Trip on the canals and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Things to Do Tips

I have done canal trips 4 times & enjoyed it everytime

The best company to go with is canal company they have 3 lines Red, Blue & Green
They stop at various sights like Leidseplein, Prisengracht, Amsterdam centraal allowing yu to hop on & off.

Travel for the whole day is euro 16, this allows you various entrance discounts into museums etc.

Otherwise we went with the company Plas they did not go via Anne Frank's house & lasted an hour for Euro 6.50 or other companies leaving from Centraal & DamRak can charge Euro 7

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Website: www.canal.nl

Beautiful building and good selection of artwork.

Unfortunately when I was last there part of the museum was closed for renovations so the front is a bit of a building site

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Phone: +31-20-6747047
Address: Stadhouderskade 42
Website: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl

Torture devices throughout Europe are on display here. All these horrid inventions with straps, spikes, weights blades made to extract confessions are sure to make anyone talk

Its cheap entry & a bit grusome.

My friend wasn't too keen to pose with his head under the gilloutine so we just peered through instead - not quite the same!! Boring

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Phone: +31-20-3206642
Address: Singel 449, Rembrantsplein
Website: www.torturemuseum.com

With Amsterdam having 165 canals we went to the spot where on a clear day you can see 14 of these.

When standing on this bridge with your back towards Thorbeckplein square you will see 6 arched bridges in a row. On the left hand side across Herengracht another 6. On the right an additional 2. The 15th bridge is the one you're standing on.

At night these are lit up with fairy lights very romantic.

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Address: corner of Reguliersgracht & Herengracht

We unfortunately found the place but could not come back at 2pm when it openend. It opens daily but times vary.

It can be found on Vondelstraat with an inconspicious gate. The royal riding school better known as "Hollandsche manege" opened in 1882. Feel free to walk in & experienece the granduer & elegance.

This is the only school where ladies still practice their joint riding exercises with sidesaddles

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Address: Voldelstraat
Directions: past film museum

7 houses are represented in this street in the architectural style of
No 20 romantic German
22 - Chateau miniture version of chateux dotted along the river Loire in France
24 - spanish villa with remainders of moorish masterworks in granada
26 - Italian palazzo
27 russian - like a russian cathedral from days of Ivan the terrible. Onion shaped cupola protected against heavy storms by chains.
30 - typical dutch residence in renaissance style
30A English cottage

We took a pic but not as compact as the one off the tourist site

Designed by architect Tjeerd Kuipers (1858-1942) private residences

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Address: Roemer Visscherstraar

No-one should leave Amsterdam without a visit to the house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazi’s for 25 months, from 6 July 1942 to 4 August 1944.

The first translation of “The Secret Annex” appeared in Dutch in 1947 and since then the book Anne Franks diary has been translated into more than 60 languages.
The original diary is on display in the museum.

I first read this young girl's diary as part of my school cirriculum. The feeling I felt when being inside the secret annex was one of sadness, how brave she was in the face of adversity and terror. Her father Otto Frank survived Auschwitz of the 8 people that were in hiding.

Be advised there are very long queues so get her early or later in the day. Also bear in mind that you are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum. It does get exceptionally busy inside and you are asked to pass through the house in a respectfull manner.

Aduts Euro 7.50 Children Euro 3.50 tour lasts approx an hour no guided tours.

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Phone: +31-20-5567100
Address: Prinsengracht 267
Website: http://www.annefrank.nl

On this road you can find lots of antique & art shops.
Not cheap mind you but interesting knick knacks can be found if you look hard enough

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Address: Nieuwe Spiegelstraat

Some local people say that the bridge was named after the Mager Sisters (mager is Dutch for skinny). These two well-to-do sisters lived on opposite sides of the river. They are said to have had the wooden bridge built to make it easier to visit one another.

The real explanation is more down to earth, however. The bridge used to be so narrow that it was hard for two pedestrians to pass one another. When traffic along the Amstel increased, a wider one replaced the narrow bridge in 1871. Since that time, the word skinny no longer really applies.

It is one of the most beautiful bridges of Holland's capital city. Thousands of fairy lights romantically illuminate the Skinny Bridge at night. It is very popular with lovers and photographers.

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Directions: Amstel, between Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht

Amsterdam became protestant in 1578. From then on, Catholics were forbidden to practice their religion openly. Small chapels in private houses came into existence, one of them in the 1660s on the site of the modern catholic church Peter & Paul. The house had the picture of a parrot on its gable. Hence when Peter & Paul was built and inaugurated in 1848 on the same site, the new church was again called "De Papegaai."

Although it is hardly ever mentioned in guidebooks, the building is truly worth a visit. Already the contrast between the bustle of Kalverstraat, which is the big shopping street, and the quiet interior is fascinating. Do not fail to notice beautiful mosaics in the entrance

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Address: Kalverstraat