“Cheese and wine boat tour on the canal. That’s my only request.”
I typically travel with the same people abroad, because we navigate similarly. Usually, this means having one concrete plan and playing hooky the rest of the time. Since our stay in Amsterdam was condensed into two days, the bare minimum was finding ourselves on one of the 165 canals.
There’s an abundance of tours to choose from, but if you don’t want to do the extra leg work, you can book our tour here. Flagship provided us with a very comfortable experience from start to finish – never letting our wine glasses go empty during our hour sail. The boat was quite cozy as there were 25 of us situated around the perimeter with the hosts navigating from one end to the other. We were given a brief history lesson and provided the sights of the Anne Frank House (where we met to start the tour), the Amsterdam Flower Market, 9 Little Streets, and the Houseboat Museum.
The Bloemenmarkt floats atop the Signel canal in the old city of Amsterdam. According to our guides, one can find the famous Dutch tulips or an assortment of other tchotchkes at the market.
After passing the market, we perused down the Negen Straatjes (9 Little Streets); neighborhoods connecting the canals. The unique architecture was my favorite part of the charming city. The homes were intentionally built forward-leaning with hooks on the roof, due to minimizing space and hoisting furniture up to the topmost, largest floor.
If you are looking to explore either museum we passed, it’s best to book your tickets in advance, since space is limited throughout the day. Links to book are above. If you do go, let me know your thoughts! We didn’t have enough time and it’s definitely something I’d like to do in the future.
Other places we explored:
1) Coffee & Bites: A quaint spot to start or end your day with a full coffee/tea menu, as well as a stocked bar. If you’re hungry, you can find pastries, as well as English and Dutch breakfasts, burgers, and even hot dogs.
2) Marbles Vintage: Eclectic curation of styles from all over the world. Prices did vary with the most expensive item we found (shoes) being $200 USD.
3) De Koffieschenkerij: The cutest coffee break, nestled amidst a small garden space. Come for the coffee, stay for the vibes.
4) Madam Pancake: I don’t think there’s a breakfast food more superior than pancakes, and so, we had to stop in this viral breakfast spot for one of over 10 different types of pancakes. I highly recommend the pancakes with their homemade cookie crumble and mangos. The stack is so big, the three of us didn’t even put a dent in it. Other notable menu items include acai bowls and cocktails.
5) Joselito: A Spanish tapas restaurant in the middle of the Netherlands? Ok, sure. While we didn’t come here for anything but an Aperol spritz (sue us, ok), the menu looked decent enough with enough shareables for the whole table. A nice siesta along our walk.
6) ELA Restobar: I had us stop in here, because of the orange interior, plus, it had been a few hours since our breakfast, and I was in need of a snack. Luckily for me, the pickes and herring I had been searching for were on the menu. A bit overpriced – $20 – compared to the stalls along the canal. I’d only recommend this place if you were looking for a spot to sit and unwind.
7) Pandemie Speakeasy: TikTok led us to this multi-level bar, which immediately transports you to Tokyo’s nightlife. We made reservations in advance, but it’s probably not necessary during the week, since we were the only three for at least an hour. I opted for the black pudding sandwich and fries, which was pretty mid, IMO. The bone marrow on toast that my sister ordered was our favorite item, next to the bottle of Weingut Carl Koch, Na.ck.isch trocken orange Riesling we split. The total bill came to about $135 USD. You pay for the experience.
8) King’s Cross Hookah Bar: One of our good friends moved to Rotterdam earlier in the year, and was able to take some time to come hang out our first evening. He suggested this hookah bar for the vibes. Hookah flavors include mint, grape, something called Love 66, Blue Ice, and watermelon. Be prepared to be met with loud club music circa 2008.
9) Nude Burger: “Eat your clothes off,” was the tagline that stopped us on our jaunt back to the hotel, and after a night of hookah and drinking, something to soak up the alcohol was desired. We all got a side of beef loaded fries to share for about $14 USD.
10) Albert Cuyp Marketplace: An outdoor marketplace with 260 stands that operate six days a week. Usually outdoor marketplaces are sensory-overload, but we came early to beat the crowds and take our time ambling the long street of vendors.
11) Red Light District: A lot of us live in sexually repressed environments, unfortunately, so it was a breath of fresh air to walk amongst legalized sex workers. I loved every second of the neon lit streets and hot women enticing us from behind the glass windows we passed by. Photography of any kind is not allowed and the body guards lining the street were vigilantly preventing idiots from filming. If you can afford it, I support you in having a fun, safe, sexual experience.
If you need an accommodation recommendation, we stayed in the OZO Hotel Arena Amsterdam. We knew we weren’t going to be in the hotel for much, so we opted for an affordable stay, rather than an elevated experience. Rates were $85/night. Though inexpensive, the stay was incredibly clean and central to local train stations.
As usual, reach out with any comments or questions. Thanks for reading!
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