Hallo! – that’s me saying hello in Dutch.
Me and Trae just got back from our Euro Trip this past week and are still on cloud nine. We didn’t want to leave, but I mean… who could blame us?
I’m going to be honest, Amsterdam wasn’t even a thought when we were first planning this trip. We had originally wanted to do London but we waited too long and had to look for other cities to travel to. Amsterdam happened to fit the mold we were looking for and it was only a 3 hour train ride from Paris. Not to mention, it was super cheap to fly into from JFK!
Where to Stay:
Tourism in Amsterdam is at an all time high, which means hotel prices are at an all time high as well. Situated right outside of Amsterdam Centraal was Hotel 2 Stay. The hotel was about a 10-12 minute drive to the city center and about a 15 minute subway ride with only one connection.
The hotel was super pretty, colorful, and spacious (for Europe’s standard). I loved our room! Upon walking, in the hotel staff had left me a nice little note and a bottle of wine for my birthday. Their hospitality was on 100%. The room also contained a dining table, fridge, dishwasher, and basically a small kitchenette for all of your cooking and dining needs.
The hotel itself has a laundry, sauna, gym, and parking deck which is convenient and rare in the actual city center. My total for this hotel was $376.57 euros. We stayed in the S-King Studio room.
What to Do:
Amsterdam is abundant in museums, exhibits, and sights to see. Thank you to I Amsterdam for providing me with a complimentary city card and train tickets. As always, my opinions are my own.
So how the city card works, you can either purchase a 24 hr, 48 hr, 72 hr, 96 hr, and 120 hr card. I was gifted with the 72 hr card and with a region travel ticket. Not only do you get automatic tickets to the places listed, you also get discounts at certain restaurants, and did I mention free transportation with their public transportation system?
Here’s a list of everything that’s included in the card. My favorite thing about the card was that one canal ride is included in the card price. You get to learn so much history about the city all which cruising on the beautiful canals. This card is great for first timer’s and people who have visited before as the list includes over 70+ museums.
We started our trip to visits to the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. Both of these museums host works from Vincent Van Gogh. The Van Gogh museum is catered more towards Van Gogh’s work while the Rijksmuseum carries a little more history of Amsterdam itself. If you’re looking for more variety, and don’t have time to visit both I would visit the Rijks.
Get High. I don’t mean to be that blunt *no pun intended* but Marijuana is legal to consume in The Netherlands. If you’re into this kind of this, you’re in the right place. A couple of things you should know though. A coffeeshop is not a place to get coffee. Coffeeshops are what they call places to go buy weed and smoke. A cafe is a place to go get coffee. There are weedshops scattered around the city so you won’t have to search for long before running into one. When in a coffeeshop, alcohol is not allowed. So have fun and remember to stay safe!
It’s not a trip to Amsterdam without a Canal Ride. You will have different options when it comes to the rides. So if you purchase a city card, the canal ride is included in the card price. If not, tickets on these “cruises” are affordable or you could spend a little more money and rent out an individual boat or a pedal boat. We took the Lover’s Canal Cruise – on a semi open boat.
Wander around the Red Light District. Even if you don’t think it’s your cup of tea, it’s really not that bad. I think it’s something you should experience if only once. The Red Light District is also home to the museum of prostitution (Red Light Secrets) which used to be a brothel. As you would expect, photos are not allowed of the sex workers at the district. There are enforcers in the streets and when someone is seen taking a photo of the workers, they will violently yell.
You can’t miss the Moco Museum. If you love pop and modern art, you’ll love this place. Exhibitions range from Banksy, Daniel Arsham, and more. I recommend buying tickets online because it will allow you to enter through a shorter line with minimal to no wait.
The last thing on this list is the Anne Frank House, I mean because duh? The Anne Frank Huis did give me one complimentary ticket pass but all opinions are my own. Touring the house that Anne Frank and her family hid in for 2 years before being caught was such a surreal experience. The tour guides you through each of the rooms of the home and gives you background on Anne and the rest of the family. No photos are allowed during the tour or inside the house.
Where to Eat:
I don’t know about y’all, but food is a very important thing to me when I travel. I’ll be honest that I didn’t have high hopes for the foodie scene in Amsterdam, but I was wrong (in a good way). I did HOURS of research so that you don’t have to. Keep reading to see where you should eat in Amsterdam.
I’m a sucker for brunch but I think a good dinner can’t be defeated. Check out Cannibale Royale for all of your carnivore needs. They do have a couple of locations, the one we went to was Handboogstraat. The space itself is dark, moody, and cozy. The service was nice and fast but I would recommend making a reservation – unless you don’t mind eating at the bar (I don’t). I do want to shout out our waiter though because a table came open and he did ask if we wanted to leave the bar to go to a table.
We ended up getting The Modeste (flat iron steak) and L’Exceptionnel (rib roast), and fries on the side. Fun fact, people from Holland eat their fries with mayo so if you want ketchup you’ll have to ask for it. I also opted for a drink at dinner and got the Cannibale Corpse (ron de Jeremy, Zacapa, Bacardi Oro, Plantation overproof, passionfruit and lime.) The drink was super yummy, light, and refreshing.
G’s – a really nice place. also has multiple locations in Amsterdam and I highly recommend making a reservation because the space is super small. We waited about 20-30 minutes which wasn’t too bad but we ended up having to sit and share a table with 2 other girls because that’s how small the restaurant is. I got the Benny Henny and my boyfriend got the Chicken and Waffles. The decor and the music playing at this place were A1 and I could see myself coming back to cure a hangover form the night before.
The really cool thing about G’s is that they also have a brunch boat. If you go on their website you can book a slot on their brunch boat tour. We didn’t do this because it was super cold but this option would be amazing in warmer days.
Another awesome brunch option is Mook Pancakes. Awesome pancake and drink selection. Another spot that only played hip-hop tunes (y’all know that’s my fave). I believe Mook Pancakes has 2 locations but you can’t go wrong with either.
It’s not a trip to Amsterdam without visiting it’s Foodhallen. We took a pitstop here to relax before heading out for the night. It’s a pretty big food hall with dozens of food options. The hall has 3 main big bars and plenty of options to sit. I got a blackberry tonic from one of the bars and we snacked on tacos from Taqueria Lima – yuuum. All the tacos at Lima looked bomb and if I was there for dinner I would for sure have gotten the taco sampler.
I wouldn’t think about eating Asian food in Amsterdam but after reading the reviews of Happy Happy Joy Joy, I couldn’t resist. The decor at this place is super cool and you have to make a reservation to sit in this area. I didn’t make a reservation so they sat me in the front -_-, bummer but now I know for next time! Happy Happy Joy Joy is a small plate restaurant and it’s recommended to get 3 plates per person. 
My favorite part of my dinner was the Kumquat Smash drink I got. If you go, I highly recommend this drink.
Have you ever been to a cereal cafe? If not, Cereal n Chill is the place to experience your first time. You can pick the size of your bowl, pick up to 3 different cereals, and add toppings to your cereal (for an extra .50 cent). I got lucky charms, fruity pebbles, and waffle crisps. I added stroopwafels for my topping (i’m in amsterdam, duh).
De Luwte is a french restaurant in Amsterdam that’s a can’t miss. We ordered the steak tartare, tenderloin steak, and the ravioli. De Luwte is the kind of restaurant that you have to visit every time you’re in Amsterdam because the ambiance and food just make you feel at home. They also have short but strong wine list that you can choose from.
And now for T H E stroopwafel. Fun fact: The Netherlands is home to the stroopwafel. For a GOOD ASS wafel you have to visit Original Stroopwafels. It’s not a fancy bakery, it’s literally a small food truck with 2 workers and they make the stroopwafel infront of you. It’s hot, gooey, and oozy. I went to another bakery that proclaimed to have the best stroopwafels in town but they did not compare to Original Stroopwafels. The cool thing about OS is that you can buy stroopwafels to take home with you!
And that concludes my travel guide to Amsterdam. I ended up liking Amsterdam way more than I had anticipated and now I can’t wait to go back and explore more of this beautiful city and the country as a whole!
XoXo,
Wynee
