch are passionate about Herring, an oily fish full of flavour, and serve it lightly cured in salt and sprinkled with raw onion. After a small bite I went straight onto the Poffertjes, (pancakes) which were a lot more up my alley, dusted in icing sugar and butter.
History and culture is abundant in Amsterdam. My favourite experience while here was visiting the Anne Frank house. This historic property is a popular spot with tourists (around 1 million visitors each year). My biggest tip here is to buy tickets online beforehand! You can select a day and time you want to visit, then skip the queue (which is always down the street and around the corner) and go in a seperate door with no line. Anne Frank was one of my favourite books growing up and one of my favourite memories of my late Grandma is watching her play a lead role in a theatre production of the story. So visiting here was a special moment and quite haunting.
The Rijksmuseum is another great place to visit for an afternoon. Not only is the building itself stunning to take photos of and the iconic 'I Amsterdam' is situated outside, but the collections are beautiful and interesting. My favourite spot in here was the Cuypers Library which is the largest and oldest art historical library in the Netherlands.
If you have any questions about Amsterdam please let me know below and i'd be happy to help answer them! Until next time... x
