Amsterdam is wonderful and a huge travel destination for tourists from all around the world. You will end up taking hundreds of photographs and you will surely enjoy the experience. However, if you visit for the first time, there are many different things that you will need to be aware of.
Whenever visiting the city, whether you want to enjoy tours with locals in Amsterdam or you just want to create your very own itinerary, be sure that you remember the following important things so that you can enjoy the experience more.
Avoid Visiting During Weekends
Amsterdam stands out as a highly visited European destination, with over 7 million travelers coming from all around the world every single year. So many Europeans choose to visit the city during the weekend, with more crowds moving during the summer months. Because of this, a room can easily end up costing 3 to 4 times more.
Be sure to plan in advance and conduct a really good research if you want to save a lot of money. This automatically means that the best thing you can do is to visit during weekdays. This helps you save a lot of money and time since you do not have to deal with the crowds.
Get An I Amsterdam Card
The I Amsterdam Card is a wonderful way to save money when you visit the city. The validity of the card is up to 4 days and allows you to enter numerous top museums for free. Public transport will be free and you also get restaurant discounts and free canal cruise tickets. When you first visit a museum the museum part of the card is activated. When you first use public transport, this part of the card is activated. This means that you can save even more time with the card.
Coffeeshops Are Not Cafes
We are tempted to think about coffee shops in a specific way but the truth is that in Amsterdam these are not actually typical cafes. You do not visit them just for coffee and other typical coffeeshop drinks and foods. In the coffee shops you can enjoy marijuana products, which is a big reason why tourism in the city boomed in the past few years.
In the event that you are interested in the experience but you do not want to do it alone, there are tours you can be a part of.
Do Not Bother Cyclists
Roads are dominated by bicycles in Amsterdam. The entire city is practically filled with cyclists since both locals and tourists use them. It is so easy to find a bike tour in Amsterdam that you will simply love. In fact, in the city you can find more bikes than actual permanent residents.
Unfortunately, so many tourists do not actually see the bike lanes. They just walk on them. It is not that easy for the bike to stop so accidents can happen. Be sure that you stay off the bike lanes in order to not get injured and not to injure someone else.
Don’t Take Pictures in Amsterdam’s Red Light District
Because of the fact that prostitution is legal in the city, the Red Light District is a huge tourist attraction. Unfortunately, this means many tourists do not act as they should. Women can be seen in practically all glass windows in the district but you should not be tempted and take photographs. If you do so and someone sees you, it is a certainty that your camera will be confiscated. Locals care a lot about their privacy.
Rain Can Hit When You Least Expect It
The last thing that should be mentioned about the wonderful city of Amsterdam is that rain can come out of the blue. You have to be physically and mentally prepared to handle this. Never forget your travel rain gear. This is especially the case with shoes. Having flip flops or gumboots is much more useful than what you may initially think.
In the event that you made the mistake of forgetting the rain poncho, do not sweat it too much. There are countless shops that sell really cheap rain clothes for under 5 EURO. Umbrellas are also really easy to find.
