Flat land, tulip flowers, canals, windmills and bicycles – yes you guessed it right! It is the beautiful country of Netherlands. In spite of being just 41,543 sq km(16,040 sq mi), which is like 10 times smaller than the state California in USA, it is one country with many places to see and visit. We spent about three days but I will admit, I wish we had more time.

Rotterdam is another major city in Netherlands. It is a new and modern city compared to capital city of Amsterdam. If you like modern amenities and hustle of a city with tall buildings and big shopping malls, then Rotterdam is your place. For us, we had planned to visit the various small cities and towns near Amsterdam. So even with Netherland’s great public transport connectivity, staying at Amsterdam made more sense. And of course to get the feel of this artistic city of canals.

Can’t Miss These In Amsterdam

‘I amsterdam‘ 

It is one of the most iconic symbol of Amsterdam. It might be the most photographed in this country as well. It is located behind the Rijksmuseum, at the museum square. Our visit to this location was very lucky. Maybe because it was early in the morning or cloudy and was slightly drizzling. Whatever was the reason, we could not be happier to see hardly anyone at the symbolic location. So we were able to take photos to our heart’s content!

Rijksmuseum

The nearby Rijksmuseum is art and history national museum. It is a great place for those who are interested in arts and painting. Due to shortage of time, we skipped it.

Royal Palace of Amsterdam

If you are fascinated by kings, queens and palaces, then this city will not disappoint you. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is historic and magnificent and is located in the city itself so it is easy to visit.

This palace is in active use by the Dutch Royal Family and also available for public to see when it is not being used by them. Because of this, it is very fascinating to imagine, the Royal family living there and hosting parties for their guests and dignitaries. The palace has a self guided audio tour which explains the various rooms, decorations, various artworks and furnishings. The tour will take about 2 hrs or more depending on how fast one covers the palace.

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Bloemenmarkt

Another place that can be visited in Amsterdam is the Bloemenmarkt. It is their flower market. Netherlands is famous for tulip flowers. Keukenhof Park is a must see place if you visit in the right season. The tulips can be seen only for few weeks in the vast fields of Keukenhof park. Not all can plan to visit during those weeks, so the next best alternate is the Bloemenmarkt. Of course it can never be same as walking in beautiful open tulip fields. But it is still worthwhile to take a look at these flowers in this market. Tulip bulbs as well as various tulip based decorative items are also available for purchase. Jordan is another famous market area for shopping and food.

Canal Cruises

Visit to Amsterdam cannot be complete if one does not visit the city using its canals. Most of the canal cruises starts from near the Amsterdam Central station. There are many canal cruise companies. Our hotel had given us some discount coupons for one of the canal cruise company. So we decided to use that. It is a very different experience to see this city while navigating through this vast network of canal ways. You can enjoy the cruise and learn about its history if you decide to take these big cruises. There are other adventurous tour too, where you can either rent a boat for few hours and explore the city on your own.

Travel Tips

• You can even do a romantic, private  canal tour with open boats. Some packages comes with food and drinks! There are a lot of ways to enjoy this beautiful city from the canals.
• Amsterdam also has great connectivity on road via their trams. I would suggest to take a tram pass (daily or multi-day) depending on the number of days planned in the city. It is really helpful and fast way of traveling.

Coffee shops and red light district

Coffee shops and the red light district are also popular among tourists. In case, you are adventurous and believe in experiences, do visit and try out these places. Coffee shops can be found all around the city while the red light area is just one block. Interestingly the area surrounding it, is more lively and is full of food stalls and shops that are open till late. So if you are a foodie, and not feeling that adventurous, this will be a good choice! Instead of having a full meal at one place, you can do food stall hopping and try small plates in various shops.

Now that we are on the topic of food, let me share some of the restaurants and local delicacies that we had in our trip.

Popular Yet Not So Talked About Restaurants

Restaurant Haesje Claes

It first opened in 1974 and serves authentic dutch cuisine. Located in the city center, it offers a range of delicious, traditional dutch dishes. One of them is the famous raw herring fish cured by salt. We had to try it. We also had rack of lamb with white cabbage and a delicious cinnamon ice cream.

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The Lobby

I have to mention this restaurant because of its a dessert we had here. It had caramelized white chocolate. We loved its taste and I still wonder how they made. Maybe something to work on and try at home!

Henri Willig Cheese

You may have read about the various flavors of chocolates found in Belgium in my blog on Belgian Food. Well, you can buy different flavors of cheese in Amsterdam. Henri Willig is a famous chain of stores for cheese. They have some interesting cheeses like pesto, herb & garlic, chilli and truffle. You can taste from their sample and buy. They even ship to US. Yay!

Rotterdam

It is a port city in the south of Netherland. The bold and modern architecture of the buildings define this city. One of the famous structure is the cube houses. And people do live there! It has a unique design that lets it’s resident see both the sky and land from it’s house. Nearby is the Market hall that has restaurants on the bottom floor and apartments at higher floors!

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It is never disappointing to visit a country that offers so much variety. And it is not yet over. There are few more beautiful cities, but it will another blog.

Have you been to Netherlands? What is your favorite city? Share your thoughts.