Amsterdam is a great city. It’s waterways add to the never ending flow of its stylish demure and the abundance of culture and history, plus those cheeky coffee shops completely make this city stand out from the rest. With Schiphol Airport literally a hop, skip and jump from really anywhere in the UK, this city is a perfect place to pop to with or without your kiddos in tow. From Dubai, the journey time is obviously a little longer and flights equally as expensive but it’s still as easy to get to with airlines like KLM and Emirates offering direct flights from Dubai’s main airports.
I visited Amsterdam back in 2001, I was obviously a lot younger then and although I loved the city, I probably wasn’t mature enough perhaps to appreciate its fineries in abundance, like I did on my current trip.
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We went back to Amsterdam during the month of October this year (2015) (as if you didn’t know from Instagram) for my Sister in Law’s birthday celebrations, and although I don’t think we even saw a ray of sunshine for the whole three days there, the city was still as bright as ever, shining with culture, charisma and character!
To get the most out of the city, we hired bikes at 15 Euros a day. Bikes have a right-of-way in the city (that’s before cars, not pedestrians) so once you’ve mastered the art of braking by peddling backwards (fellow Amsterdam bikers will know what I mean), you generally feel safe cycling through the streets. Keep an eye out as to where you have to get off them though – some areas, like the main city centre gives priority to the trams, asking pedestrians to jump off for safety purposes. I missed this at one point so beware.
The city is larger than you think and on the odd occasions that we ditched our bikes and walked anywhere, we found we were walking forever, which is nice when you are ‘wandering’ but to reach an appointed destination without a taxi, bikes were a great help, especially in the cold.
To help you navigate around this city during a few days of ‘freedom’, we’ve put together a list of what we did. Bearing in mind that this was the second time we’d visited Amsterdam, so we bypassed the well known historical sights, like the Anne Frank and Van Gogh Museums because we had seen them before, but we’ve highlighted them for you anyhow, in case you want to incorporate this into your Amsterdam city-break!
Where We Stayed
Prinsengracht, or Prince’s Canal as it’s also known, is one of the three main canals in Amsterdam. “Approximately two bridges that way” was how we described the distance to the main central area that oozed with tourists, flashing lights and coffee shops.
Our accommodation on Prinsengracht was called the City Cente Retreat and was booked through the fab Airbnb. The house slept up to 9 guests over three floors and had everything we needed for a really comfortable stay.
The big bay windows downstairs made great positioning for people-watching and the comfy sitting and dining room on the second floor was great for intimate chats over coffees, beers and wine whilst warming up in-between our escapades!
The only downside was there were a lot of stairs so just watch your balance after a night on the tiles which might happen quite frequently in Amsterdam! Conveniently, the owners rent out bikes from their building next door, which was a great bonus with there being 8 of us to saddle up.
Where We Ate
Food was one of the highlights during our time in Amsterdam. From the the mobile hot dog stands to the many morning patisseries, every corner offered something tasty. There were a few places that stood out to me and ones which I would highly recommend you go and have taste of during a visit…..
This cafe is situated right in the heart of the city at Museumplein. It was relaxed and informal and was a great place to stop and recharge the batteries during our morning bike ride and tour of the area.
The menu didn’t have the biggest choice, but their burgers were great, the cafe was warm and the staff were friendly, which made up for it.
FYI.. To use the loos in this area you need a Euro to exchange for a token or there is ‘no pee pee’ 
Venus and Adonis Grill and Bar
This is a cosy steak restaurant on Prinsengracht which was easy to walk to from where we stayed. The staff were attentive and the atmosphere was intimate and warm. Set on the corner of your typical quaint Amsterdam cobbled street, the restaurant and its french windows fall right on the edge of the canal with great views of the waterway activity and lit-up streets. Although we ate downstairs, there was the addition of a stylish open kitchen which created a great eating vibe whilst watching them sizzle away at our dinner.
Portugese food wouldn’t have been our usual choice whilst dining in such Dutch surroundings but its subtle setting caught our eye after our must-do-visit of the Red Light District on our last night. After walking through the streets and passing by the famous China Town, we found this vibrant family run restaurant. Its checkered floors and funky lighting stood out from the rest on the main street of Zeedijk. This is where I fell head over heels with the best Brandy soaked Chorizo sausage, it was a gastronomical moment I will most likely never forget ;).
In fact, all the food we had here was so flavorsome. The service was slow at times, but that sort of added to the relaxed family-run atmosphere. They even managed to light up the night at the end of our meal with an artistically prepared ice-cream birthday dessert and sing-song! I am so glad I can mention this place as they deserve a high-five for their home cooked recipes and friendly manner. Thanks guys!
Just for its most inviting front door, I have to mention this Dutch eatery! Set just next door to our Portugese experience, this restaurant is apparently the place to go during mussel season! With many mixed reviews, I would say check this place out for yourself if you’re passing. You can enjoy traditional meat dishes plus soups, brot and a huge selection of teas!
As if we only popped into this place for drink! You’ll find it just before the main high street on Grimburjwal 7. Clearly a very popular place with locals and tourist alike. One drink in here gave us just enough of a chance to spy their incredible home cooked food that kept making its way down from the kitchen upstairs. A must-eat-in venue when we return.
So on our last day we did some last minute wandering and with t-minus 2 hours to go until we had to go to the airport, we stumble across this subtle looking cafe bar on the side streets off Prinsengracht, and we were so happy we did. Granted, I loved it at first because it has the same name as my son, but the restaurant lived up to culinary expectations too #trythetrufflerisotto
Sundays in Holland seem like a traditional day for socialising and although the outside of the cafe looked quiet, and almost closed for business, the inside was quite the opposite.
One side of the cafe displayed a bustling bar, whilst the other was one long line of cool, quirky, Sunday-loving-people enjoying food, coffees and wines. I couldn’t think, even now, of a better place to spend my Sunday! The music was really funky and the staff were so accommodating. I love how the tables in restaurants and cafes in European cities are so close together, so close in fact that you could easily dip into the wrong bread basket if you weren’t careful
This gorgeous picturesque restaurant is tucked away down a quaint little alley and although we didn’t get chance to go inside this time around, it’s most definitely a place I want to get to next time we visit! It has great reviews and we could see just how popular it was by looking inside! With the option of live music and dancing in their ballroom after dinner, it is certainly a place you could cosy into until the early hours!
History and Parks
Having bikes made it so easy to enjoy these areas whilst keeping warm in the October drizzle. We enjoyed places such as Amsterdam’s largest park, VondelPark, Museumplein, where you can visit the Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum and many other areas over streets and bridges that make up the fabulous city!
The Anne Frank House is possibly one of the most famous in Amsterdam. In recent years, I feel this particular place has become quite commercial and having seen the size of the queue to get in when we passed during our recent stay, I would recommend arriving early at the museum if you want go inside.
Once quite a basic religious festival, full of fun and celebrated by all the locals in the 1875, this fun fair themed festival returned to the city after a ban due to rioting in 1949. The festival travels around the city throughout the year and is full of rides, bric-a-brac shops, food stalls and bars. We were lucky enough to see and experience the height of the spinning swings in the famous and historical, Dam Square, which was lit up so brightly you could see it clearly from neighbouring roads, side streets and canals.
The last one was on November 1st at the Osdorp (Stadspark) but the festival should return in April next year 2016.
Amsterdam with Kids
As much as we escaped parenthood in this city, we also longed to be with the kids from time to time, just knowing how much they would’ve love it too! With the many parks, Petting Zoos, toyshops, restaurants and quirky museums, a visit to this part of the world with them is most definitely on our bucket list!
Check out the great iamsterdam for all things Amsterdam/child related!
Many thanks to my lovely Sister-in-Law and all the family for such a great time away.
Journey well,
Love
Dubai and UK based Travel Bloggers
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More of our travels away from parenthood here, and more of our travels with the kids, here.