Hi everyone, this post is just to let everyone know that we have our own Amsterdam travel blog. Read about dutch tourist attractions and other things to do when you visit The Netherlands. Learn more about the dutch culture and their traditions right here. On our website you can also find practical information from locals on how to get around in the city. We hope you find our information and tips helpful. The funny video above was made by the dutch tourism office and pretty much sums up the dutch spirit. Please share this website with your friends and family and we hope to see you soon.
Tot zien in Holland!
Study in Amsterdam and stay in a student hotel
Maybe you have already heard about the The Student Hotel in Amsterdam. If you haven ‘t it is definately worth it to check it out. especially if your going to be a foreign exchange student. It’s perfect for students studying in Amsterdam. It’s safe and in a good location. Rooms have everything you need and much is included in the price. You can stay there for longer period of time, even half a year. It’s also a great place to meet people, very international. There is even place to stay for guests in case your family and friends want to visit you while you study abroad. No need to go home ; ) There are 2 universities in Amsterdam. One is named VU Vrije Universiteit which mean Open University. There is also a Rotterdam Student Hotel near the Erasmus University.
Amsterdam student hotel facilities and services
Private gym , Study rooms, Library and lounges, Entertainment & game rooms, Reception and on-site staff, 24hr security, WiFi high speed internet, Bicycle
Also breakfast ,lunch and dinners can be taken care of at the location.
Also room cleaning and more. Check out the video to see some reviews of students who stayed there.
Amsterdam night at the museums
Attention tourists! This coming saturday (3rd nov. 2012) is museum night in Amsterdam. 50 Museums will be open from 19.00 till 02.00 in the morning. A tickets costs 17,50 and can be ordered online or bought at Primera stores (primera.nl). Your ticket also allows you to travel for free with bus and tram. In the museums special activities will are set up. You also get a discout at 9 afterparty’s. You are also allowed to revist a museum for free again during this night but only once. More info can be found on the website but its mostly in dutch. http://www.museumnachtamsterdam.nl/info
Try typical dutch food in Amsterdam
When visiting another country it’s always nice to try some of the local foods. When you are in Amsterdam you may be looking for a restaurant serving dutch food but those are hard to find. Instead you will find restaurants serving food from all sorts of nationalities. Chinese restaurants are very popular for example but the funny thing is that the food they serve is rather unique for Holland. Bapi Pangang (a very popular dish) isn’t something they really serve in China. Anyway here is a list of a few restaurants which in fact do serve dutch food in Amsterdam. www.hap-hmm.nl www.loetje.com www.moeders.com ww.haesjeclaes.nl
Besides dutch food in restaurants you can also easily buy and try some dutch products from the closest supermarket. Some things i would suggest trying:
VLA – similar to sweet pudding
HAGELSLAG – chocolate sprinkles for on bread
DROP – black liquorish sweet or salty
ONTBIJTKOEK – similar to spiced gingerbread or honey cake
ZEEUWSE BOLUS – like cinnamon rolls… sort of ; )
Places to visit outside Amsterdam
Everybody knows Amsterdam and there is lots to see and do there but if you are willing to undertake a little more time you can see some great tourist attractions not far from Amsterdam too. Holland is a small country so the distances are relatively short. Below are my recommendations for 3 places to see outside Amsterdam.
1) Madurodam in The Hague
This open air miniature park shows the best Holland in one small area. They have recreated a lot interesting places and buildings that are known in The Netherlands. Basically you see all of Holland’s sight in one place here. They just remodelled the park too so that there more activities to do for kids. But also for adults it’s interesting to walk around here and see all of the important dutch sights. It’s about 1 hour away from Amsterdam near The Hague which in itself is a nice place to visit too.
2) Kinderdijk
Wether you know it or not you probably will have seen some pictures of Kinderdijk in your tourist guide. It’s a world famous place where you can go to see lots of windmills. You can get a guided tour to visit the mills inside or even rent a bike there because it’s a big area. It’s close to Rotterdam, the 2nd largest city of Holland about 1,5 hours away from Amsterdam.
3) Batavia
During te 17th century Holland, the dutch golden ages, Holland was a dominate force on the sea. In Lelystad a place about 45 minutes from Amsterdam they recreated one of the old VOC ships. You will get a guided tour on the ship and will be able to walk around on it. Quite impressive. There is also a little village recreated there which infact is one big outlet mall with plenty of shops.
Picture of Dam square Amsterdam
In the heart of Amsterdam you find the DAM square where lots of activities take place throughout the year.
Visit the wax museum in Amsterdam
Another tourist tip is Madame Tussauds wax museum in Amsterdam. It’s located right in the heart of Amsterdam on the Dam square near the National Monument statue and Hotel Krasnapolsky. There can be a long line outside but inside things seem to move along. You will find wax statues of many famous people including the Dutch queen, The pope, President Bush, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Lance Armstrong, Rembrandt and many more. Have you guessed the person in the picture? It’s Kylie Minogue! The greatest part is that you can take your picture with all of them. They look so real that you can barely tell the difference from a live person.
Visit Scheveningen beach in The Hague
In the summer a lot of Dutch people visit the beach at Scheveningen. It’s about 45 minutes to an hour from Amsterdam. It attracts a lot of tourists as well, especially Germans who flock to the Dutch coast in the summer. Scheveningen is a lively beach with lots of cool clubs directly on the beach. The boulevard is wide and long with lots of restaurants and stores. There is also an aquarium you can visit called Sea Life, a casino and arcade hall for kids. Most eye catching is the pier which runs deep into the sea. It’s quite spacious and you can climb up the tower from where you have a great view of the sea and the boulevard. At the end there is a restaurant and even a place where you can do Bungee jumping. They will even take your picture ; ) Another eyecatcher is the Kurhaus Hotel directly situated on the boulevard.
Keukenhof flower shows in Holland
If you love flowers you have to visit Keukenhof. It’s big flower park about 45 minutes from Amsterdam. It’s great to walk around here and see all the different flower arranged by colors. Plenty of picture moments ; ) Keep in mind it’s only open during April and May.
Red light district in Amsterdam by day
Some tourists will visit the Red Light District at night but many just come to see what it’s all about during the day.
