Things To Do in Amsterdam Netherlands in 4 Days

So, you’re having a Eurotrip soon and Amsterdam is on your list. Check out my Amsterdam itinerary for 4 days. Due to limited time, I only get to spend 4 days in the city of Amsterdam last September 2016.

I have been wanting to visit Amsterdam long before when I was still working in the Philippines. Of course, Amsterdam is known for its “Just Good Vibes” atmosphere, beautiful canals, the Red Light District, Coffee Shops and more.

Amsterdam is one of the great places for an escape from work and anything stressful. Below are some of the reasons why I chose to visit Amsterdam and my itinerary.

Amsterdam Netherlands – My 4-Day Itinerary

Day 1 

Amsterdam is known for being a bike-friendly city. During my 4 days in Amsterdam, I only traveled around the city by bike and train and I didn’t regret it. In Amsterdam, it is either you walk, you pedal, you take trains or you ride a boat.

From Prague we took EasyJet to reach Amsterdam. It is one of the cheapest airlines for a quick air transfer. The whole flight took only about 30 minutes.

Prior to the travel, we have pre-booked a hotel room for 2 at the A&O Hotel. A&O has a hotel and hostel buildings. Glad they have free breakfast buffet and fast internet connection. Plus, its just in-front of a Metro Station, well, a few steps away.

We bought a sim card from Prague with credit on it so we can use the data for GPS while in Amsterdam.

So, after breakfast we headed to the central station to find some bike rentals around. We walked around and found Yellow Bike Rentals. Rented a bike for 3 days so we can roam around the city easily. We spent our fist day just biking around to get familiarized with the city and just relaxing. You can also check out Yellow Bike’s Big City Tours, Small City Bike Tours or their Countryside Bike Tours for a minimum fee.

On a bike, you can pretty much see everything in there. Below are some of the places you can visit on a bike:

Canal Tour (by bike)
Van Gogh Museum
Rijks Museum
Anne Frank House (we skipped due to a very long line of visitors)

After roaming around mostly at the central part of the city, we headed to Red Light District to spend the night for dinner and some sight seeing. You know what I mean. It took us around 20 minutes of biking to reach there from Central Station. Again, we used the data from a sim bought in Prague for GPS.

The Red Light District. Where we had our dinner and some sight seeing. We park our bikes where ever there is a space for bikes. Yes, you can just park your bikes anywhere as long as you lock them up and remember where you left them.

It is very lively at the Red Light District. You can find lots of restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, small souvenir shops and store, clubs and adult entertainment bars. We didn’t dare to watch one of the ‘shows’ as we planned. I think it was just too much for us. haha!

After some hours roaming around the Red Light District, we left our bikes locked somewhere near the metro station and took the train to our hotel.

Day 2

We intended this day to just chill and relax and just roam around wherever our bikes will lead us. Somewhere along the way, we decided to grab something from a Coffee Shop and ate brunch at one of the Italian restaurants along the canals. When you see a shop where it is written Coffee Shop, it is the place where you can score a joint.

When we reached Central Station, we walked behind the station and took a Free ferry ride across the IJ river to the Buiksloterweg stop. There, you can explore the EYE Film Museum and Tolhuistuin.

After some time, we head back to the Central Station and took a boat tour, just so we tried, for 18 Euros each :p Again, we left our bikes locked up somewhere near the metro station.

The Central Station.

Below photos were taken during the boat tour. It took about an hour for the tour with an English-speaking tour guide. We cruised along Amsterdam’s picturesque canals and UNESCO heritage sites. There, we were able to see some elegant merchant houses since the Golden Age, Science Center NEMO, beautiful and magnificent facades and gables, churches, the famous “Skinny Bridge” and some other more.

After an hour, we rested for a bit, ate ice cream, sat down anywhere we can, walked, laughed our lungs out, talked, just enjoyed the Amsterdam atmosphere.

Before it got dark that day, we headed to the Red Light District for dinner and some sight seeing, again.

We pedaled and pedaled and pedaled.

Before heading to the Red Light District again, we passed by some known places such as:

Rijksmuseum,
Heineken Building
Dam Square
Madame Tussauds
Royal Palace
National Memorial phallic
New Church
Beurs van Berlage, an old Stock Exchange building

And then after, we walked and walked and walked.

We planned to visit a Sunday market that day, but, when we get there, it was closed already. For some Amsterdam market experience, you can visit http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/what-to-do/shopping/amsterdam-markets.

Then, we decided to visit the botanical park and just relax there but we figured out that the Rembrandtpark is nearer, so we stayed there instead for some time.

We had our dinner at the Red Light District again and we decided we try hanging out somewhere else. We walked along the Pub Street but ended up hanging out at Hannekes Boom.

We really didn’t have a plan on how to spend the day and night so we went to wherever the GPS and research lead us. Hannekes Boom is considered as one of the best local bars in the city. It is near the Central Station, around 15 minutes walk.

On the way, you will see this grand Chinese Restaurant.

And, the the Science Center NEMO.

Hannekes Boom place. Quiet and easy vibes. Sometimes, there are bands playing live as well. The place is just peaceful, chill with wide variety of drinks some good music played in the background.

Hannekes Boom is highly recommended. What a good night to end the second day. Cheers!

Part 2 of this 4-day Amsterdam travel on my next blog.

Thank you for dropping by! 🙂