Going Dutch in Old Amsterdam
ANNETTE LORD avoids coffee shops, cakes and the Red Light District to discover the real charms of Holland’s capital
AMSTERDAM has a reputation for the Red Light District and cakes you wouldn’t offer to your granny.
But these are unfair stereotypes the Dutch city is working hard to shake off.
Yes, the Red Light District is there (and at least 200 ‘coffee shops’) but they are both easy to ignore in a city that has so much else to offer.
Noticeably quieter – and quainter – than most cities back home, the centre of Amsterdam (given Unesco World Heritage Site status) feels small and friendly, and the canals – dominated by tall narrow old houses – put you in a completely different environment to the UK. It didn’t feel like I was just over an hour’s travel away from Manchester, and yet it even has beaches a short boat ride away.
Amsterdam has trams as well as buses and you can buy an I Amsterdam city card, which will give you free public transport across the city for up to four days. It’s not cheap but also gets you free entry into lots of museums, plus discounts on other attractions and amenities.
WHAT TO DO
Hit the streets: roaming around is one of the best things to do in Amsterdam.
Explore the canals, independent shops, bars and restaurants to your heart’s content and enjoy the friendly and easygoing vibe.
Stroll outside the city centre to the neighbourhoods for even more variety. We spent time in De Pijp, the city’s Latin Quarter to the south, which has a lively multicultural feel and is home to creatives, students and bohemian spirits – as well as the behind-the-scenes Heineken Experience.
After a delicious lunch at Bazar restaurant, tucking into sharing platters of Middle Eastern and north African cuisine, we saved a little bit of space for a purely Dutch delicacy – poffertjes – at nearby Albert Cuyp market.
The tiny pancakes, not much bigger than a £2 coin, are served by the tray-full traditionally with a knob of butter and sprinkled with icing sugar. I couldn’t resist mine with chocolate and fresh strawberries – and very good they were too.
Food is just one of the myriad of things for sale at Albert Cuyp – at 1.5km long it is famous as the biggest open-air market in Europe. Another good place to explore and see where the city takes you.
GO AFLOAT
After all that walking, let a boat take the strain and see Amsterdam from a different perspective by taking a trip along the city’s many canals. Numerous boat tours ply the waterways during the day and restaurants also take to the water at night offering dinner cruises. If you have a taste for Indonesian food and fancy splashing out, head for Blue Pepper restaurant which offers evening cruises at weekends.
FIND YOUR FLAVOUR
If you’re over 18 it’s worth hunting out the House of Bols, celebrating the world famous liqueur company which started life in 1575. Described as a ‘cocktail and genever experience’ this is more than a history tour and introduces you to all 42 Bols liqueurs before you order your new-found favourite cocktail at the bar. A cocktail is included in the price and they also offer cocktail workshops if you fancy spinning the shakers yourself.
CHEESE TASTING
Another Dutch delicacy and one they take seriously. A number of outlets have cheese tasting events. We went to Reypenaer, an award winning firm which has been making cheese for more than 100 years.
Sitting in twos in rows we were encouraged to slice off and taste a number of cheeses which had been maturing for up to three years and to then comment on their colour, smell, taste and consistency before being presented with a certificate.
ARTIS ZOO
Feeling more like a park than a zoo, Amsterdam’s Royal Zoo houses an aquarium and planetarium as well as more than 700 animal species and 200 tree varieties.
Modern and with enclosures that are a world away from the cages of old, entry is not cheap (€21.50 for an adult ticket and €18 for children aged 3-9) but is free with an I Amsterdam city card and you could spend the whole day here. There’s also Artis Micropia – the only museum dedicated to microbial life.
LOOK AND LEARN
Art is a big thing here thanks to Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Steen, Vermeer and others. Van Gogh has his own museum, while the Rijksmuseum, looking somewhat like a palace or cathedral, pays homage to the Old Masters.
A must-see for many to Amsterdam is the Anne Frank House – a sobering, reflective look at the young Jewish writer’s life and legacy.
But be warned, queues are notoriously long and you can only get in without an advance ticket after 3.30pm.
The most straightforward way is to book tickets but this needs to be done two months in advance on the website and ties you to a specific day and time slot.
This is just a small selection of the museums on offer and there are many others, covering subjects as diverse as bags and purses, archaeology and diamonds.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at the Pulitzer, a newly revamped luxury hotel in the historic old centre of Amsterdam. Uniquely, it is made up of 25 linked 17th and 18th century canal houses – something you would never guess from outside – and is a quirky mix of ancient and modern.
Getting to your room from the lift can take you through two or three of the houses and so it can be a bit up-and-down, but I found that interesting and the direction signs are good.
Each room has a plaque detailing the house’s history – as well as a retro telephone and a bicycle puncture repair kit.
The hotel’s restaurant, Jansz, has a reputation for classic chic cuisine and you can enjoy cocktails in the bar. The courtyard, nestled in the centre of the hotel between the houses, is open to the public and serves meals and drinks, as well as offering a tranquil open-air space.
My room was in the roof-space of a former 17th century copper craftsman’s house overlooking the Keizersgracht canal.
Light, airy and peaceful, I didn’t want to leave.