Backpacking Amsterdam

The first thing you want to do when visiting any city is to have a sure place to stay. It's better to have booked a hostel in advance rather then going around looking for vacancies at the last minute. It's very annoying to carry around a large backpack in public transportation both for you as well as others if its crowded, so when you do arrive to the city go straight to the hostel and lock your backpack and valuables. Take a day ruck sack (small 16 litres is about right). Its essential for all those bits to carry on trips out. That way you will only have to carry the large backpack once when you're arriving and once when you're departing and when you do carry the backpack in public transportations take it off your back and have it in front of you where you can see it.
For more general travelling tips visit my Backpacking the World lens.

The website that I use to book a hostel or a hotel is HostelBookers. Some hostels include breakfast, free internet, lockers.
Be sure to look very close to what each hostel provides and what it provides for free. Read the customer reviews, ratings as well as descriptions and valuable information of each hostel before booking. To be prepared, be sure to write down all the necessary information on how to find and get to the hostel before you arrive in each city. Hostelbookers:

• have no service charge or booking fee.
  
• have a guaranteed lowest price.
  
• and if you find the same cheaper they refund double the difference.
  

• Know the exchange rate for money and use ATM's or banks for exchange. Don't change your money at the airports or stations and if you have to then change only a small amount.
  
  
• In 2008 the no-smoking law took place. Get this, you can go to a coffeshop and smoke weed but its illegal to mix it with tobacco!
  
  
• Just like in many other parts of Europe, prostitution is legal in the Netherlands.
  
  
• The emergency services number is 112 - For police, fire department or ambulance.
  
  
• A good idea for you first day is the free walking tour operated by New Amsterdam Tours from Dam Square at 11am and 1pm.
  
  
• When you get to the city, buy a pocket street-map or get one from your hostel if they provide one for free.
  
  
• To appreciate the nightlife, go on a bar-crawl. Ask your hostel reception for more information.
  
  

• Make your first stop the VVV office across from Amsterdam Centraal Station. The staff will be able to help you figure out where to go next and how to get there.

  
  

• Walk as much as possible to soak up the city. Central Amsterdam is compact and easy to get around, even with the fairly basic free map from the VVV.

  
  

• Cycle, if you can. Amsterdam is definitely a cyclist's city, but it's not for the casual or fearful cyclist. Bikes move fast, have their own traffic signals, and often have the right of way over cars and even pedestrians.

  
  

• Use the Public Transportation. You can buy 24-, 48- and 72-hour GVB passes that allow for unlimited travel on all trams, buses, metros and night buses for the duration of the pass and provide the most economical way for visitors to explore the city. Passes can be purchased at one of the GVB Tickets & Info Offices located at all major train stations. In addition, 24-hour passes may be purchased from GVB drivers and conductors, as well as at most major hotels and the tourist office.

  
  

A good option for backpackers that are not a very tight budget is the I AMsterdam Card. It costs around 58 Euro and you get free access for three days to public transportation, many city museums, and many tourist attractions. The card also entitles you to discounts at more than a dozen restaurants.

Take a stroll along the wonderful Amsterdam canals, up one side and down the other while admiring the beautiful buildings with some amazing architecture to view. You can get some beautiful photos both in daytime and at night.

Begijnhof is a little garden surrounded by little 14th century town houses including the oldest house in all of Amsterdam dating from 1475. This place is so peaceful and quite you can't hear any noise from outside traffic. The houses are still lived in on a daily basis and still by single women. You'll find a well-kept lawn and flower gardens, old houses, a small medieval church and tall trees. Please respect the notice-- NO noise please.

A nice spot to escape the Amsterdam rain or the Amsterdam sun is to walk through the short cut enclosed passage between the Begijnhof and the Amsterdam Historic Museum and admire the collection of seventeenth century paintings of the Amsterdam Civic Guards which date back to the 16th century.

Every Wednesday, from September to June (the cultural arts season), at 12:30 p.m., the Concertgebouw treats visitors to a 30-minute concert, which is often a public rehearsal from world-renowned orchestras or ensembles that will perform "officially" later that evening.
On Tuesdays, from October to June, also at 12:30 p.m., the Boekmanzaal room at the Amsterdam Stadhuis/Muziektheater complex (often referred as "Stopera") hosts free concerts performed by the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Choir of the Netherlands Opera or the Netherlands Ballet Orchestra.

Many visitors don't know this but they can wander through the sculpture, hedges and rose bushes of the Rijksmuseum Gardens without paying any fee. During the ongoing renovation of the museum (to be completed in 2012-13), the Renaissance and Baroque Gardens remain open to the public.

Between the city center of Amsterdam and North Amsterdam lies the IJ, the oldest part of Amsterdam's port. If you're feeling like taking a boat ride, why not enjoy one for free? While it is quite a straightforward and short trip (only about five minutes), the ferry ride to the northern banks gives the visitors an expansive view of the Amsterdam waterfront.

Inspired by the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, the Hollandsche Manege (Royal Dutch Riding School) near the Vondelpark has hardly changed since it first opened its doors in 1882. For a unique Amsterdam experience, watch from a stylish orchestra balcony as students practice riding gorgeous horses below.

The Netherlands is synonymous for its windmills, tulips, canals and cheese markets. For centuries, windmills have helped the Dutch fight water shortages so it is little wonder that they were the first to develop 'windmill technology'. As mentioned a compact city that everything is literally at your doorstep or just a short bike ride away. There are in fact 8 windmills at the heart of Amsterdam.
Of all of the 8 mills the Gooyer or Fuenmolen located on Fuenenkade 7 is probably the easiest to get as it is within walking distance of the Maritime museum. If you happen to be in the city on the first Saturday of the month, you might just catch the windmill in operation.

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 200 paintings by Van Gogh and many drawings and letters. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist's developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection. The museum also holds an extensive offer of exhibitions on various subjects from 19th-century art history.
I went and visited the museum after a stop at a coffeshop and I really found the paintings more "alive". I just thought it would be fun and this shouldn't be taken like any sort of advice to others.

The Rijksmuseum is the largest museum in the Netherlands, with more than a million visitors each year. The Rijksmuseum is currently in a prolonged renovation, but a small part of it remains open. Its exhibition called The Masterpieces shows the most famous pieces of Dutch art from the 17th c., usually called the Golden Age of the Netherlands. Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals reflect in their work different aspects of Dutch national character. You may also see the museum treasury, beautiful doll houses from the period and the traditional Delftware.

When hearing about Amsterdam you often hear about smoking pot at the numerous coffeeshops. It is illegal to import, export, sell, produce or process recreational drugs in Holland however, the authorities in Amsterdam have a liberal policy on marijuana and hashish.
Certain shops may sell small amounts of the soft drugs and patrons are allowed to smoke inside. Whether or not you choose to partake, experiencing the café scene in Amsterdam is something that shouldn't be missed.

Party atmosphere, sex for sale, and limitless people-watching. The stores are full of hardcore videos, magazines and sex toys. The Red Light District is somewhat of a sexual amusement park and often not taken too seriously by the hordes of tourist who frequent it. The famous red window lights are striking against the old canal houses and even the lights that line the bridges at night are coloured red. Although it is generally considered to be a very safe area, care should still be taken when walking through the quieter streets of the area. There is a strict "no photography" policy.