what is it like being a tourist in amsterdam? to be honest, we have no idea! or at least not in the way most visitors may experience it. instead of popular attractions, we tried to feel the city’s soul and uncover off-beat hoods not found on any guidebook - our own amsterdam.

this is the amsterdam blog for you if you want to find out about good hipster coffee places in friendly neighborhoods, hidden gems of vintage stores, wildlife, peaceful nature around amsterdam, and how to spend time in an outdoorsy, relaxed and simple way.

how to get around in amsterdam

amsterdam has world class public transport. during our time, we took the trams (which is a street-level light rail), walked a lot and also rented bikes to get around.

this is how the trams work: while you can purchase unlimited travel passes for any amount of days, we used the pay-as-you-go option, where you check in with your credit card when you board the train, and check out when you leave it. it comes with a base price plus the amount of kilometers you’ve traveled.

frank’s favorite neighborhoods

when it comes to cozy and warmhearted breakfast places, amsterdam is the right destination. hop onto a tram and visit the following neighborhoods:

de pijp

this neighborhood boasts with unique, local and authentic foodie spots in pretty brick houses. walking past the sun-lit large windows of shops, you’ll occasionally find a cat basking in the sun inside. much like prenzlauer berg of berlin, residents love to make their streets unique with plants and wildflowers. here are some of franks favorites:

rainbowls. the prettiest smoothies and granola bowls you will ever see. they’re rich in vitamin and taste divine.

record mania. our favorite record store in amsterdam. it’s not only a place to time travel, but also, we’ve found the vinyl records of our favorite artists - noah kahan and the lumineers.

locals. this light-flooded aesthetically spotless café serves fantastic hipster coffee and all day brunch. while it offers plenty of healthy treats, frank felt like having fries for breakfast.

penny lane. amsterdam is filled with vintage clothing stores. if you care about a sustainable lifestyle and clothes that tell stories, you’ll find well curated pieces in all of those stores. our fav spot in de pijp was penny lane, where we stumbled upon a beautifully tailored dress in a swedish granola-girl style for evelyne.
amsterdam isn’t the cheapest place to shop. so it happened that the dress was 50 euros even with a button missing, but for someone who buys fewer than five clothing pieces in a year, if it’s a hell yes, it’s a hell yes!

my little patisserie. a charming patisserie that takes you right to paris!

amsterdam oud-west

in the ‘old-west’ part of amsterdam, we found some of the best places locals come to eat and returned several times for it.

nNea pizza. hands down the best pizza in amsterdam, and perhaps even beyond. in fact it is known as one of the top-ten pizza places in whole europe. they craft unique neapolitan style pizza with jaw dropping fluffy and fiber-rich dough. our pizza vanished in minutes, as did the available seating in the restaurant. if you want to dine in, book in advance. we opted to dine-in at the takeout place, they gave us scissors to cut the pizza, how refreshing!

SOIL vegan café. one of our favorite vegan restaurants we’ve ever been to - the udon noodles are a must-try.

Karavaan. we noticed it several times while walking past. it’s where locals meet to spend time together. from breakfast to dinner to drinks at night, Karavaan always seems busy. the best time to find a free spot is in the morning, it’s an awesome place to start the day with a hearty breakfast.

foodhallen amsterdam. in the historic tram depot, you’ll find plenty of unique concept stores. our favorite one? gathershop - it has the prettiest cards and gifts.

jordaan

the prettiest neighborhood steeped with the canals and picturesque bridges adorned with amsterdam’s best looking bikes. popular among both locals and tourists it is adjacent to the city center and the anne frank museum. here are some of our favorites:

cheesy cakes. utterly delicious cheesecakes renowned as the best cheesecake joint in town. the cakes are homemade, the store decorated with postcards from all over the world.

westerstraat market. a lively and authentic market that offers delicious food from börek to gouda cheese - and souvenirs.

luuk’s coffee. honestly, we were looking for a restroom around westerstraat market (which is really hard to find) and were delighted by how tasty the coffee at luuk’s coffee was.

places by evelyne

let’s switch to evelyne’s favs - a wildlife and nature-based guide to amsterdam, which still showcases the unique and interesting hidden gems of this beautiful city.

oud-oost

this area of amsterdam is less visited and known for its best wildlife spots including amsterdam’s zoo.

oosterpark. a beautiful city park, not as frequented as vondelpark. believe it or not, amsterdam is home to green parakeets! it is thought that they are descendants of pets set free by their owners. if you want to observe flocks of them or take unique wildlife pictures home, oosterpark is the perfect place to do so!

yusu. our favorite coffee place in the entire city. the interior is inspiring, the coffee incredible and the açai granola bowl the best we’ve ever tasted.

de stadsfiets 1. this was our spot to rent a bike for a day (15 euros per bike). the owners were easy-going and the bikes were both pretty and in good condition.

artisplain. a highly atmospheric and hidden square behind the royal artis zoo. it is free to enter and especially tranquil and peaceful at dusk. you can observe flamingos and other rare birds while sitting on chairs looking into the greenery.

an escape into nature

the netherlands is known for its world class biking infrastructure - nearly everyone in the city travels by bike. there is no other place like amsterdam to rent a bike to explore it, and its surroundings. for us, the bike tour day was the highlight of our trip.

we decided to ride our bikes out of the city to explore its well-known surroundings. our first stop? zaanse schans, a place famous for its windmills we’ve found online. however, we were disappointed to find that the place is a tourist trap, and an insult to the actual peaceful and authentic countryside next to it. while making our way to a different place called broek in waterland, frank found a restaurant with traditional dutch food:

the twiske haven restaurant. a lakeside restaurant surrounded by nature. to get there, you ride your bike across wooden bridges, fresh and light forests and past typical dutch windmills. the restaurant serves authentic traditional dutch food. we had a vegan seasonal jackfruit stew with fries and bread. this is the very first place we would visit again on our next trip to amsterdam!

bike tour to broek in waterland

an hour by bike away from amsterdam lies a fairly unknown, but picturesque town called broek in waterland. nine years ago, evelyne went to amsterdam on a school trip, and this place has been the one place that stayed in her heart ever since. it was the first time evelyne realized how much the countryside, and its simple and happy way of living meant to her. broek in waterland inspired her granola girl heart.

we strongly encourage you to ride your bike straight to broek in waterland if you plan a calm and refreshing countryside bike tour. the city ferry out of amsterdam is free, and you ride along a peaceful river canal filled with houseboats that showcase the unique living in the netherlands.

when you make it to broek in waterland, don’t miss out on de witte swaen, the place where evelyne had the very best crepes nine years ago.

birding in vondelpark

as a south african field and nature guide, evelyne can’t resist exploring wildlife wherever she is. amsterdam with its rich network of water canals is a prime spot for bird viewing. while we were in vondelpark, we were able to spot the following birds:

• white storks, egyptian geese, eurasian magpies, green parakeets, european starlings, blue tits, grey herons, coots, moorhens - and of course mallards and pigeons.

• peregrine falcons and eurasian kingfishers: they do occur in vondelpark as well, but we weren’t lucky enough to spot them

• pheasants: on our bike tour to broek in waterland

• flamingos: artisplain

finally

lAstly, don’t miss these five must-do activities on your trip to amsterdam.

1 going on a canal cruise

we went on a cruise through amsterdam old town. our tour guide had the right amount of experience and humor to tell us all about what we would have missed out on exploring on our own otherwise. did you know that amsterdam was built on swamp land, which is why houses look like they are dancing?

2 experience amsterdam at night

At nighttime, Amsterdam transforms into an even more colorful, vibrant, and lively place. The streets teem with people catching up with each other and celebrating the end of another day. Take a stroll through your favorite neighborhood; ours was Jordaan at nighttime, and absorb it all—the fresh air, the lights, the sounds, a city that never sleeps.

As absolute fans of jazz music, attending a jazz concert is a must for us in every city we visit. In Amsterdam, we visited Jazz Café Alto, an old-style cozy venue that perfectly suits every jazz lover. The music was absolutely stunning.

3 taste freshly made stroopwafels

in the country of stroopwafels, it’s your chance to have a bite at warm, freshly made stroopwafels. in case you didn’t know, they are made of two sweet cookies held together by caramel. a good place will let you choose the topping you like!

4 find the best fries

fries were the most irresistible thing for frank (and sometimes for evelyne). they are freshly made, and you can find them throughout the centre of amsterdam. naturally, frank was inclined to find the best place for fries in the city. did you know there is a place called febo, where you can order fried stuff at a vending machine?

5 eat soup

if you’ve had enough of 2 or 3, we believe it’s a fantastic idea to add some balance into your travel diet by having a healthy and heartwarming soup at one of the soup restaurants - soup en zo.

alright, we hope you’ve enjoyed reading through our amsterdam blog. if you did, feel free to leave a comment or question - we’re always happy to hear back from you!

Also check out our other city trip blogs:

with 🐝 by evelyne.