First Time in… Amsterdam?

Welcome to my first timer guides! Each month I’m sharing short, succinct posts for anyone who’s headed to a destination for the very first time. This round is all about Amsterdam – a city that needs very little introduction.

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Amsterdam Firsts

First Thing to Know About Amsterdam

Book everything ahead of time. This city suffers from over tourism, which means all its most popular places get booked up weeks in advance especially during high season. My friend found out the hard way when she tried booking the Anne Frank Museum and it was sold out!

Also a note on over tourism – I very much recommend coming in the off season if you can. Summer is lovely but early fall still seems beautiful and the temperatures aren’t that different. I even enjoyed coming in the dead of winter when there were virtually no crowds!

First Piece of Packing Advice

Pack layers. The Netherlands is a colder country, and they get maybe 1-2 weeks of a heat wave in the summer. I’ve visited in January, July, and August and needed some sort of jacket each time.

First Hotel

This most recent visit I partnered with the newly opened Avani Museum Quarter Amsterdam and really loved it. We were there in July, aka high season, and it’s in such a nice location by the De Pijp neighborhood that you can avoid the major crowds while still being within walking distance of everything. It’s also right by the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum.

First Order of Business Upon Arrival

I’ve used Uber, a regular taxi, and the train to get to where I’m staying, and I’d recommend either the train or Uber. The taxi was way more expensive when all was said and done. Also the train is actually faster than a car!

For the train, just follow signs and go to Amsterdam Centraal. Everything is credit card tap-friendly and you can download the NS App or just use Google Maps for times and routes. Just a heads up – this area in particular is insanely crowded in the summer.

For Uber, just know you’ll actually exit the airport and follow a path for about 5 minutes to the ride share pick up area. This wound up being tricky for me because I ran out of data, so as soon as I left the airport, I also lost my wifi connection. If you book your Uber, it’ll still work being offline, just stay in the airport until the last minute in case your driver cancels or tries to contact you. The only reason I did Uber over the train was because I had a huge suitcase and Avani would’ve been a 40 minute walk.

First Photo Spot

I swear to you – ever corner of this city is photogenic. Something about the narrow houses and canals makes you want to take a million photos before you’ve walked ten feet. Just find some water and a bridge, and you’ll have the perfect photo spot.

However, this answer is not specific enough for you, then look for Damrak on Google Maps. That’s the most popular spot and where my photo above is from.

First Bakery

I’m changing out café for bakery because finding a good stroopwafel should come before finding a good cup of coffee when coming to Amsterdam. And nowhere does it quite like Hans Egstorf, aka the oldest bakery in the city. As soon you step into the tiny yet beautiful space, it smells like everything warm and sweet in the world. Worth every euro, I promise.

This also feels like a good place to note – coffee shops are not cafés. They serve something a little different.

First Restaurant

I cannot lie to you – Dutch food isn’t exactly the top of my must-eat cuisines. (Anyone that adds chocolate sprinkles to their traditional breakfast should be questioned thoroughly…) However, I do like the coziness of their cuisine, and I really enjoyed the Stamppot Hutspot from De Blauwe Hollander.

For those on a budget, I was obsessed with trying Dutch snacks after this ASMR video, and one of the easiest places to get them is from any FEBO fast food spot. I’m particularly fond of bitterballen.

First Half-Day/Day Trip

Ooh this is tricky because there are so many good day and half-day trips you can take from Amsterdam! A part of me wants to say Haarlem but I really fell in love with Delft. Most small towns in the Netherlands have the narrow house, windmill, and canal vibes but Delft is unique because it’s wear the famous Delftware is from. It’s about an hour by train from Amsterdam.

First Museum

Amsterdam has a ton of famous museums but there’s only one I instantly made sure I got tickets for and that’s the Anne Frank House (Anne Frank Huis). As far as I know, most Americans at least learned about her in school even if they didn’t fully read her diary. Her story really encapsulates the horrors of the Holocaust, and I remember realizing just how young she was when I passed her age of death.

You’ll go through a very sobering tour of where she and her family lived while they were hiding from the Nazis, and it’s truly surreal seeing everything in person.

First Souvenir

A piece of Delftware! I was advised to not even bother getting tulips or tulip seeds because they usually won’t be able to germinate. Instead get a piece of delftware from Heinen Delftware.

Or get stroopwafels to bring home. You can never have too many stroopwafels!

First Not-So-Secret Gem

The neighborhood of De Pijp. It’s got an ever so slightly “rougher” feel (I mean very slight) and is often described as creative and bohemian. If I were to compare it at all, I’d compare it to Fishtown in Philly, Brooklyn in NYC, or Mullae-dong in Seoul. There are a ton of good restaurants and the Albert Cuyp Market is particularly fun. A local friend, Jessica, took me here on my first visit and pointed out her favorite stroopwafel spot – Rudi’s Original Stroopwafels.

First Disappointment to Avoid

Don’t waste too much time with Bloemenmarkt unless you’re a gardening connoisseur or something. It’s very touristy and just full of seed packets for sale. Nothing particularly charming or photogenic about it. You’ll find your flower photo in random places around the city, not here.

Also, this seems obvious, but you are not going to find massive tulip fields in the middle of a city during tulip season. You need to go towards the countryside for that.