The city of Rembrandt and Van Gogh is adorned by charming canals,
beautiful squares and historic architecture.
But the real charm of Amsterdam is in its interesting neighborhoods, numerous
bicycles, great beer and food and stunning art experience. Hi guys, my name is Rok and
I’m a tour guide and I can’t wait to show you the Best things to do in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The best place to start is the highest lookout point in Amsterdam.
From the top of a 22-storey tower rising above the waterfront
you will get the best 360 views of the city. Even more, you can get a big rush of adrenalin
as here is also Europe’s highest swing, hanging 100 meters or 325 feet above the ground.
From this great and relaxed place you can see the entire city and its busy waterway,
which made Amsterdam one of the most important cities in the 1600s. At the time global trading
was done by ships and the Netherlands had the biggest fleet on the planet. To make trade even
easier, and to reclaim land for an expanding city, a network of canals was dug. Around them, famous
canal houses were built that gave the city today's appearance. And besides, this place is just great.
After descending from the lookout point, head over to the main square, where name Amsterdam was born.
Here used to be a dam on a river, hence the name Dam Square. But even more than that, the dam also
gave the name to the city. Dam was built on the River Amstel, hence it was called Amstel dam,
and over time it changed to Amsterdam. Tramline divides the square in two parts.
One is dominated by a limestone obelisk known as Amsterdam's National Monument.
It serves as the site of Dutch Memorial Day on May 4, remembering World War II and Dutch
fallen soldiers. The other part is in front of the Royal Palace from the 1600s and as The
Netherlands is still a kingdom the palace is still in use, but is also open to the public.
Right next to it is this beautiful Gothic style Church, called The New Church. As the Old Church,
that is also still standing and I will show it to you later, became overcrowded, this church
was built in the 1400s. It’s no longer used for church services but as a space for exhibitions,
for royal weddings and inaugurations. Towards the main train station runs a lively
Damrak Boulevard. This street is always full of life and is lined with numerous restaurants,
shops and beautiful historic department store. Along the street runs an impressive
red brick Amsterdam Stock Exchange building where world first share and modern stock exchange were
born. There is also a canal with many docks where you can find different boat tours and
admire crooked historic houses. But the rest of the city hides even more unusual attractions
and one of them is the famous Red Light District. Until very recently, Red Light District was part
of this historic De Wallen neighbourhood. In an effort to tackle over-tourism the city decided to
move the Red Light District away from the medieval city center and into a new purpose-built center.
You can still find red-lit windows, but the ongoing transformation of this picturesque
neighborhood is slowly replacing them with shops. The area also offers erotic entertainment
in dedicated performing arts theater and specialized bars. Here are also an Erotic
museum and Red Light Secrets Museum, but the neighbourhood is also known for Cannabis.
As you know, you can smoke weed in Amsterdam coffeeshops. But this neighborhood
also has the oldest and most distinguished museum in the world dedicated to Marihuana.
This historical neighborhood is full of beautiful historical buildings
and one of them is the oldest building in Amsterdam, De Oude Kerk or the old church.
As mentioned, New Church was built when this catholic church from the 1300s became too crowded.
Later it was damaged in a series of clashes following the reformation
and much of its interior was lost. As you can see the church is sourounded by attached houses
and it no longer serves as a church. Instead its spacious interior serves as a contemporary
art venue with photography collections, art installations, performances and workshops.
Next unusual attraction of Amsterdam are, the tulips. To see world famous scene of 7 million
flowering tulips, you will need a day trip in Keukenhof park, located about 40 kilometers south
west from the city. As tulips flower in spring the park is only open from the end of March
to mid May. In the city you should visit a unique Flower market where you will find all
sorts of tulips and other types of flowers. You will also see some tulips of you visit
Amsterdam’s most famous and biggest city park. It is named after Dutch poet Van den Vondel
and has a relaxed atmosphere. Around the park are several sculptures, including an interesting
concrete sculpture made by Pablo Picasso. It is called the Fish by citizens, although
the artists intend was to represent a bird. VO: Also unusual are famous Dutch windmills.
Just a 20 minute train ride from the city gets you to the famous windmill
landscape Zaanse Schans (Shans). During the 1600s this area had more than 600 windmills,
creating the oldest industrial area in Europe. They used wind power to grind spices, produce
paint, saw wood, make oil and other products. Windmills were one of the main ingredients for
Dutch Golden Age, as they were a source of cheap energy for developing Dutch industry.
But the invention of wind powered sawmill changed everything,
as it enabled the construction of a massive fleet of ships to dominate worldwide trading.
Now this historic neighborhood serves as an open-air museum full of wooden houses, barns,
workshops and windmills. It was constructed as a tourist attraction by moving the original
buildings from wider area to this place. In the buildings are museums, workshops, gift
shops and restaurants, but here are also regular homes as this is also a genuine residential area
where you can walk around with no entrance fee. To see the interior of windmills,
museums and workshops you will need to buy individual tickets. But for the best
experience get a Zaanse Schans card, that gives you access to all places and saves you money.
Another unusual attraction of Amsterdam are bicycles, as they are absolutely everywhere.
It’s easy to pick one up at any of the many rental locations and join the crowd.
Squares have big underground parking garages for bicycles,
but centuries ago this Liedesplein sqaure was a big parking space for horse-drawn traffic
as it was just outside the city. But nowadays this square is famous for
entertainment. If you are looking for nice cafes and bars and a lively nightlife hub,
this is THE spot as here are some of the most famous dance clubs.
Vibrant square is surrounded by interesting buildings from the turn of the century
and gets busy also during the day as it offers an overflow of dining options, shops and cafes.
Another extremely popular entertainment square is Rembrandtplein,
also famous for its iconic nightclubs. One of the busiest squares is lined with
a huge number of cafés, bars and terraces packed with people enjoying a drink. It is named after
world famous Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt and his cast iron statue dominates the square.
In the middle Ages, when Amsterdam was surrounded by the defensive walls
this was one of the gateways to the city. In the time of Dutch Golden Age,
the city expanded beyond the city walls and this area became a butter and dairy market,
until in the 1800s a statue of Rembrandt was placed here.
Did you know that Netherland is world's largest exporter of beer? Its most famous
beer brand Heineken has been part of Amsterdam for nearly 160 years.
Brewery was founded in this historical building in 1864. Heineken is now one of the world's
biggest beer companies and inside this historical building you can attend Heineken Experience tour.
Tour takes you across four floors where you learn about Heineken heritage,
the brewing process, Heineken innovations and marketing. You will embark on a beer journey with
the help of impressive audio and visual effects that ends with a a lesson in how to properly
taste the beer. You can even bottle your own beer with custom label and end the visit in the bar.
There are several different tours available, guided only in English.
Jordaan neighboorhood is known for canals, beautiful houses,
numerous bars, restaurants and shops. But its main highlight is the Anne Frank House,
a museum with a heartbreaking World War II story. Unfortunately I can’t show you the museum as
filming is not allowed. But let me share Anne’s story while I show you around
this beautiful neighbourhood. During the Second World War,
The Netherlands was occupied by the Nazis. In Amsterdam a young jewish girl Anne Frank got a
dairy for her thirteenth birthday. Soon after her birthday, Anne and her family had to hide
from the Nazis. Anne’s father, Otto Frank, arranged a secret annex in the building,
where he had his business. Entrance to the annex was concealed behind a moveable bookcase.
The office personnel knew of the hiding place and helped by supplying food and
news of the outside world. After two years, the hiding place was betrayed and family members
were deported to different concentration camps. Only Anne’s father, Otto survived.
During the two years in hiding, young Anne wrote about events in the Secret Annex, about her
feelings and thoughts and created one of the most heartbreaking stories of the Second World War.
Anne Frank House was established by Anne’s father Otto, as he wanted the world to learn
about her story. Museum can only be visited with a ticket bought online for a specific time slot.
Every first Tuesday of the month, all tickets for the following month become available.
This is the largest square in Amsterdam and it looks more like a park.
This square alone, with lively cafes and restaurants,
is well worth the visit. But the main reason for its attraction are the surrounding museums,
hence the name Museum Square. And there are at least two you should visit.
First is the Van Gogh museum. The collection contains more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings and
700 letters drawn and written by Vincent van Gogh. One of the greatest Dutch painters of all time
produced more than 800 oil paintings and 700 drawings, yet managed to sell only one painting
in his lifetime. Van Gogh spent most of his life in poverty, but in the late 20th century
his work sold for record-breaking sums. After living in Paris he developed his famous style
of brushwork and created some of his most famous artwork. He started to suffer mental disturbance
and even cut off his ear. Over time his mental problems got worse and eventually Vincent van
Gogh shot himself as virtually unknown artist. But his work left a powerful influence on the
development of the modern painting and turn him into one of the most famous painters of all time.
The second museum you should visit on this square is Rijksmuseum, the most
important museum in the country. It is dedicated to Dutch arts and history, holding some of the
world’s biggest masterpieces. Unusually, this beautiful building from the 1800s has a bicycle
road that runs right through its main entrance. Museum was also built as a symbolical entrance
to Amsterdam's historic city and that is why it was designed with a tunnel running through it.
The celling of the tunnel hides a metal panel that serves as an emergency exit for the paintings in
the case of fire. Panel sits right under one of the most famous paintings in the world,
Rembrandt’s Night Watch. Rembrandt's most famous work is part of more than 2,000
paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, occupying most of the museums second floor.
In 17th century Europe, art was mainly commissioned by the church and kings.
But in rapidly expanding and super rich Amsterdam, wealthy merchants commissioned
paintings to decorate their new canal houses with everyday motifs and landscapes. That is why
most Dutch masterpieces were painted in that era and they represent one of the first secular
paintings of everyday life in European art. Also amazing is the first floor, occupied
by the 18th and 19th century art that includes a small collection of Van Gogh’s work. Besides
artwork collections, museum also includes other artifacts showing the history of the Netherlands.
They tell the story of Amsterdam and its way of life, from the Middle Ages to the present day.
Rivers, dams and canals are the birthplace of Amsterdam as the city has more than 100 kilometers
of canals, about 90 islands and 1500 bridges. The Amsterdam Canal District is part of UNESCO
world heritage sites and represents the heart of Amsterdam. It includes three main
canals with a web of smaler canals, that form a canal ring around the old town.
The three main canals dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric
belts around the city. Here are the most beautiful houses built by the most influential residents
and richest merchants of its time. These canals remain to be the most prestigious area with the
best hotels, but off the main canals are other beautiful areas, and one of them is a popular
shopping area known as the Nine side streets. Nine picturesque streets are actually three
streets crossing two canals, which makes up for nine small streets.They are lined with beautiful
houses full of quirky and exclusive shops and boutiques, cafes, art galleries and restaurants.
Floating down the canals is one of the most popular things to do in Amsterdam.
The widest selection of boat cruises can be found around Main Train Station and Anne Frank House.
Cruises take about an hour or hour and a half, but the best way to experience
the canals is by taking an open boat tour. Amsterdam has many more museums, quirky places,
squares, and neighborhoods well worth the visit and this list could be much longer. That is why
you should check my favourite Amsterdam tours and experiences in the description below.
If you wonder what food you should try in Amsterdam, check my upcoming food video
in the top right corner. My name is Rok and I spent the last ten years traveling
around Europe as a tour guide. Thanks for watching, and see you next time.