I Amsterdam Card -
by alyfee
We visited Amsterdam in April 2010 and debated whether or not to buy an I Amsterdam Card.
It does sound like a really good deal, but when I searched further I found an All in One Travel ticket which only cost 68 euros for 3 of us for 72 hours, and included the train journey from Schipol to Amsterdam (I Amsterdam card is metro, tram and buses only).
As the I Amsterdam card plus train would have cost 198 euros for all of us we decided not to buy them.
In the event we visited the Van Gogh Museum, Musuem Van Loon, and Allard Pierson Museum. We also went to Anne Frank Huis but this is not included in the I Amsterdam Pass. We also went on a one hour canal boat tour - together with our travel passes this all came to 167.25 euros, perhaps not a huge saving but we did only go to the Allard Pierson museum as we happened to be passing.
I think if we had bought I Amsterdam cards we would have felt more obliged to go to places just to get the value out of the cards, or end up feeling miffed that we had spent money we didn't need to.
Amsterdam is a lovely city, and it was fantastic to explore and wander. Whilst you do need a couple of things to build your day around it was nice to feel free to wander as we chose.
If you are considering buying an I Amsterdam card, bear in mind that entrance fees for children are reduced or free depending on age. Our twelve year old got free entry into the Van Gogh Museum, and paid a reduced price on the canal tour and at Museum Van Loon.
From the tap into the Bottle
by MvB
Don't buy bottled water, if you have to, buy it in supermarkets. It's much better (and cheaper!) to refill your bottle from the tap. The tapwater is excellent drinking water! Really, no germs or chloride or other unwanted ingredients.
Go to the Old part of the...
by BlueShadow
Go to the Old part of the town...the red zone...and absolutly as much coffeee shops as you can...They're all perfect! Actually after so much coffee shops...it's probably you wont remember so much...hehe...you know what I mean :)
Beurs van Berlage
by egonwegh
The Beurs van Berlage used to be the Amsterdam Stock Exchange , but today it is an exhibition hall and a popular venue for conferences. Beautiful architecture! Here you can see me second from right in the third row, together with other employees of Dutch libraries, attending the 'DARE 2 SHARE' conference, 25 January 2007.
Visiting KEUKENHOF GARDENS
by Krystynn
I love Tulips. Period.
When my best friends from school and I first started going out on dates with the opposite sex (yes, I'm a late bloomer!), roses were the "di rigeur " thing we received from the boys - trying to impress us girls.
Unfortunately for that boy who was paired off with me, my silly giddygoose girlfriends had to spoil it all by exclaiming: "Oh... but she only likes Tulips!"
Duh?
So when I first arrived in the Netherlands, can you imagine the delight on my face when I saw sooo many different varieties of tulips! There were violet, shocking pink, orange, red... mixed colors... tutti frutti ;-p It was amazing! You see, in Singapore, we don't get such a wide array of tulips to choose from. You either take the white tulips or the dark purple ones or the pink tulips. Not much choices to choose from.
Whether you are a tulip fan or not, KEUKENHOF GARDENS is a must-see.
Those colorful tulips will surely win you over soon enough....
Center of Amsterdam
De Looier
De Oude Kerk / The Old Church
Lust!
