#1 Canal Cruise
The canals, which were declared a UNESCO monument in 2010, aren't just a picturesque attraction, but were essential to defense and transport in 17th-century Amsterdam. With the arrival of the automobile, hundreds of canals were filled in nationwide to accommodate the new mode of transport, but Amsterdam has retained 165 of its historic canals, more than any other Dutch city.
#2 The Bloemenmarkt, or Flower Market
Stalls that float atop a canal for an utterly unique experience; here, specially packed tulip and other bulbs are available for international tourists to take safely back to their home country.
[ADDRESS]Kerkstraat 248
1017 HA Amsterdam
#3 De Wallen, Amsterdam's red light district, to see what all the fuss is about.
Learn that there's more to this fabled district than the sex tourism it attracts. For a behind-the-scenes look at Dutch prostitution, take an informative tour of De Wallen with a former sex worker.
#4 Hop on a Bicycle
50% of Amsterdammers use their bikes daily, and rush hour bike lanes teem with office workers in suits, students headed to class, and parents with tots piled onto children's seats. Join the locals for a taste of this daily ritual, and discover the city on its favorite means of transport.
There are plenty of places to hire them such as Mac Bike and Rent-A-Bike, while clear cycle lanes stitch the city together. You can catch all the sights on a bike by booking a guided tour from the Yellow Bike company.
#5 Besides fashion, Amsterdam also has an abundant share of specialty shops -- from toiletries to interior decor, and my favorite: culinary delicacies. Stroll down Nieuwendijk and Haarlemmerstraat, both just minutes from Central Station, for a sample of the fine specialty food stores in town -- from cheese, oil and salt specialists to international importers.
[ADDRESSES]
2theloo - Kalverstraat 126, 1012 PK Amsterdam
Property of... - Herenstraat 2 1015 CA Amsterdam
What's Cooking - Reestraat 16 1016 DN Amsterdam
For culinary gifts of every colour imaginable
You will see open markets selling cheese and various local produce on the streets. We bought our cheese there!!
The Pancake Bakery - the one & only famous pancake house.
The Pancake Bakery
Prinsengracht 191
1015 DS Amsterdam
Tel: +31 20 625 13 33
I haven't got the time to visit the following places but would love to do so for my next trip(s) to Amsterdam.
#6 The Anne Frank House (very early in the morning or 45 minutes before they close because the queue is terribly long according to my colleagues) is one such museum, where visitors can explore the "secret annex" where Anne hid for years with her parents, sister and three others as she composed her famous diary.
#7 The Verzetsmuseum, voted the best historical museum in the Netherlands, which documents the tireless attempts of the resistance members to thwart the Nazis.
#8 The Jewish Historical Museum, retells how the Holocaust devastated Jewish communities in the Netherlands, and how these communities have rebuilt themselves in its wake.
#9 A trip to Zaanse Schans, a town that's chock full of traditional Dutch crafts and architecture, with six windmills, a wooden shoe workshop, a cheese farm and more.
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