Although I have plenty to write about living in Amsterdam, I’m most often asked for tips about visiting Amsterdam by friends and strangers.
Here’s 31 tips (in the form of 15 Do’s and Don’ts) to the most frequently asked questions that I get and advice for seeing the best of this beautiful city. If you have any more questions, feel free to comment!
People often ask me if winter is a good time to visit Amsterdam. Although the idea of cold scares a lot of people, Amsterdam actually doesn’t get that cold in winter and the massive crowds that you’ll see in summer disappear. I lived in Amsterdam until last summer. This post will include the best things to do in Amsterdam during winter with some additional tips for indoor attractions where you can warm up. (more…)
As a former resident of Amsterdam, I’m concerned about overtourism in Amsterdam, which threatens the livability of Amsterdam as house prices skyrocket and many neighborhoods have become overtaken by tourists. Although the city of Amsterdam has enacted new legislation to limit the impacts of tourism, the numbers of tourists visiting the capital of the Netherlands isn’t slowing down.
A marketing campaign that began in 2016 by the Amsterdam Marketing still seeks to bring more tourists to other destinations in the Holland region, a goal shared by many tourists who hope to see the Netherlands beyond Amsterdam. However, in trying to bring tourists to other destinations, the campaign has rebranded nearby towns and attractions (that aren’t part of Amsterdam) as parts of Amsterdam. Does Amsterdam truly value sustainable tourism or does it only wish to push unwanted tourists beyond its city borders? (more…)
As a photographer, it’s a hobby of mine finding the best places to take photos in Amsterdam. I’ve been living in Amsterdam for almost two years and I’m still finding cute streets with traditional Dutch architecture in Amsterdam to wander down. Here are the best photo locations in Amsterdam according to one biased resident. Free map of the best Amsterdam instagram locations at bottom. (more…)
I’m officially celebrating my arrival in the Netherlands exactly three years ago this week! As someone who’s visited the Netherlands as a tourist and is now trying to assimilate by becoming fluent in Dutch, I have some useful travel tips for traveling in the Netherlands for you all that I hope will make your trip to the Netherlands a little more easy. (more…)
One of the best parts of visiting Amsterdam is to visit the many museums in Amsterdam. As an Amsterdam resident, I had the Museumkaart, which gave me access to majority of the museums in Amsterdam (as well as the rest of the Netherlands), which meant that I’d often take an afternoon to explore a museum. I hope that I can inspire you to visit some of my favorite museums in Amsterdam. I also include some advice about what ‘museums‘ in Amsterdam to avoid. (I put this in quotes as some claim to be museums, however I truly think that you can skip them as they’re bonafide tourist traps.)
Karen & Jacob. American expats and cat lovers from New York City and Kentucky who lived in Amsterdam.... Then, Paris. (Confusing, we know!) Now, we're living in The Hague, the Netherlands. 