Amsterdam: What I Loved, What I’d Skip & Where I Ate

✨

I had 3 nights in Amsterdam. This was my 3rd time in the city, so I wanted to take it a bit more chill and wanted to have more spontaneous plans rather than planning everything beforehand (which is my usual travel style). I ended up having an amazing time.

It was a solo trip as usual, however I had a friend there that I met for a few hours. It was late September and I was lucky to have nice weather. The first day it was sunny and nice, however it got quite chilly in the evening. The next day it was quite warm the whole day. On the 3rd day it was chilly the whole day. It never rained, so overall I was happy with the weather. My friend told me it starts getting pretty wet from October on, so I definitely recommend visiting until the end of September.

✨ At a glance

📍 Time spent: 3 nights

🗓️ When I visited: September

🚶 Getting around: On foot + public transport

👤 Travel style: Solo

🌊 Best for: Museums & food

🌟Where I stayed

The Elephant hostel

When I arrived in Amsterdam, I first checked into my hostel, The Elephant Hostel. I was staying in the female only dorm, which had 15 beds! The room had its own toilets and showers. Even though it was a crowded room, I didn’t have any trouble. Everyone was very calm and respectful, and luckily silent. Every bed had its own curtain, which added a private feeling. One of the reasons I chose this hostel was because it was stated that there was a gym, however ‘the gym’ was extremely small and had very limited equipment. However, it was still better than having no gym access of course.

The hostel was in the Plantage area, which was pretty fine, but next time I would choose another area. My friend lives close to the Amstel Canal, I liked that area more. It felt a bit safer and more authentic. I will add a screenshot of the area that she recommended to stay next time.

🌟What I did

Rijksmuseum

I went to the Rijksmuseum to especially see some of Vermeer and Rembrandt’s paintings. I really liked this museum, there were some interesting paintings. My favourite painting in this museum was ‘The Love Letter’ by Vermeer. I also really liked ‘The Threatened Swan’ by Jan Asselijn. ‘The Night Watch’ by Rembrandt was under construction, so I couldn’t see it very well, but it was still nice to look at it. I really liked that some of the important paintings had printed explanation leaflets that helped to understand those paintings better. I definitely recommend checking this museum out if you have time. It’s a quite big museum, I only checked the most important paintings, if you are short on time, you can do the same.

The Van Gogh Museum

This was my second time in the Van Gogh museum, and I loved it again. I had a hard time finding a ticket as I wanted to have a spontaneous trip. If you are planning to visit this museum, definitely get your tickets beforehand. They were all sold out, even on third party websites. I finally found one that was extremely overpriced, but I thought it was worth it. This time I had a bit more time so I got the audio guide. Definitely recommended. There were 3 options on the audio guide device, one of them was very short with key highlights, one was medium long and one was extended. I chose the extended version and had a 1.5 hrs tour. After I finished with the audio tour I checked my favourite paintings again. Since I love Van Gogh’s art, I love this museum. My favourite paintings in this museum are: Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Wheatfield with a Reaper, The Pink Peach Tree, Garden with Courting Couples: Square Saint-Pierre. Of course seeing Sunflowers and Almond Blossom is also very inspirational. Even if you don’t have much time, I definitely recommend visiting this museum.

The Heineken Experience

A friend of mine who worked in this museum before already told me that I shouldn’t have high expectations from this place. Even though I was not expecting something great, I was still disappointed. I wanted to visit this place because Heineken is my favourite beer, and I always love learning about new things. I was expecting to learn more about the beer-making process, which was not the case. Of course there were some mentions or tiny explanations, but I didn’t learn much. It is nice to see how a beer factory looks, but other than that it was not that special. Would I recommend it? Honestly, if you are short on time or if you are concerned about your budget, I would say just skip it. Do I regret going? Of course not. But would I visit again? Hell no.

What else?

The rest of my time I walked around the canals, went shopping (Amsterdam has very nice stores!), read a bit in a park. We walked around the Amstel Canal with my friend, and it was absolutely gorgeous. We were lucky to be there around sunset time, I loved the view. I also found a random modern art exhibition while walking and spent a few minutes there. Which was a nice experience as well. If you come to Amsterdam without any itinerary, I can guarantee you it will still be worth it.

🌟Where I ate

Manneken Pis Damrak ⭐

Of course I had to get fries! I absolutely loved the fries from Manneken Pis Damrak. My friend took me there and we shared a medium one with mayo and truffle mayo. I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately I couldn’t take a picture of it, but imagine big golden fries that are perfectly crispy. I will definitely go again.

Oeuf Amsterdam

My friend recommended this place, which was great for brunch. I had the breakfast burger (La Boeuf Classique) and French fries with truffle cheese. Burger was fine, not that special to be honest. However I loved the fries. It was too much for me but perfect for sharing. I heard this place becomes ‘Boeuf’ in the evening and it’s very special at that time too.

De Deli – Plantagebuurt

This was very close to my hostel, I found it when I was starving the first day. I loved it though. I got spicy chicken thigh salad, and asked to have the sriracha sauce on the side. I can not eat spicy things so I was a bit scared, but it was absolutely delicious. I didn’t try the sauce.

Eetcafé ‘t Pakhuis ⭐

Another recommendation from my friend. I loved the ribs here. It’s famous for its ribs, and I can see why. The meat had a sauce that was otherworldly. The fries were also absolutely delicious. The normal portion was 650 gr (with bones of course), but I asked for a child’s portion as that would’ve been too much for me. It was very cheap and the size of the portion was exactly what I needed. I was very happy with my choice.

L’Entrecôte et les Dames ⭐

I was in a rush when I found this place. I wanted to eat something quickly before my flight, I told them about my rush and they were extremely fast, which I appreciated a lot. As my phone was charging, I couldn’t take a picture but everything looked and tasted amazing. I got the classic menu. Even the bread and butter they served first were amazing. Then I had a huge salad, perfectly tender entrecote and perfectly crispy fries. As I was already full I preferred not getting the second portion, but normally they serve you again when you finish your food. Definitely recommended.

Canvas

I went to this bar with my friend, I really liked the vibe. We had fresh mint & ginger tea, which was great. The view is amazing from the bar as it overlooks the whole city. We didn’t stay long, but I heard they have some nice dj sessions some days.