AMSTERDAM HISTORICAL CENTER

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Day 2: SHIPHOL AIRPORT - AMSTERDAM: ANA FRANK'S HOUSE, FLOWER MARKET, VANG GOGH MUSEUM, CRUISE FOR THE AMSTERDAM CHANNELS, DAM SQUARE, RED NEIGHBORHOOD

The alarm sounds at 7 in the morning and after only sleeping only 5 hours the body tells us one thing and the mind another. But as we are traveling and we know what that means, we pay attention to our mind and after a quick shower, at 8 o'clock we are checking out of our hotel at Shiphol airport and taking the free hotel shuttle to airport, which will allow us to see the things we have scheduled.
Shortly before 8.15 in the morning we are already taking our tickets at the airport machines to Central Amsterdam for 10.50 euros (they cost 4 euros, plus 1 euro fee to pay on the machine, plus 0.50 per visa).

Our train leaves at 8.21 in the morning from platform 3, so it touches a wagon and with a breath of luck we catch it by the hair.
It took 20 minutes in the Shiphol Airport train to Amsterdam Central Station and we planted 400 meters from our hotel in Amsterdam, the Liberty Hotel. (Update 2017: This hotel has closed. We recommend Singel Hotel, which has the same location and similar characteristics)
You can find more information about the transfer in this post about how to go from Amsterdam airport to downtown.
But before we stop right in front of the Central Station, in the Amsterdam Tourist Office, where we have to pick up the two courtesy I Amsterdam City Card, which the Tourist Office has offered us for these days that we will spend in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Central Station

Some of the things that includes the I Amsterdam City Card They are:
Free public transport (GVB Amsterdam company)
Free Amsterdam Canal Cruise to choose between two companies
€ 2.50 discount on admission to the Rijksmuseum
Free admission to the most important attractions and museums in Amsterdam
Other promotions and special discounts that can be consulted in the brochure attached to the City Card
Restaurant discount, bike rental
Free admission to various attractions and discounts at Zaanse Schans
Free admission to the main museums and various discounts in Haarlem
Free boat transfer from Volendam to Marken and in Volendam and Marken several discounts
Free admission to the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen and several discounts in Enkhuizen
And the Prices of the I Amsterdam City Card according to the days you need are:
I amsterdam City Card for 24 hours: 47 euros
I amsterdam City Card for 48 hours: 57 euros
I amsterdam City Card for 72 hours: 67 euros

Dossier of the I Amsterdam City Card

We leave you with more information in the tips section for traveling through Amsterdam of our blog.

But by surprise, The Amsterdam Tourist Office opens at 9 am, so we took the opportunity to go to the hotel, which as we said before we have very close, crossing hundreds of bicycles that begin to show us how much this means of transport is used in the city.

Bicycles in Amsterdam

On the way to the hotel and still with our bags, we began to see the Amsterdam's famous canals and an environment that after just a few minutes, we are really enjoying it.

Amsterdam canals

We pass by a super nice cafe next to the hotel and seeing that they do not open the door of the hotel (after they inform us in the cafeteria that they open about 9.30 or 10 in the morning) we take the opportunity to have a couple of apple strudel with two coffees for breakfast 12.25 euros.

Having breakfast in Amsterdam

At 9.30 in the morning we continue our way and seeing that the hotel has not yet opened its doors, something unthinkable anywhere else, we make the decision to save time and go to the Central Station where for 5.10 euros we take a small ticket office for 24 hours, where our two suitcases fit and so we can begin to know the things we want to see.

Amsterdam Central Station ticket offices

We take this opportunity to collect our I Amsterdam City Card And now we can start our Amsterdam planning.
We start touring the Singel channel, right in front of where we have our hotel and we begin to see the first houseboats and the first scenes that invite us to keep pressing the camera's trigger.
A good option to not miss anything in the city is to book this free tour of Amsterdam with a guide in Spanish Free! or this other tour that includes a boat trip on the canals.

Singel Canal in Amsterdam

The Singel Canal was originally a moat that defended the outer limits of the city and is the first channel to the center. Torensluis is the oldest bridge in the city, built in the mid-seventeenth century, crossing the canal at mid-height.

Torensluis Bridge, the oldest in the city

Color in Amsterdam

Book the best rated Spanish tours and excursions in Amsterdam by travelers:
- Tour to Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Edam
- Excursion to Bruges
- Offer: Guided tour + Boat trip
- Boat trip on the canals
- Excursion to Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague
- More excursions and tours here

After this first contact, we follow the itinerary on page 100 of the Amsterdam Lonely Planet guide, starting the tour on the Singel channel and ending at Negen Straatjes.
We arrive at Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and as we expected the line gives the account to the block, so we decided to leave this visit for the last day that we will have the least crowded morning of visits.
Right next to the Anne Frank House we have the Westerkerk, where we want to climb the tower (something that we will also leave for the last day with Anne Frank) and visit the Church.

Westerkerk

Westerkerk is the main meeting place of the Dutch Reformed Community of Amsterdam. It was built for rich Protestants according to a 1620 design by Hendrick de Keyser.
Its ship is the largest in the Netherlands and is covered by a wooden barrel vault.

Westerker interior

The huge organ dates back to 1686 with panels decorated with instruments and biblical scenes. Rembrant was buried in one of the mass graves somewhere in the church.

With a sky between clouds, which lets us see the sun from time to time, without seeing anything that catches our attention in Westerkerk, we continue to the Homomonument, which is right next door.
The Homomonument are three granite triangles, 10x10x10m, that recall the persecution by the Nazis, who forced the gays to wear a pink triangle-shaped patch.
To the south of the Homomunument, we can see the Pink Point, an information kiosk, also a souvenir shop, where you can find publications, news about parties, events ...

Pink Point in Amsterdam

We follow the route through the streets of Amsterdam, always accompanied by the canals and end up in the Negen Straatjes area or 9 streets, which represent the densest possible concentration of the pleasures of consumption.
These nine streets are actually quite small, each one block in length and its stores are quite small, although the majority specialize in a kind of article.

Amsterdam canals

Flowers in the canals

From here and at 12 in the morning, we decided to go to the flower market in Amsterdam, from where we want to follow the circuit on page 115 of the Amsterdam Lonely Planet guide, which will take us through the Spiegel neighborhood.
We arrived a few minutes past 12 in the morning and we found one of the most beautiful areas we have seen so far in the few hours we have been in Amsterdam.

Flower Market in Amsterdam

The Bloemenmakt or flower market is one of the most emblematic symbols of the city, with the amazing Munttoren, mint tower, where coins were minted before it fell into French hands.
Losing ourselves among the countless flower shops makes us lose the sense of time for a few minutes and we do nothing other than to soak up the colors and smells that we have in front of us.

Shops in the Flower Market

Cheese shop in the Flower Market

And arriving in this area and being more than 1 noon, perfect time to recharge, we can not miss the opportunity to stop at the Sumo Sushi a Japanese restaurant, quite recommended, in which for 18.50 euros per person you can eat everything you want.

Menu of all the sushi you can eat

We cannot say that it is the best Japanese of our life, but honestly for 42.20 euros that we have paid, we have given ourselves a good binge of Japanese gastronomy.

Eating at Sumo Restaurant

From here, after making a good desktop, we go to the area of Old South, where some of the most important museums in Amsterdam are located.We pass through it, a giant of 1885 of Dutch Renaissance style full of paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and other treasures of the golden age.

Rijksmuseum in Museumplein

At the moment we do not plan to visit the Rijksmuseum, so we go straight to the Vang Gogh Museum, another must-see in Amsterdam.
But before entering, to finish charging energy, we stopped to have a couple of coffees for 4 euros.

IAmsterdam

We had already told you that we are enjoying Amsterdam very much?
At 14.45 we are already at the door of the Van Gogh Museum and we put ourselves in the direct access queue that the I Amsterdam City Card allows us, with which we not only enter for free, but we can skip the waiting line. If you do not have the Card you can book this visit without queues to the Vang Gogh Museum or this other tour that also includes the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum and a cruise.
If you do not want to take a guided tour and want to avoid the long queues that are formed at the entrance we recommend you book this quick entry ticket to the Van Gogh museum or this ticket if you are going to visit the Rijksmuseum.

Queue at the Van Gogh Museum

And what can we say about this visit? Without a doubt, even if you are not an expert or an art lover, you cannot miss it.

Interior of the Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum opened in 1973 to install the collection of Theo, Vincent's little brother. It currently houses 200 paintings and 500 drawings of Vincent and his contemporaries, such as Gauguin, Monet and Bernard.
Through Van Gogh's paintings, the museum recounts his journey from Holland, where his work was dark and bleak to Paris, where under the influence of the Impressionists, he discovered color.

Details of the interior of the Van Gogh Museum

It's 4 in the afternoon when we finish the visit and seeing that the sky is quite clear, we decided to take a short break in the visits programs to do today, with one of the free activities offered by the I Amsterdam City Card, A stroll through the canals of Amsterdam with the Blue Boat Company.
These leave from Stadhoudeskade, just 500 meters from the Van Gogh Museum, so we have no excuse not to invest a few hours in this activity.

Blue boat. Amsterdam canal cruise

We arrived a few minutes past 4 in the afternoon, so we took the tickets for 16.30, a 75-minute walk through the canals. If we had not had the I Amsterdam City Card, it would have cost 15 euros per person. Another option if we do not have the Card is to book this boat trip through the canals.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Amsterdam
- 50 things to see and do in Amsterdam
- 5 best tours and excursions in Amsterdam
- 10 essential places to visit in Amsterdam
- 10 restaurants to eat in Amsterdam for cheap
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Amsterdam
- The 5 best museums in Amsterdam
- Where to stay in Amsterdam: best neighborhoods and hotels
- 10 essential places to see in Holland
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Holland

As we still have a few minutes until the ship sails, we take the opportunity to go to the Max Euweplein, a square that is right next to the exit of the Blue Boat and Voldenpark, where we will come on Sunday.

Max Euweplein

And as we still have a little more time, we approach Leidseplein, another nearby square with a lot of atmosphere.

Leidseplein

A few minutes before the ship leaves, we are already with our tickets in hand and we settle in one of the interior tables, although in the hour and a quarter that the journey lasts, we are continuously leaving and entering to fully enjoy this New perspective of the canals of Amsterdam.

Blue Boat Interior

The route of this company is quite wide and with a duration of an hour and a quarter, more than the rest of the companies.
At the moment when the tour starts, they provide you with headphones that you can connect next to the tables and listen to the whole story and the places you are going through.

Views from the boat of the canals of Amsterdam

Amsterdam canals

As there is not much else to explain about this activity, which we find essential in Amsterdam, we leave you some photographs, which we believe is the best way to explain everything we could see.

Crossing the canals of the city

Nemo

Houseboats from the Amsterdam canal cruise

We finished the walk through the canals, a must without a doubt at 17.45 in the afternoon and having the check in of the hotel at 8 as a deadline and without wanting to risk running out of hotel tonight, we take the tram, also free with the I Amsterdam City Card, like all public transport and we arrive at the Central Station in a few minutes, where we collect our bags to return again to the hotel that we booked through the latest discovery we have made in terms of mobile applications, the new Hostelworld mobile application available for Android, Iphone and Ipad, which you can download for free on Google Play.
This new application has more than 30000 properties worldwide accompanied by images that help us choose the accommodation that best suits our needs.
It also has a very valid filter that allows us to screen results by price, location or score of the opinions of other users.
And best of all, you can pay your stay directly using your credit card details if you have previously saved it.
And here another great improvement, the card scan, which avoids having to type numbers in the mobile phone in view of everyone and anywhere. This is a process that greatly speeds up the reservation and payment and is completely safe.
It's over to be taking out the credit card running to book the hotels !!
Another feature of the Hostelworld mobile application is that it allows you to make "flexible reservations", something perfect if you do not have a closed travel plan, but you like to take things organized even if there are possibilities of changing plans.
As we mentioned in the preparations for the trip to Amsterdam we found that the days we traveled coincided with a very important congress in the city, so with the help of this application we were lucky to be able to filter by city and location the accommodation that was most It suited our needs and stay calm knowing that we already had a place to sleep in the city without risking being left without accommodation those days or having to pay a fortune!

We ring the bell again as we did this morning and nothing, we still receive no response.
Luckily a boy looks out the window and the owner comes down to open the moment, commenting that we have been waiting all day and that the doorbell does not work. He has got rid of a good answer because we are busted that if not ... 😉
We rest 15 minutes in our room and at 7 in the afternoon we go straight to Dam Square, very close also to where we stayed, where we find the most festive atmosphere.

Dam Square

From here the idea is to start the tour of page 72 of the Lonely guide that will take us through the Red Light District, another essential visit in Amsterdam.
Another option to learn more about the history of the neighborhood is to book this tour with a guide in Spanish.

Canals in the Red Light District of Amsterdam

There is not much atmosphere at this time, but we already see the first showcases with girls that really call us a lot of attention, not for what it is, if not for the accumulation of groups of men, we believe that 99% tourists, who squeeze in front of.
That creates a double feeling about this place, which certainly must be seen, but in which we feel in a certain way as "stalkers" looking at the windows.

Streets of the Red Light District

Showcases in the Red Light District of Amsterdam

After 8 pm and already with the stomach asking for something to recover, we go to Haesje Claes, a restaurant also highly recommended, in which we ask for several typical dishes to make a half tasting menu: herring, cheese croquettes, croquettes Shrimp and Dutch cheese plus water, beer and two desserts for 50.55 euros.

Having dinner at Haesje Claes

We just had dinner after 9 pm and although the idea was to go for a walk around the Red Light District again, we are so extremely tired of everything we have visited, that we decided that the time has come to return to our hotel and rest for tomorrow be ready for the first excursion from AmsterdamZaanse Schans