I like Amsterdam. It is a great place to visit especially if you happen to suffer from Coeliac disease. Like a lot of places aboard there is a good choice of gluten free food in the supermarkets and even
McDonalds have a Gluten free Menu. There is even someone who writes a blog about a Gluten Free life in the City and in the Netherlands in genera called
Gluten Free Amsterdam. All this in mind I have never visited the city with my wife who is the Gluten free one. No I have only every visited Amsterdam with my daughter. These trips have been research trips for her art studies. Lets face it Amsterdam is a great city for the young but also for those how like art.
Amsterdam is a great city full of history and nightlife. The capital of the Netherlands the city has some great museums and galleries. The best of these is the
Rijksmuseum. The home of the Night Watch by Rembrandt, plus other works by Van Gogh and other great artists. The
Rijksmusem is just one of the three major museums on the Museumplein open square which also houses the famous
Van Gogh Museum and the
Stedelijk Museum plus the
Royal Concertgebouw concert hall. Other great places to visit include
Artis, the royal zoo which is much more then a zoo but also aquarium and a planetarium.this may not be to every ones taste as it is an old Victorian zoo.
Het Scheepvaartmuseum or the
The National Maritime Museum, the
Amsterdam Museum which tells the story of Amstedam from its foundation to the present day and of course the inspirational
Anne Franks House.
While in Amsterdam no visit is complete without a cruise on the canals we liked
Blue Boat as it was near our hotel and
Amsterdam Circle Line as they were more central on our second trip. We also enjoyed the
Evening Pizza Cruise although sadly not Gluten Free friendly still a nice way to see the city and have an enjoyable evening.The canal ring is well worth a visit on foot. This way you might see the
Kat kabinet a museum dedicated to cats in art or the
De Poezenboot or
Cat Boat a sort of floating Battersea cats home on t e canals. Amsterdam is also famous for its Red Light District. A visit here is not strictly adults only and the area is perfectly safe for women to visit as the tourist attraction it has become.
 |
| De Poezonboot |
Public transport is very good in Amsterdam and is also part of the tourist scene including now a new metro system. The tram system the main transport in the centre of town and trams radiate out from the front of the central station. Amsterdam like some other European cities such as Budapest and Berlin has a scenic tram route. The Route 2 from Centraal Station to Hoofddorpplein. The Route 2 travels passed some of the biggest attractions in Amsterdam such as the canals, the
Rijksmuseum Both the
Stedelijk and
Van Gogh museums and the Vondelpark.
The Royal Concertgebouw concert hall is also a short walk from a route 2 tram stop.
 |
| A Canal In Amsterdam |
The best way to see all that Amsterdam as to offer is the get the
Iamsterdam card. It really is the one stops shop form Amsterdam with free public transport and a canal cruise and free or reduced price access to many Amsterdam Museums. Another great way to see the city is a sightseeing bus tour. We used
City Sightseeing which was the only hop on hop off tour in Amsterdam when we visited. If covers all the main sights and a ticket is valid for 24 hours.
 |
| The Rijksmuseum |
There are some great places to stay in Amsterdam. We have always stayed just inside thee main city but just outside the canal ring not to far from Central station as we arrived by train both times we visited and will go that way if we visited again as
Eurostar now offer direct services to Amsterdam. We have stayed in small family run hotels like the
Hotel Verdi and the more boutique type
Amadi Park because both were close to the main museums and a short tram ride from the station. there are of course all the main brands in Amsterdam so you are bound to find the right hotel for you.
 |
| A Bridge over a Canal in Amsterdam |
I will go back to Amsterdam one day and hopefully with my wife she would find no problem in catering for her Coeliac disease and be able to enjoy a trip for a change.
