I booked a last minute jaunt to Amsterdam for a long weekend to meet a girlfriend and it was a wonderful weekend!
Lets start with the hotel. We stayed the the Soho house which did not disappoint! From the location (everywhere you want to go in Amsterdam no matter where it is seems just around the corner), to the beds, products and service. It wasn’t warm enough to use the pool but was still nice to hang out on the roof top and enjoy the bar at night!
We had both been to Amsterdam before so picked a different area every day to wander around. Day 1 we wandered around the central area which was more touristy and made sure to pass through the red light district as the sun was going down. We went into the Jewish museum and picked up an area map with walking tour that took you by the botanical gardens and zoo entrance. We explored the nine streets, 9 cute canal lined streets with unique shops, cafes and bars. We liked Pancakes for brunch and afternoon pick me ups at Joe and the Juice and De Kaaskamer van Amsterdam . Amsterdam isn’t really known for its food but a very popular cuisine is Indonesian which we tried at kanjil but were disappointment and decided on night 1 that we didn’t need to go out of our way to fulfill our other reservations and instead ate fries in cones from VieminchX but you can skip the long lines for Stroopwafels at Vanwonderen. If you are a black liqourice fan, the dutch know how to do it so buy a bag at a convenience store!
I knew I wanted to enjoy the Canal’s by boat so Gs boat brunch seemed like a great option. Gs was on everyone’s list for brunch so why not enjoy a bloody mary while we cruised around for an hour and a half. If you are looking for a “tour” this is not the canal ride for you. Flagship seemed popular and fun. We loved going to foodhallen for dinner and drinks, great vibe, food and drinks. we tried bittenballen here!
Bloemenmarkt was a great way to get your tulip fix and Anne Frank was incredibly well done, make sure you book in advance! Explore Vondelpark and the surrounding designer boutiques and museums and something we just stumbled upon while waiting for your table at The Avocado show (an instagramable brunch spot that’s overrated) was the Albert Cuypmarkt market with lots to see, eat and buy in De Pijp! You can’t go wrong eating at Cecconi’s world wide so we relaxed here our last night!
Things we didn’t make it to:
Best cookie: Vanstapele
Best apple pie: Winkel 43
Saturday Market: Noordermarkt
Cheese: Abrahamkef
Tulips: Keukenhof