Two Days in Amsterdam: Picturesque, Calm, and Captivating

Europe 2024 Trip Report So Far: Back from 18-day Europe Trip, Review: Iberia Business Class DFW to MAD, Hits and Misses from my First MSC Cruise,  DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station Review

Our two days in Amsterdam ended up being one of our favorite parts of our recent European trip. The city was much quieter, more beautiful and more peaceful than I expected.

Anne Frank House

As I mentioned in a previous post, I almost didn’t get tickets to the Anne Frank House. But thankfully, I was able to get some the week before our trip.

We were a little early for our reservation, so we walked around the area. So beautiful!

The gift shops sell a lot of cannabis product:

Before our trip, my daughter and I watched The Diary of Anne Frank movie on Amazon Prime. The story captivated my daughter, and she had a lot of questions.

We waited in a line outside the Anne Frank house because they don’t let you inside until your exact time. Photos are not allowed inside the house, so this is the only one I took of the outside:

The tour was self-guided with audio. Anne Frank’s actual diaries are on display under glass. In total, we spent about 2 hours there. My daughter said it was the best museum she’s ever been to. The movie did an excellent job of replicating the annex. We were both so moved by the tour, and I’m so thankful we were able to visit. Tip: While you wait for your tour time, there is a beautiful church next door that is free to tour, and it has bathrooms.

Canal Cruise

Several canal cruise companies are right outside of the Anne Frank House. There are all very similar in price (20-25 Euros).  We hopped on one to see more of the city.

Our tour guide was fantastic, telling us about the history of the city and describing the sites as we passed by. Some of the bridges are quite low, so he warned us to remain seated under the bridges:

One of my favorite things to see were the backpacks of high school graduates that hung on the flag poles outside of houses. What a cool tradition!

My daughter told me she actually enjoyed the canal cruise because she thought it was going to be boring, but it wasn’t.

Day Trip to Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam and Marken

For our second day in Amsterdam, I booked this tour on Get Your Guide to visit Zananse Schans, Edam, Volendam and Marken. The departure point was close to our hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station.

Our first stop, Zaanse Schans, is an adorable outdoor museum with access to traditional windmills.

You can tour a cheese museum, and there are quite a few photo ops with wooden shoes.

Next, we visited the small town of Edam, known for Edam cheese. It’s a cute town.

We saw the old cheese market location:

Our group toured a cheese factory and a wooden shoe factory to learn the process before heading to Volendam for lunch.

We ate lunch at a waterfront restaurant recommended by our guide before heading to our last stop, the small island of Marken.

My daughter and I both enjoyed this scenic tour.

Apple Pie and Fondue

While we were in Amsterdam, we visited Winkle 43 to try the famous apple pie:

It’s tall and pretty good (I’m not much of an apple pie fan so maybe I’m not the best critic).

Our canal cruise captain recommended Cafe Bern for dinner. It did not disappoint! I enjoyed the tastiest fondue for dinner:

Amsterdam: Final Thoughts

I’m so happy that we visited Amsterdam during our recent trip. It’s quite unique from other European cities I’ve visited. I’d return in a heartbeat.

Author: Nancy

Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.