- Ryan Pigeau
- Apr 4, 2019
- 3 min read
Windmills, clogs, cheese.... weed... red lights. Amsterdam is known for its wide range of characteristics. The capital of the Netherlands, this city is a famous travel destination known to backpackers who are drawn to its coffee shops and red lights, but it is home to so much more. You can spend your entire time in this city in its endless art galleries and wonderful museums, if that's what you wanted to do. You can also rent a standard bike or a tandem bike and pedal around the city from spot to spot like a true Amsterdammer.
On my vacation to Amsterdam, I can guarantee I'll be booking tours of the Heineken Brewery as well as the House of Bols distillery. The Heineken Experience is a full-on self-guided tour of the company, complete with drinks and games to play along the way. Although, I will definitely be booking VIP tickets for the tour before I go. These VIP credentials include a two and a half hour behind-the-scenes tour of the facility with access to a hidden bar and my own personalized Heineken bottle as a souvenir. This is one of the more highly recommended tourist attractions in Amsterdam.
The House of Bols on the other hand, is one of the more underrated attractions in the country. The Dutch gin museum run by the Bols distillery is a one-hour tour that teaches you all you ever wanted to know about Bols' history and how Lucas Bols' jenever travelled and conquered the world during the Golden Age. It's honestly just another great reason to drink and have fun.
There is a legendary and world famous flea market in Amsterdam called the Waterlooplein Flea-Market that was established an astonishing 133 years ago. As you'd expect, it's the oldest flea-market in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. I always enjoy shopping while on vacation for things like antiques, gadgets or even trendy second-hand clothes. It might seem like nothing, but this place is notorious for some ridiculously great finds like vintage cameras, used classic works, jewelry and some of the latest fashion. Believe it or not, people have left the market having purchased historic items such as a guitar that once belonged to John Lennon or even an autographed Hemingway title.
I don't believe you can travel to Amsterdam and not visit at least one or two windmills. There are eight windmills in the city in total, and most of them are in Amsterdam West. I think taking a tour of at least some of these historic structures is a great way to explore a bunch of different spots in Amsterdam. De Krijtmolen d'Admiraal is a windmill open to the public every second Saturday and would be a good one to explore, if the timing is right. Its name means "chalk mill" and it was originally used to grind chalk and limestone back around the time when it was completed in 1792. Also, Molen van Sloten is actually still a functioning windmill and can be visited by daily. Here, volunteers and guides are willing to explain how it works. When planning my windmill tour, I think Molen van Sloten is my first priority. Some of the other windmills that are still around can be seen from a distance, but those two give you a very up-close and personal experience and I think they provide the most value to your visit.
Again, Amsterdam is much more than legal weed and legal prostitution. After doing just a little bit of research, you can plan an entire vacation without ever experiencing any of that.