Amsterdam

Explore an undisguised Red Light District

Purge your curiosity and step into the unashamed crimson rays of the city’s world famous red light district. One of the racier things to do in Amsterdam, just by walking down the street visitors are exposed to sex workers sitting vivaciously in shop windows, invited to live sex shows, and thrown into an omissible X-rated energy. With rumours circulating that The Netherlands may soon rein in its relaxed prostitution laws, this iconic Amsterdam attraction could soon be a thing of the past. Strap that jaw up and prepare to have your deer in the (red) headlights look plastered across your face.

Admire narrow houses with gabled facades everywhere you go

You need not consult an Amsterdam travel guide for great things to do in this city; a simple walk around the streets by day is an activity of delight all on its own. The unique architectural display of Amsterdam’s narrow gabled houses, sitting in quiet canal-side disarray with their lopsided foundations, should be enough to inspire you to saunter around the city on foot for hours. The Lords’ Canal of Herengracht is arguably the best place to start, with a bout in a boat giving some of the best views of the gabled houses anywhere in the city.

Cycle around town in search of the best Edam cheese

Don yourself the ultimate Dutch accessory – a bicycle – and take to the countryside in search of Edam cheese. If this doesn’t make your what to do in Amsterdam list, then you mustn’t be a bona fide cheese fan. From young lashings with a mild taste to aged varieties with a perfectly sharp bite, Edam straight from the farm brings a satisfied moan with every mouthful. Team the cheese eating with the vistas of Amsterdam’s countryside and this day out is perfectly whimsical and a refreshing respite from the concrete.

Make a sobering stop at Anne Frank Museum

The diary of Holocaust victim Anne Frank is a UNESCO-registered world heritage document read by millions the world over since it was first published in 1947. Here at the Anne Frank Museum you can see the original chequered red diary and its tainted pages in the very place it was written: the business office of Anne’s father, where her family lived in hiding for 2 years during World War II. Welcoming over 1.2million visitor per year, the house of Anne Frank and its museum has become an essential component of Amsterdam travel.

Taste the local Heineken in its true home

After a somber visit to Anne Frank’s House has been ticked off the list, a stiff drink or 5 will be needed to take the edge off the mood. Enter the Heineken brewery, home of the Dutch beer enjoyed in over 170 countries across the globe. 18 euros will award you access to the brew house as well as two cold beers and a free city map complete with a suite of hidden things to do in Amsterdam. During the “Heineken Experience” you’ll get an understanding of the beer’s heritage, brewing process, and innovations, and learn what it takes to make a perfect pale lager.

Dine at the first floating restaurant in Europe - Sea Palace

A distinctly Chinese restaurant complete with dim sums in bamboo steamers – who said all of your Amsterdam activities needed to be of Dutch descent? Take in Amsterdam’s skyline over prawn dumplings, spicy squid, and thousand-year-old duck egg, enjoying the authentically oriental décor of the first floating restaurant in Europe. Neighbouring both the Conservatorium and the OBA Library of Amsterdam, dinner at Sea Palace offers the perfect conclusion to an afternoon of sightseeing.

Pitch Festival

Music

Held on NDSM Wharf, a convenient ten-minute ferry excursion from Central Station, the summer music festival of Pitch takes attendees on a euphoric journey of live DJs, bands, colour, and energy. Hosting up to 10,000 people, the 4-stage music festival has previously boasted headline acts such as Grimes, Santigold and Mount Kimbie, making the early bird ticket price of 39 euros seem very worthwhile.

Valhalla

Music & Circus

Morphing the scenery of a circus and the sounds of electronic music, the bizarre ride of Valhalla is a sensory experience like no other. Held just a few days before Christmas in the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, this festival offers revellers a heart-pounding escape from the winter chill complete with exotic feathered dancers, light displays, a traditional Ferris wheel, and international DJ’s.

King’s Day (Koningsdag)

Culture

Go to great lengths to coordinate your trip to Amsterdam around the 27th of April, the Dutch day of Koningsdag King’s Day, otherwise referred to as one of the greatest birthday parties on the planet. Honouring King Willem-Alexander, the day is marked by live music, a nationwide vrijmarkt free market selling second-hand goods, and plenty of festive people wearing the national colour of orange.

National Tulip Day

Culture

If every country had a National Tulip Day, the world might be a very different place. Known locally as Nationale Tulpendag, this fabulously floral day celebrates the start of the vibrant season of tulips. Held in Amsterdam on the third Saturday of January, the city’s Dam Square comes alive with colour, blanketing the concrete space with approximately 200,000 tulips.

Mysteryland

Music

Over 300 artists and over 15 stages make up the manic 3-day summer celebration of Mysteryland. The festival is a kaleidoscopic adventure held 25-kilometres out of Amsterdam between the bountiful fields, forests and lakes of Floriade Terrain in Haarlemmermeer. Festival-goers are invited to dress as their spirit animal, with all manner of wardrobe additions and sparkles available for sale in the festival’s camping grounds.

Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is a cultural must do when visiting Amsterdam, even if the obsessive brush work found in the artist's oil paintings don’t rank highly in your own aesthetics. Holding the largest collection of works in the world by the Dutch impressionist painter, it’s a place to pay homage to one of the most influential artists in western art’s history.

Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art

Amsterdam is a buzzing capital alive with creativity and culture, exemplified perfectly in the walls of Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art. Home of progressive and contemporary artworks and design, it is adored by both locals and visitors alike and has become known for its modernist installation pieces and masterful curation.

Rijksmuseum

History buffs prepare to have your fancy tickled! Another architectural masterpiece found in the canal side Museum Square, Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is a national institution devoted to protecting and promoting the history and arts of The Netherlands. Inside the regal building you’ll find everything from photography to books, statues to artefacts. It's a place to bring up the IQ after too much debauchery.

Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum

There’s nothing travellers to Amsterdam find more interesting than its lax attitude to “smoking pot”. Down at the Hash, Marihuana & Hemp Museum on Oudezijds Achterburgwal, an appreciation for the plant is being fostered that goes well beyond getting high. Marvel at a surfboard made of hemp, learn of the plant’s medicinal properties, and discover the role it could play in a more sustainable future.

Amsterdam Cheese Museum

Dive into the Dutch world of specialty cheeses at the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, the ultimate excuse to devour your body weight in gouda, goat, blue and fontina. See the world’s most expensive cheese slicer, dress yourself in the costume of a Dutch cheese farmer, and learn the unique art of Dutch cheese making.

Bitterballen

Patat Met

Stamppot

Stroopwafel

Raw herring