Amsterdam – The Netherlands (2019)

Amsterdam, the city famous for its vast canal system, narrow houses and art is always an interesting city to visit.

1. The Flower Market

The Flower Market in Amsterdam is the world’s only floating flower market, established since 1862. The market shops are on houseboats, reminiscent of the old days when boats used to deliver daily goods to the market.

The market is great to check out when you are visiting, offering fresh flowers, flower, bonsai and vegetable seeds, gifts and souvenirs, t-shirts and other miscellaneous goods.

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2. The Henri Willig Cheese Museum and Shop

The Henri Willig Cheese Museum and Shop is situated right next to the Flower Market and shows how the cheese is made, and downstairs you can find the cheese shop.

The cheese shop in the museum offer tasters of dozens of different cheeses. Honestly the some of the best cheese I’ve ever tried! And the most interesting as well. Some unique cheeses that caught my attention are lavender goat cheese, coconut, orange zest, rosemary thyme, Jersey truffle, green pesto and red chilli peppers.

There is a wide range of cheese wheels you can purchase at the stores. Personally, I found it very difficult to pick only one wheel of cheese.

There are also lots of other cheese shops on the same road selling the same brand of cheese. If you like cheese, this will likely be one of your favourite activities tasting the cheeses.

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3. The Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum showcases Amsterdam’s arts and history in an impressive building and is the most visited museum in the Netherlands. Being the largest art museum in the Netherlands, it hosts 8’000 art and history objects on display.

You can find important masterpieces from Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals.

When exploring the art over 3 floors in the museum, one recommendation that I have is to arrive early and take your time. I’d say it would be good to budget for about 2 hours for the museum to enjoy it fully.

One thing that stood out to me at the museum is how the art was so relevant to life during the times it was created. It’s like a telescope looking into the past. The ship scenes reminding us of the might of the Dutch East India Company, the domestic scenes, portraits, landscapes all play part in reflecting the story of the times.

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4. The Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is situated by Dam Square right in the centre of Amsterdam. It was built to be a city hall in the 17th century, but later became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon. It is one of 3 palaces in the Netherlands used by the monarch.

Guided tours at the palace are available.

5. Magna Plaza

The Magna Plaza was constructed between 1895 and 1899 as a Main Post Office. Today it is a shopping mall with shops and a food court.

6. Sky Lounge

Situated on the top floor of the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel, is the Sky Lounge. It features outdoor seating as well as indoor seating and beautiful views of the city.

7. Beach day – Bloomingdale Beach

Situated about an hour by rail and bus from Amsterdam is the Bloomingdale Beach. The beach features various restaurants and bars along the stretch of coast. There are sunbeds, umbrellas and benches available.

With sea temperatures which are reasonably mild and golden sand, this is one beautiful beach.