Everyone one knows of Amsterdam for the red light district. The area where prostitution and drugs are the norm. I think this overshadows the fact that Amsterdam is beautiful. It is situated on canals and islands, a Northern Europe Venice. There are colorful boats and bikes everywhere, often multiple people on a bike (either a child with parent, or loved on side saddling the bike). With a similar climate to Seattle, it reminded me a lot of home. Very green, familiar flowers (hydrangeas, lilac, lavender, etc.) and water everywhere. In town you are constantly dodging the many bicycles and trams that, (as you can see below) even cut right through the main squares. Keeps you on your toes!
Amsterdam is quite small, so I was able to tackle by foot, most of the downtown area in one day. The canals are quite picturesque, and the buildings generally in good condition and photo ready. I visited parks, famous spots such as Anne Frank’s house, Van Gogh Museum (sadly just the outside), Dam square, Waterloo square, and the red light district.
My favorite experience was walking through some of the side streets and smaller canals. So beautiful. The weather was overcast with pockets of sun, just like home. The buildings were so colorful and several had cool wood paneling in the front of their stores. The flowers here are better hydrated than places I have been visiting, so far more photogenic.
The canals are lined with all kinds of boats, including the cutest houseboats. All of them decorated in tons of plants and flowers. Speaking of boats –check out this Pirate ship!
Their is a Heineken factory here, so you can find it all over the place. They also had the cutest flower market; greenhouses that lined a canal and sold tulip bulbs, among other flowers.
There are technically two ‘red light’ districts in Amsterdam. The one I visited is two canals/streets that run parallel to each other. The first street seemed to be more focused on ‘coffee houses’ for buying and smoking weed. The other was focused on the sex industry there. I went around 9PM so things were just getting started. It wasn’t as shocking as I expected it to be. Basically, as I am sure you have heard about, the women stand in the windows (and doors) in their bathingsuits/lingere. The ones at street level are in doors, each with a small room behind, just big enough for a small bed. In they go, close the curtain, and well – that is all I know : )
