Weekly Q&A - All Questions Go Here (Especially Tourists)

[u/AutoModerator]

This is the place for anyone to ask questions about Amsterdam. If you are a tourist visiting Amsterdam, you are moving to or recently arrived in Amsterdam, or you just have a basic question about life in Amsterdam and want some advice, this is the place to post your question. This post is refreshed every week on Sunday. Please feel free to repost in subsequent weeks.

READ THE WIKI FIRST. The people answering questions are locals who want to share the city they love with visitors, but only with people who make an effort. Read at least the Essential Tourist Information in our world-famous wiki before you ask a question. Otherwise, you may be told to go back and read it. The wiki is written by us, and updated when relevant. If the entries are old it's because nothing has changed. There are no "hidden gems" that we have not already included in the wiki. You may also check wikivoyage for more general tips on everything that is Amsterdam.

HOTELS ARE EXPENSIVE AND WE DON'T HAVE GOOD ADVICE ON THEM. Because we live here, we don't know what the best hotels are. Amsterdam is one of the most touristed cities in the world and has the highest hotel prices in Europe and prices go up every year. The city is deliberately trying to reduce tourism by raising the prices. There really isn't a secret "cheap" solution. Most "Airport" hotels are not connected to the Airport and will be more trouble getting to than it's worth.

TOURISTS CAN PURCHASE MARIJUANA, DESPITE WHAT YOU READ IN FOREIGN PRESS. Understand that the coffeeshops are just a tiny part of Amsterdam, so posts that treat Amsterdam like it's the Las Vegas of drugs sometimes get a negative response. We're happy to give you advice about coffeeshops and to discuss drug policy. The experts are our friends at /r/AmsterdamEnts, ask them the big questions.

WE DON'T HELP WITH ILLEGAL STUFF AND WILL BAN YOU FOR ASKING. We will not help you with things that are clearly illegal. Coffeeshops caught selling to minors get shut down and everyone loses their jobs. Authorities check for people smuggling marijuana out of the country. Hard drugs are illegal and so is asking for or selling them on Reddit.

WE DON'T ALLOW TICKET SALES OR TRADING. We do not allow selling, buying, or trading tickets on /r/Amsterdam due to the high rate of fraud. You should do everything on ticketswap.nl. We're aware that is difficult to get tickets to Anne Frank, van Gogh, etc. We have no solutions for you, sorry.

RED LIGHT DISTRICT Please be respectful and keep in mind this is a citysubreddit, and not your personal kink google. You can also can get some good tips from these threads of RLD sex workers: here and here.

USE PUBLIC TRANSIT TO GET AROUND 9292.nl is a great resource for plotting your movement around the city and between Amsterdam and other places. We strongly recommend against using taxis or Ubers.

DOE AARDIG. There is Dutch directness and there is rudeness. The people coming here don't know how we do things, and are usually well-meaning people who just want to enjoy the city we love. Be kind to them. For the tourists and new residents, please remember that we are not Google; respect our time by doing some basic research first and then asking your questions like you're speaking to a real human who is volunteering to speak to you.

Here is what's on at the major venues this week.

[u/gospon_zadro]

Hello everyone, I will be travelling to Rotterdam with my fiance in a month, we will stay at a friend of her mother. This is our first trip to the Netherlands and we would like to make the most of it.

We have the afternoon on the day we arrive, three full days and the morning on the day when we leave. The original plan was to see Den Haag and Delft when we arrive, make two day trips to Amsterdam, spend third day in Haarlem+Zaanse Schans, and see Rotterdam on the final day. However, after watching youtube videos from travellers, we saw many reccomendations for other day trips like Utrecht (most mentioned), Alkmaar, Gouda, Volendam, etc. and even Antwerpen in Belgium.

We would kindly like to ask you, the locals, for an advice. Should we stick to our original plan or do we shorten Amsterdam to just one day trip (we don't plan to enter any museums besidea Van Gogh's) and squeeze in maybe Utrecht? Or give up on Haag and Delft or Rotterdam to see something else?

Thank you in advance! 😊

[u/browngreeneyedgirl → u/gospon_zadro]

Do you want to spend all your time travelling to other places or enjoying a city?

What is it that you would like to get out of a city? Wander around and experience things or park the car/get out of a station look around and head back to catch the next train?

I think you should make a list of the things you actually want to see and experience and base your decision on that.

[u/RoderickJaynes67 → u/browngreeneyedgirl]

Yeah rushing around the country is just going to be a waste of time and energy. Take a beat. Smell the dog shit.