Amsterdam

[wicker]

Me and my friends are thinking about going on holiday to amsterdam this year, has anyone been is it recommend it, wheres best places to stay, whats best time of year to, can you get flights from inverness, just general info if you can please, thank you

[tommy1979]

went for 2 weeks 2 years ago, loved every min of it

any time of year is cool overthere,

easyjet from edinburgh is cheap as chips! if you book early as possible for the best rate!

use http://www.hostelamsterdam.com for a cheap place to stay

places to visit, the Bananna Bar, club cassa rosso, the sex museum, the hash museum and you MUST visit Barneys Coffee shop for the best "coffee" in town lol...also do plenty "window shopping" very surreal indeed

you must take a canal ride, as it gives you a totally different view of the city and visit Vondel Park...its massive, just watch out for mad dutch blokes peeing in the ponds hahaha

oh and finally the heineken brewery is quite good

or of course you could just visit the Rembrandt and forgot all what i said hahahahaha

[EDDIE]

Well i went to amsterdam last year in august it cost me £185 for 3 nights accomadation and flights and it was a direct flight from aberdeen.Me personally i thought 3 nights was enough time to enjoy it any more and u would get fed up with it.After 1 day u start to know your way about the city centre it cost 40 euros for a taxi from the airport to the city centre or to your hotel which is cheap really considering the taxi takes you to your hotel saveing you hasstle finding it.
The hotel i stayed at was in the city centre and like most old buildings in amsterdam the stairs in the building are like climbing up a ladder honestly its that steep.When you go out drinking or eating in amsterdam the dearest places are the ones closest to dam square which is the centre the further away you go from the centre the cheaper it will get as for coffee shops in amsterdam theres loads u cant miss them and yes they will sell you the other stuff as well.Also in amsterdam everyone uses old fashioned bikes for transport to get around and there is thousands of bikes everywere they have a multi story bike park which is huge.Everyone in amsterdam is speaks very good english.They have outside urinals in public places even in some bars have urinals in the bar itself. The red district area is easy to find u dont go up there yourselve to dodgy you go with your mates when you walk up in the area you cant take pictures anywere in the area the pimps will stop u and theres quite a lot of them they stick out like sore thumbs.And if you see cheap drink or fags in amsterdam to bring back home buy them dont wait to see if you will get them cheaper at the duty frees at the air port because u wont get it cheaper.

[Whitewater]

Was there a few years ago. It is a good base to use for trips throughout Holland and Belgium.

Take a look at this:- http://www.holland.com/amsterdam/gb/

[tommy1979]

the stairs in the building are like climbing up a ladder honestly its that steep.

totally agree, caution is required climbing them after nite out enjoying the dam

[mike.mckenzie]

totally overrated place and not the sort of place to go with your girlfriend!

Didn't enjoy it, skanky, dirty and smacked of a city that had sold its soul. Like a porno Blackpool. There are much better capitals to go to if thats what your after....Berlin, Riga, Prague, Paris, Brussels and Barcelona (capital of Catalonia!) are all cities i have had a far better time in.

Don't get me wrong it has some good points, but there are too many drunken vomiting rugby boys and dodgy druggies on the street and too many streets you don't want to go down to make it an enjoyable place.

Take Amsterdam, times it by a million million and then you get somewhere near how much better Berlin is.

[emszxr]

why cant you take your girlfriend. i been twice and loved it. all them sex shops and sex shows are very entertaining.
i never got hassled by the 'dodgy drug dealers'. you know who they are if you want that sort of thing, but you just say no thanks if they do ask you.
and much better than blackpool.

[mike.mckenzie]

You can say no but we got followed by one who didn't want no as an answer. And i saw someone shooting up just outside the train station miles away from the area you'd expect to see it.

I was saying about the girlfriend thing in mirth...

Just not a fan, its not a classy city, just a gaudy tourist trap whose rep is built on the back of drugs and prostitution. I didn''t like it for that and under no stretch of the imagination could you call me a prude!

There's just better places, Berlin has all the same that Amsterdam is famous for but doesn't make a big thing of it. And there's nicer canals, river and boat trips too if that's your bag.

Mind you, the Amsterdam ArenA is something else.

[_Ju_]

you'll have the best and worst in Amsterdam. Offcourse the red light district, bars and "koffee" shops (for smoking) are known the world over. But so are the wonderful markets you can spend the whole day going through, Ann Franks museum (spectacular) and Van Gogh's museum (equally spectacular) among a rich history. Some might look at Amsterdam and find it gaudy and souless but if you take the time to figure out where the country and city is coming from, it makes sense. Always try find the context.

[landmarker]

Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. Far too seedy & busy for me and mine. I hope you have a whale of a time and come back safe and sound.

I'd love to try Riga, or Rekjavik though, and perhaps I shall. Although cities generally do not appeal to my poor simple soul. I'd much rather be out in the countryside. I remember taking an hour to tire of Las Vegas, another seedy homage to mammon and mammaries.

[emszxr]

2 pointers for you to keep in mind

1 is dont get up on the stage in a sex show.

2 you just never know if it is a woman or a man in the windows

[WeeBurd]

[rich]

What about the Van Gogh paintings - the finest collection in the world. Or all the Old Masters in the Reijsmuseum.
What about the excitement of seeing that the tiles in your hotel could have come right out of a Vermeer!
Instead you go to the sex district.
For shame!
Yokels!!!!!

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

went for 2 weeks 2 years ago, loved every min of it

any time of year is cool overthere,

easyjet from edinburgh is cheap as chips! if you book early as possible for the best rate!

use http://www.hostelamsterdam.com for a cheap place to stay

places to visit, the Bananna Bar, club cassa rosso, the sex museum, the hash museum and you MUST visit Barneys Coffee shop for the best "coffee" in town lol...also do plenty "window shopping" very surreal indeed

you must take a canal ride, as it gives you a totally different view of the city and visit Vondel Park...its massive, just watch out for mad dutch blokes peeing in the ponds hahaha

oh and finally the heineken brewery is quite good

or of course you could just visit the Rembrandt and forgot all what i said hahahahaha

Agree wi Tommy 79 wi' this one.He has just edited the 2,500 page Amsterdam tourist guide into about 20 lines.

[pulteney person]

Been there loads of times. The last few times I noticed there were loads of junkies on the stgreets and fights breaking out between seedy looking dealers who had their 'wares' in carrier bags on the handlebars of their bikes. We were followed by a mad looking woman who was shouting abuse at us because we wouldn't buy her coke.

The railway station is a bit dodgy and you have to make absolutely sure you have your bag/wallet secure at all times. Loads of beggars too who do not like you saying 'no'

The canal trips are good, likewise the museums and art galleries. The shops are ok too.

Some ok bars too and plenty seedy places. Not a great place to take teenagers. One teenager in my party (aged 14) was being followed by one of the bouncer guys outside a club, this was in the morning. He was eying the lad up and down.

I don't know if I would go there again. I couldn't find much of interest really.

But then, everyone has different tastes and likes.
And I stayed out of the coffee shops, the smell going along the street was enough to go on!

[_Ju_]

Gosh...I've been going to Amsterdam since I was a toddler ( I am half dutch, though I can only understand it if spoken slowly and speak it even less) and nothing has ever happened to me. But then, when you travel you're supposed to take care of yourself and be streetwise, especially when a foreigner. Go, enjoy yourself and just take care of yourself.

PS: it's not wise to drink yourself silly on holiday; you'll make yourself an easy mark

[Bingobabe]

I think this little chap picked up a few pointers from amsterdam hehehehehehehehe

[mike.mckenzie]

Haha, I just remembered the multi lingual beggar I ran into there. He thought I was Italian, then Spanish, then German and finally American. He asked me for money in each of these languages, and I told him to do one in Anglo Saxon, German, French. Spanish and Italian just to make sure!

[crayola]

I did one of my Page 3 shoots on the Herrengracht. Maybe I should post them on the photographs thread. I'm not sure, but one or two may be suitable for a family audience.

[mike.mckenzie]

Send them on to me if you like!