I can't believe it's a over a month since we got back from Amsterdam, making it about time to write the last of my mini guides to the city.
One major tip I'd give to anyone planning on visiting this amazing city is to make sure you pre-book your tickets to any of the museums you'd like to visit while you're there. We didn't know this and were met with a 1.5 hour-long queue to get into Anne Frank's House. It is a completely surreal and humbling place to visit and was worth every minute spent queuing, however if you're only spending a few days in Amsterdam you won't want to waste a few hours of it in a queue. In peak season it is recommended to book at least a few weeks in advance.
The same goes for the Van Gogh Museum. We arrived in the museum district one morning to overhear that the queue to get in was over 2 hours long. Yikes. Instead, either pre book online or head to the kiosk next to the I Amsterdam monument and book a timed ticket for the following day, taking the time you would've spent queuing to enjoy the rest of central Amsterdam.
We wandered down Staalstraat and stumbled upon Het Hanze Huis, a foodie's heaven. This little gem had shelves bursting with specialist food and drink items from around the world. I wanted to buy it all, but restrained myself and left with a package of Dutch waffles wrapped in red and white paper and stripy string, and a tin of appelstroop, a kind of Dutch apple syrup that is usually enjoyed on toast or pancakes, but I can't wait to try it with cheese.
Across the way was the Droog, a relatively new addition to the area with it's hotel having only opened it's doors just over a year and a half ago in September 2012. We came out by Cafe de Jaren, a beautiful canal-side restaurant where you could easily while away an entire afternoon people-watching and soaking up the rays. It also has a lovely airy indoor area so is still worth a visit even on cloudy days, and much like everywhere else we visited in the city, the food was delicious.
Amsterdam was a place I could've happily spent weeks and weeks more exploring, and hopefully I'll be back there sooner rather than later.
No comments:
Post a Comment