The Anne Frank Haus - A must and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Things to Do Tips

For anybody visting Amsterdam, a visit to the Anne Frank House is almost a must. And if you visit there please ensure that you have sufficient time in hand, not only for waiting in the queue outside before entering but also to have alook at everything inside patiently. I had agood experience and did not have to wait in queue as I had already booked an entrance ticket a day before on the website of the House. So I could enter immediately. As I arrived there at 10.30, the crowd was also less and I could really see around with alot of time. but people arriving beyond 11.30, I saw them in queues even inside the house and in such a situation you really don't have an option to move about as per your choice and spend more time near the exhibit that you want to but be compelled to move with the queue even though you might not have finished seeing a particular exhibit. So my advice is to book tickets in advance if possible and go to visit the house at around 10 am to 10.30 am, so that instead of spending time in the queue outside you have more time for the inside.

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Phone: +31-20-5567100
Address: Prinsengracht 267
Directions: Bus numbers 1 and 17.
Website: http://www.annefrank.nl

Amsterdam is famous for its canals, and not just canals, very beautiful canal. Boat trips on th ecanals are also very popular there. While touring around I came across some very beautiful canals like the Prinsengracht, Keisersgracht, Herengracht and Singel, all of which flow one after another parallelly. The anne Frank House is situated by the side of the Prinsengracht and so if you start from there you come across them one after another. There are also beautiful bridges on the canals.

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Address: all across the city

Here, I came in contact with the beauty of the flower that I knew very less about but which is said to be the world's most dangerous flower and whose beauty drove rich and poor alike to ecstasy and bankruptcy. This museum is situated on the Prinsengracht canal opposite to the Anne Frank House. It tells the history of the flower from being a wild flower at ancient times to its recent wide cultivation. In Amsterdam I came across this flower everywhere. This museum was founded in 2004 and is a good place to visit both for those who love gardening and those who simply appreciate the beauty of the flowers. One also finds inside this museum various souvenirs with colourful designs of tulips on them. For those who want to place advance bulb orders orders of the flowers. The prices can range from as low as Euro 8,50 for 100 Chionodoxa to Euro 260 for 100 Allium Globemasters.

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Phone: +31 (0)20 421 00 95
Address: Prinsengracht 112
Directions: Opposite to the Anne Frank House

(Open Daily - 10 AM to 6 PM)
Website: www.amsterdamtulipmuseum.com

One of the best experiences in life while touring at a place was at the Amsterdam flower market. i was fascinated simply. I'm not a person who often buys flowers for decorating home. But I was so impressed that I actually bought a bunch of colourful Hyacinths for my VT friend Chris.hh with whom I am staying in Hamburg these days. And I got five beautiful ones just for an euro. And there are not just flowers to buy but a wide variety of cactuses, tulip bulbs, gardening equipments, seeds of flowers, souvenirs and all kinds of decoratives for making your home more beautiful.

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Address: Singel
Directions: Just get down at Singel canal stop and walk.

The Royal Palace is situated on the Dam Square in the middle of Amsterdam, quite close to the Centraal Railway station. Originally built to be used as the city hall by the magistrates of Amsterdam in the 17-th century, presently it is one of the three Palaces under the Queen's control. It is used for official state functions like the Queen's New Year reception and for other official ceremonies like prize ceremonies.

It was designed by architect Jacob van Campen, starting 1648. The entire building was made with white stones, none of which are visible now because of the dark tanning of the stones across centuries. On a close watch one can see very beautiful decorations on the building. Some of the interiors are done by the paintings of the famous painter Rembrandt. The building served as the city hall for about 150 years. In 1806, the brother of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis Napoleon was appointed as the King of Holland. He started living in this building and so the city hall was transfromed into a Royal Palace. The building since then houses a huge collection of Empire furniture bought by Louis Napoleon. After the defeat of Emperor Napoleon in 1813, Prince William, who then became the King and started living in the Royal Palace. In 1936 it finally became state property.

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Phone: +31-20- 6204060
Address: Dam 1
Website: http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl

I found the Dam square full of hustle and bustle, lots of people, some with work, others without, just people watching. It is a central area in Amsterdam close to the main railway station Centraal. The dam square hosts the Madame Tussaud's wax museum, the Royal palace and the national monument and is also an entry or exit way to the famous Red Light District. However, while I have heard a lot of people going there just for people watching, I had a different experience. I came across a variety of vehicles there and was impressed. So here are some of them.

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Address: Dam -
Website: http://www.damsite.nl/

Well I don't know much about this monument except that this is at the centre of the Dam square, very noticeable and that this was the first thing that attracted my eyes as i entered the Dam Square. This white pillar is decorated with beautiful sculptures of human bodies. And yes, one tip. If you are tired after a long day's sightseeing and touring around, you can sit on the stairs here. I saw many people sitting there and relaxing.

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Amsterdam's Red Light District (RLD) is a must visit for all tourists. At Hamburg, I had always heard that ther RLD in Amsterdam is much bigger than the Reeperbahn in Hamburg which is the second largest in the world. I couldn't really imagine and just out of curiosity, I wanted to pay a visit although I was a bit concerned being a single woman traveller. My experience there, turned all speculation, all fear, all curiosity into a very beautiful memory, one that perhaps I'm going to remember all life. The experience was so different that I can really write a book on it but cannot explain. And unfortunately I could not take any photo as you are not allowed to. I would have loved to. the entire RLD is situated on the side of a canal and is composed of small dark alleys first you might be afraif of venturing into, but once you get the courage to go in, you'll like it. And believe me, its more tourism than anything else. Along both sides of the dark alleys are small windows one after another (actually more like glass doors to let clients in). Beautiful young ladies dressed (or not) in the minimum imaginable clothing, sometimes even light reflecting bikinis stand on the windows in different poses and the red-pinkish light in the room creates all the environment.

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People (tourists), old, young alike, both genders, with spouses, girlfriends/boyfriends, friends, siblings or just alone like me compose the long queue that just walks past each of the alleys looking at windows on both sides. Its an experience to remember. I have seen some people knocking on the windows from time to time and having deals with the girls, sometimes, a serious deal and sometimes just out of curiosity with talking with one. I was there around 5.30 in the evening, so really dark, but not "Night" so to say. So I don't really know if it is advisable to go at night.

This area also has lots of sex shops, pubs, aex museums (!!!), cafes, stores that you can buy "Souvenirs" from. It is very touristy place and is located close to the Centraal Railway station. Just a few minutes walk from there. Dutch law is said to be very liberal and and it legalises the functioning of brothels as licensed legal businesses. The people working in these places are like normal other self-employed persons and are well accepted in society and do also pay income taxes.

And look at the photo here. I found something that reminded me of India as well (though not really). But its fun to see something like this.

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The Nieuwe Kerke or the New Church is the national church of the Netherlands and hosts many special occassions. It is situated just next to the Royal palace at the Dam square. Its a 14th century building.

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Phone: +31-20-6386909
Address: Dam 34-38
Website: http://www.nieuwekerk.nl