48 hours in Amsterdam...
and now you can get there by Eurostar
CANALS lined with old merchants’ houses, world-class galleries, the snuggest of bars, and eco-friendly bikes… such delights place Amsterdam as a leading contender for Europe’s most appealing capital. Here is my guide to enjoying all the key highlights in two days…
DAY ONE MORNING
Kick off with an hour-long cruise of the canals in a glass-topped vessel. It’s a good way to get your bearings and take in the Golden Age gables that adorn many of the buildings. There are frequent departures from the quays across from the Centraal Station.
Back on dry land, walk south into the historic heart of Amsterdam. You’ll see the red-light district, where women brazenly promote themselves in neon-lit brothels. But the area also has an intriguing and more wholesome sight – Our Lord
In The Attic, an exquisite Catholic church hidden on the upper floors of an old canalside house. When the church was built in the 1660s, Catholics were forbidden from holding services in public.
AFTERNOON
Have an early lunch at nearby De
Bakkerswinkel (debakkerswinkel. nl), a cosy bakery-cum-cafe at Warmoesstraat 69. Then wander through Dam, Amsterdam’s central square, to another hidden sight. Accessed through a door off Spui square is the Begijnhof, a tranquil garden courtyard and a series of gabled buildings that for centuries housed semi-religious Catholic women, and now provide homes to single women. Stroll west and you’re in Negen
Straatjes, a neighbourhood of nine narrow lanes criss-crossing the canals, lined with quirky shops selling everything from clogs to vintage clothing.
Follow the stately Prinsengracht canal northwards for a couple of blocks and you arrive at Anne
Frank House (annefrank.org). Touring the secret annexe where the Franks concealed themselves from the Nazis and where Anne wrote her diary is a moving experience. The museum is currently being revamped but it remains open while work is carried out.
Reflect over a beer or two just round the corner at ’t Smalle (Egelantiersgracht 12). It is one of the quaintest of Amsterdam’s brown cafes (the Dutch version of a British pub) and comes with the added bonus of a canalside terrace.
For supper, why not take a tram to trendy Foodhallen (foodhallen. nl) in the Oud-West district. The former tram depot is packed with gastro food stalls serving Dutch and ethnic dishes.
DAY TWO MORNING
The major art galleries are on Museumplein. Enter the Van Gogh
Museum (vangoghmuseum.nl) as soon as it opens at 9am (thanks to a pre-booked, queue-busting timed ticket) and you won’t be craning to view seminal works such as Sunflowers.
Mid-morning, wander across to the Rijksmuseum. Again, prebook tickets (rijksmuseum.nl), though queues are usually not as long. Reopened a few years ago after a decade-long renovation, it is like a combined version of our National Gallery and V&A, and is dauntingly large. Focus on the Old Masters in the Gallery of Honour and Rembrandt’s masterpiece in the Night Watch Gallery, then seek out the 17th Century dolls’ houses.
To avoid artistic overload, leave for another time the modernfocused Stedelijk, the Museumplein’s third big gallery. Instead, jump on a tram to the train station, walk through to the back of the station, then hop on the free ferry marked Buiksloterweg and make the three-minute journey across the IJ river to the up-and-coming Amsterdam-Noord district.
AFTERNOON
Stroll over to the EYE, the futuristic, zigzag-shaped film museum building. Have lunch in its cafe, watching the barges and cargo ships plying their way along the waterway.
Take the ferry back and rent a bike from the MacBike depot (macbike.nl). With flat terrain and bike lanes everywhere, cycling can be a joy, at least beyond the busy centre. Whizz around the outlandish modern architecture of the Eastern
Docklands, and on the return circuit stop for a beer at the
Brouwerij ’t IJ (Funenkade 7), a few-frills pub with an on-site brewery under a landmark windmill.
Drop off your bike and treat yourself to imaginative versions of traditional Dutch dishes in the homely setting that is Greetje at Peperstraat 23 (restaurantgreetje.nl).