WEEKEND IN AMSTERDAM

I haven't been away with my girlfriends since my hen holiday in Ibiza, so a girls trip was long overdue :) We decided on Amsterdam as it's ideal for a weekend getaway and only an hour away by plane. When we started looking at flights and accommodation, we didn't realise how expensive the city was but managed to get some reasonable tickets and found an amazing apartment right by Museum square. Amsterdam is small and compact and our apartment was only a 30 minute bus ride from the airport. When we walked up to our apartment, it had a real Soho New York feel to it with all the narrow tall houses, tree lined streets and little balconies. I found out that New York used to be known as New Amsterdam years and years ago, so it make sense!

Amsterdam is known for it's bikes and the idea of cycling around the city sounds cute right but in reality it's a bit of a hazard. There are cyclists and bikes everywhere and they don't stop if you get in their way! Of course it's great it's a bike friendly city but be aware of them when walking around - the amount of time we had to dodge out of the way when we heard the wheels whizzing up behind us! Here are some photos from our little trip, my friend summed up Amsterdam perfectly - bikes, bridges and canals :)

We had a few things on our agenda, including visiting the Anne Frank House. We booked it 2 months in advance as it gets booked up really quickly. You can queue for tickets on the day but when we saw the super long queue that was never ending, we were relieved we booked in advance especially as it was raining too! I'm sure everyone knows Anne Frank and her family's story but walking around in the same rooms where they hid in the annex and listening to the audio guide made it a really emotional and moving experience. 

We also visited the Banksy and Dali exhibition at MOCO museum, which was really cool to see their iconic work in a really grand building. I really like the message behind Banksy's work as it always stems in love and peace. The exhibition is running until the end of August if you fancy checking it out. We wanted to check out the Van Gogh museum as well but saw the long queue and decided against it! Other popular museums include the Rijksmuseum, which is in a beautiful building and the Stedelijk - we arrived when it was closing so bare that in mind if you fancy going! 

 

There's a really pretty and charming feel to Amsterdam, the tall houses and canals are so iconic and the buildings have their own character and style. We enjoyed ambling along the canals and different boroughs. Our favourite area was De Pijp, south of Amsterdam, which had a very chilled and hipster feel to it with the boutiques shops and cafes. We did explore Dam Square and central Amsterdam but wasn't keen on it, as you can imagine it's very touristy with a lot of guys on stag do's getting drunk! 

It was a nice little getaway and another city to tick off our list! I can't really imagine staying there much longer as it's quite small but we managed to see a lot of the main sights. Here's a post of lunch and brunch places to try! Have you been to Amsterdam?

Where's your favourite City break?

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