Tag Archives: amsterdam

Dutch Summer Like a Local: 5 Charming Cities Outside of Amsterdam

Summer in the Netherlands means boat rides through urban canals, sipping brews on café terraces, and squeezing through masses of tourists in the crowded summer streets of Amsterdam.

But that’s only for the tourists.

While thousands upon thousands of tourists squeeze their way into the Dutch capital every September to catch the final idyllic days of Dutch summer, Dutch families are squeezing in day and weekend trips elsewhere. Despite being roughly the size of Massachusetts, the Netherlands is home to a diversity of cultures, all squeezed into one of the world’s most densely populated countries, which means that while stone facades and windmills are to be found everywhere, each region has its own eccentricities that make it worth a visit. In every province of the country you’ll find medieval city centers, cobblestone alleys, centuries-old stone rowhouses, picture-perfect canals, and, if you stay long enough and look closely enough, vibrant and distinct local culture.

Do Amsterdam in a day, and then escape the touristic masses by looking to the cities favored by the Dutch for their own late summer city trips.

Utrecht

Utrecht sunset
The city most often compared with Amsterdam for its cosmopolitan feel and picturesque canals is probably Utrecht. A half hour train ride south of the capital and with about half its population, Utrecht has all the idyllic waterways and Gothic architecture that draw tourists up and down the streets of Amsterdam, but with a down-to-earth Dutch atmosphere and hardly a foreign tourist to be found.

The deep-lying wharfs and wharf cellars make a walk along the canals of Utrecht a singular experience unmatched in the Netherlands, with café-lined terraces hanging a story below the street alongside the waterways that have earned it the title of Europe’s most beautiful canal city. You can easily spend an entire day strolling along the canals toward the protruding Dom Tower, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, and finish up the afternoon by touring the medieval church and climbing to its top for a perfect panoramic of the city below.
Nice colors of Utrecht's night

Maastricht

Maastricht by night
Lying in the extreme south of the country, at the tip of the tiny sliver of the Netherlands that slices between Belgium and Germany, Maastricht is a favorite among the Dutch for summer citytripping.

Best known within the Netherlands for having the best Carnival celebration of the country in spring, Maastricht is also one of the cultural capitals of the southern Netherlands, where laid back European Catholic culture rules in place of the Protestant work ethic of the rest of the country. That might explain its ever-growing popularity as a place to spend a day shopping, as well as the number of little cafés on terraces and church squares, perfect for lounging about in the late summer sun.

Selexyz Dominicanen

Take time during your visit to browse the Dominicanen bookstore, a 13th century cathedral that’s been refashioned into a unique bookshop with a literary atmosphere you’ll find nowhere else in the country.

Leeuwarden

Sunset
Just over two hours northeast of Amsterdam, Leeuwarden is surrounded by windmill-dotted pastures that are unmistakably Dutch; but it’s also a city that even seems a bit exotic to many of the Dutch. The cultural and administrative capital of the province of Frisia, Leeuwarden is the epicenter of a proud regional identity centered on the Frisian language and culture.

Frisia and the Frisians, a historically distinct Germanic people, became part of the Dutch Republic in the Late Middle Ages, but over the centuries have never given up their own distinct regional identity. This is one of the reasons Leeuwarden won its bid to serve as European Cultural Capital in 2018, inviting travelers from around Europe to come and explore the history and heritage of this little-known hook of the Netherlands.

Cultural enthusiasts will want to visit the Fries Museum, home to works of art, archaeological finds, and other artifacts that tell the story of Frisia and its people.

Den Bosch

Guardian of 's-Hertogenbosch
In the near geographic center of the country, a mere hour south of Amsterdam, Den Bosch is the kind of city that’s built for lovers of old architecture, imposing cathedrals, and eye-catching stonework at every turn.
Binnendieze, Den Bosch

The St. John’s Cathedral is unchallenged as Den Bosch’s most-visited attraction, and with good reason. Considered the pinnacle of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands, as well as the country’s largest Catholic church, a guided tour of the church tower and carillon comes with the added bonus of sweeping views of the city from on high.

Once you climb back down from the church tower, descend into the canals in a canoe or kayak and paddle through the semi-underground tunnels of the binnendieze as they twist through and beneath the city.

Leiden

Netherlands
Photo by Jakob Gibbons

Despite being hidden in plain sight in the heart of the country’s Western urban core, Leiden couldn’t be further off the beaten tourist path. A university town of barely 150,000 residents, Leiden’s geographic position and impossibly perfect historic center make it the ideal base for a Dutch vacation.

With the authentic Dutchness of Utrecht and a cosmopolitanism per capita to rival Amsterdam, Leiden has the perfect balance of young international students and Dutch families who’ve called the city home for generations. Tour the city by following its muurgedichten, the more than 100 poems in nearly as many languages painted on its medieval walls. On a Wednesday or Saturday morning in late summer, wake up and explore the outdoor market that pops up along the canals in the heart of the city, where you can buy anything from homemade stroopwaffels and organic french fries with mayonnaise to clothes and fabrics or any of countless kinds of Dutch cheese.

Amsterdam is famous for a reason: With world-class museums, extreme dining experiences, and a devil-may-care nightlife scene where anything goes, there’s no doubt it’s worth a visit. But don’t let the bright city light outshine the rest of the country and fool you into thinking there’s only one city worth seeing in the Netherlands—good trips often come in small packages, and this tiny country packs enough beauty and history to keep you coming back every summer.

Leiden: Travel Off the Beaten Cobblestone Path in the Netherlands

Among the list of European cities that inspire nostalgic sighs and sparkling eyes, Amsterdam ranks high. The Dutch capital is a pristine picture of most travelers’ hyperbolically beautiful notions of a European city trip that combines culture and cocktails, cycling along perfect canals under blue skies and churning windmills on the way to the risqué thrills of the Red Light District.

rapenburg bike
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

 

Except that this isn’t Amsterdam.

It’s Leiden, a smallish student city located no more than a 35-minute train ride from Amsterdam or any of the three other most populous and important cities of the Netherlands. Hidden in plain sight, Leiden goes mostly unnoticed by travelers transiting through its Central Station on their way from Amsterdam to the Hague and Rotterdam.

ouderijn
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

 

The city is smaller than it feels. Despite having a population density similar to that of New York City, the official population of this medieval man-made island and the connected neighborhoods outside the moat that surrounds it is comparable to New Haven, Connecticut, and its land area is no more expansive than that of a spacious American university campus.

haven
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

But it’s no Amsterdam: in fact, a strong part of Leiden’s local culture and history is that it’s not its posh, powerful, and more popular older sibling on the other side of the imaginary line between the provinces of North and South Holland. The city has a singular atmosphere, its own traditions, and even a trademark accent distinct from those of each of the four urban pillars that together form the densely-populated Randstad area—the Dutch equivalent of a Boston-Washington corridor—in which Leiden finds itself in the near-exact geographic middle.

Many of the discreet local cultures that comprise the mosaic of the present-day Randstad emerged during the Eighty Years War. Leiden’s own story of singularity begins dramatically on October 3rd, 1574, when the Leidenaren of the sixteenth century ousted their Spanish Habsburg imperial rulers.

hooglandsekerk
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

 

For contemporary Leidenaren this meant a valiant victory and political and cultural autonomy. For residents of and visitors to Leiden today, it means one of the best festivals on the Dutch calendar.

breestraat
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

 

Every year on the second day of October, the city’s businesses close up early; and that night, the cobblestone roads along and between the canals erupt into a city-wide festival that’s somehow both one of the country’s biggest and best and at the same time mostly unknown outside a two- or three-town radius around Leiden: Leids Ontzet, or the Relief of Leiden.

For two nights, the sacred cultural norm of “just be normal” goes out the window. The second day of Leids Ontzet features more day-drinking, more city streets packed with stands selling beer and raw herring and fries with mayonaise, and the kermis, the giant fair that sprouts up overnight next to the Central Station and for two days devours the entire northwest corner of town.

kermis CC
Photo by ChrissyJ via Flickr Creative Commons under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

As a reward for the valiant defense of Leiden that gave us the modern-day Leids Ontzet celebrations, in 1575 William of Orange, the founding father of what would become the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands, endowed Leiden with the very first university of the Netherlands.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Leiden University was an international center of philosophy and science; and in the 21st, it’s not only one of the most prestigious universities of the continent and the university where all future kings and queens of the Netherlands are educated, but also one of the biggest drivers of cosmopolitanism and the international community of Leiden.

kermis CC
Photo by kattebelletje via Flickr under CC BY-NC 2.0

Together the many international students and the equally plentiful expats form a key part of Leiden’s local culture—you’ll never take a stroll through the Wednesday and Saturday street market or through the alleys along the Rapenburg Canal without hearing the sounds of English and half a dozen other languages in the space of a few minutes. At times Leiden, with its not-quite 150,000 residents, feels more intensely international than Amsterdam or the Hague.

steeg
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

And this makes a difference for travelers. The thriving expat scene is constantly organizing events for newcomers and passers-through to dip their feet into Dutch culture and dive head-first into local culture.

dekooi
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

 

The International Student Network hosts the odd roadtrip and a traditional local hutspot dinner during Leids Ontzet, but those looking for less hand-holding or a bit of distance from the student scene normally turn to the lively local Couchsurfing scene.

Also a handy hospitality network for travelers visiting the city, Couchsurfing is a cultural exchange community, and in Leiden it’s best known for its weekly Wednesday “Language Lab” at Café de Keyzer—known lovingly by locals and internationals alike by its Dutch diminutive, t Keizertjeas well as hosting theme parties and events for everything from the Dutch Sinterklaas to an annual Halloween party that’s become a staple of the annual expat social calendar.

nieuwerijn
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

Modern Leiden is a multicultural amalgamation of its own local identity and the globalism that’s always been a fundamental part of that identity, from offering asylum to the English refugees who would later become the American pilgrims of Plymouth Rock to carving out a position as an international center of art, science, and scholarship during the Dutch Golden Age. In Leiden today, you can see that global identity literally written on the walls of the city.

arabic
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

Leiden launched its Muurgedichten or “wall poems” project in 1992, sponsoring the painting of over 100 poems in nearly as many different languages on the walls of buildings of every sort throughout the city. The result is a city whose physical bricks and mortar are covered in the many languages of global society, painting a picture as diverse as the residents who see a sliver of home when they walk past a poem in Polish, Arabic, Japanese, or English.

spaansemuurgedicht
Photo: Jakob Gibbons

Travelers looking for a seedy coffee shop full of joint-smoking tourists or a wild night of electronica-fueled partying may wish to step off their flight in Schiphol airport and directly onto the next Amsterdam-bound train. But those looking to spend a few days in a city with its own unique local culture that’s somehow both authentically Dutch and patently international should instead take the train fifteen minutes in the opposite direction, right into the heart of the Netherlands.

I Heart Amsterdam in One Day

Many tourists visit Amsterdam each year to see the Red Light District and take part in the signature party culture, but Amsterdam is so much more than that. It’s a beautifully landscaped city, vibrant with arts and culture and rich with history.

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands and was settled in the 12th century as a small fishing village. Since then, the city has blossomed into a booming financial and cultural epicenter, with the first stock exchange ever originating here.

Amsterdam has been ranked the second most livable city in Europe and the twelfth most livable city in the world in terms of environment and infrastructure. It was also ranked as second globally for innovation.

The city is home to many museums, famous artists, parks, cathedrals and cultural activities.

View of Hotel NH Barbizon Palace at night
View of Hotel NH Amsterdam Barbizon Palace at night | Photo: Alexa Albanese

One great thing about Amsterdam is that it’s super easy to get around. Not only is the city extremely walk-able, but there is also a fantastic public transportation system that will take you anywhere you need to go.

The Dutch are famous for their waffles, called stroopwafel, which are two thin layers of waffle with a gooey, caramel layer in between. Buy from a street vendor and warm it on top of a steaming take away drip coffee and you have yourself a delicious brekkie.

stroopwafels amsterdam
Stroopwafels in a shop in Amsterdam

There are a ton of museums in Amsterdam, and wandering through the halls of history is a great way to spend the morning. Head to Museumplein (or “Museum Square,” in English) in Amsterdam South and you’ll have a few to choose from.

While you’re there, don’t forget to scramble on top of the famous IAmsterdam letters to get a picture.

iamsterdam letters
The iconic Amsterdam letters | Photo: Alexa Albanese

The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum dedicated to the history and arts of Amsterdam. The Van Gogh museum is a stunning chronology of the artist’s works and story of his life. And the Stedelijk Museum features contemporary art from modern artists all over the world.

Visiting the Anne Frank House is another must do. The museum is a heavy experience and not for the faint of heart, but a beautiful recollection of the life of a spirited girl who died too soon. Both educational and emotional, it’s worth a visit.

anne frank house amsterdam
© Siraanamwong | Dreamstime.com – Amsterdam, Netherlands – May 7, 2015: Tourist Visit Anne Frank House And Holocaust Museum In Amsterdam Photo

For lunch, feel free to visit one of the city’s many coffee shops. You can enjoy a nice meal and if you’re so inclined, a joint to go with it. Amsterdam is one of the few cities in the world where marijuana is legal.

For an afternoon activity, you have a few options. If you like to shop, head to the quintessential Dutch quarter, De 9 Straatjes, which literally translates to “the 9 Streets.” These streets are dotted with typical Amsterdam boutiques offering all sorts of goods, from handmade fashions to quirky books and gadgets and fine dining restaurants.

canal amsterdam
Canal in Amsterdam | Photo: Alexa Albanese

As you’ll notice, Amsterdam has a lot of canals — almost 200, with over a thousand bridges spread throughout the city. Taking a tour on one of the canal boats is a relaxing way to see the city from a different point of view. You’ll also get a little history lesson with your tour.

canal amsterdam
View of one of many canals in Amsterdam | Photo: Alexa Albanese

You can also stroll around de Jordaan, which is arguably Amsterdam’s most famous neighborhood. Originally a working class neighborhood dating back to the 17th century, Jordaan is now one of the most upscale and expensive neighborhoods in the Netherlands. Here you can find modern art galleries and specialty shops and restaurants. Markets are held nightly and a great place to find unique souvenirs.

cheese stall in de Jordaan
Cheese stall in de Jordaan | Photo: Alexa Albanese

If you’re getting peckish, pick up a delicious cheese snack from a street vendor while you’re meandering the picturesque neighborhoods. Typically served with mustard, there’s great variety in Dutch cheese; and regardless of whether you prefer soft and gooey or hard and mild, you’ll find something to satisfy your nibbles.

On a particularly beautiful day, head to Vondelpark, the biggest and most visited park in Amsterdam. It sits on over 120 acres of land and is beautifully landscaped, with immaculately manicured lawns, original statues and a body of water throughout. Be sure to check out the open-air theater and rose garden in the middle of the park.

vondelpark amsterdam
Vondelpark | Photo: Alexa Albanese

As you might imagine, Amsterdam has quite the vibrant nightlife scene. Paradiso is a must if you’re into live music. The music venue/club is in an old converted church building with a rich history; it was squatted by hippies in the 1960s and eventually turned into an “entertainment and leisure” club. Acts such as Frank Zappa, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Billy Idol and even the Rolling Stones have performed there.

Of course, the Red Light District can’t be without mention. The tourists flock here every year to see the working girls, coffee shops and available legal drugs. Although it’s definitely a sight to see, the Red Light District is not an integral part of Amsterdam and there are other more culturally rich places to spend your time.

red light district amsterdam
Coffee shop in the Red Light District | Photo: Alexa Albanese

If you’re looking for something a little swankier, head over to Jimmy Woo, where the ambiance is soft and the drinks are expensive. Jimmy Woo attracts a crowd of both tourists and locals, young professionals, students and the like. The music played is popular on the charts and the dance floor is always burning up. Jimmy Woo is a great place to end your night with a good group of friends.

It’s hard to do everything in Amsterdam because there are so many opportunities at your fingertips. If you like art and history, you can spend the whole day exploring museums. If you’re a foodie, hop on a food tour and taste everything that the city has to offer including delicious cheese, beer, sausage and specialty desserts like fresh crepes and chocolate.

sausage amsterdam

The shopping is great as well, with many specialty boutiques catering to every different style and budget. If you’re up for a lazy day lounging in the grass and people watching, a picnic at Vondelpark should do just fine.

Take advantage of the sparkling nightlife and you’ll leave with memories from a trip unlike anywhere. After all, there is nowhere else that parties quite like Amsterdam. Just be responsible.

amsterdam canal
Image via Pixabay under license CC0

As you can see, no matter what you fancy, there’s no shortage of things to do in this beautiful city. If it wasn’t already, definitely put Amsterdam on your list of must-visit cities this summer.