Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels Guidebook
Favorite discoveries or tips:
Yes. If you purchase a Rick Steves guidebook via Apple's "iBook" app, you can also import other useful travel documents into the program (I did this with PDFs), including train schedules, maps, airport gate schematics, boarding passes, etc. - always within reach right net to the guidebook itself. (On an iPhone, you have the option of importing every e-mail attachment into iBook. You can just e-mail yourself any document you want to access along with your guidebook.)
Stacey Oziel in Santa Monica, CA USA 11/25/2011
1) Our hotel in Amsterdam was the Ibis Amsterdam Centre. It is 100m from the main train station, where virtually all streetcars come too, and a 10-15 minute max walk to the central Dam area.
2) Amsterdam Canal boats: The best, not in the book, is CanalBus
3) Brasserie de Roode Lieuw - your local people should revisit this place. While the food was good, the service at 19:00 on a Friday evening in October was haphazard at best. Got the distinct feeling that they have cut back on staff. If so, it shows. Michael Street in Ancaster, ON Canada 11/14/2011 We did not have your Amsterdam guidebook as we only stayed 2 nights and flew home from Schiphol, so you may already have this info in your book:
Tip: Many of the local rail stations are unmanned and vending machines do not accept cash or American credit cards. Best if you're arriving into Schiphol and need to use the local train to get to/from your accommodation, it's best to purchase a return local train ticket to avoid frustration.
It was hard to find a local train schedule, even at Centraal Station.
Tram Day passes (24 hours after first validation) is very convenient and can also be used for buses. It's cheaper than paying 2.60 euro per ride. Kay Ishii in Renton, WA USA 10/30/2011 I wanted to say that my wife and I found the Amsterdam guide book invaluable. With the book we felt more in control of our touring of Amsterdam, the musems and the neighbourhoods. We used Rick's recommendations for all of the restaurants we dined at and we were not disappointed.
We followed both the Amsterdam city walk and the Jordaan walk which were both enjoyable and interesting. We will consider using an audio tour map in the future as I would expect it to enhance the walking tours.
The cost of the book was well worth it. Michael Jones in Coquitlam, BC Canada 10/08/2011 The Flanders TI in the Grand Place has a really great map of waling tours of Art Nouveau architecture including one that is pretty close to the Grand Place -- one topic that Rick doesn't really deal with in discussions of Brussels. Kate McCain in Philadelphia, PA USA 09/10/2011 An update to the event calendar is needed! There's an annual Beer Festival held at the Grand Place in Brussels first weekend (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) of every September. The festival takes over the Place but is a great exposure to Belgium beer. Melinda in Santa Ana, CA USA 09/10/2011 Used guide Albert Walet, very good 1/2 day, somewhat offbeat but fit the bill. Philip Braverman in New York, NY USA 09/05/2011 Anne Frank's house was great to see. Buy tickets ahead of time and go in the early evening just as stated in Rick's books. Sara Shaughnessy in Palm City, Fl USA 07/12/2011 Throughout the year, NS (the national railway company) puts up discounted 1-day train travel pass that can be used by 2 people travelling together, in 1st class, for € 45. The trick is that those tickets are not valid for use before 9am on weekdays. Andre L. in Tilburg, Netherlands 06/18/2011 We used Albert Walet as a guide for both a 3 hour walking tour of Amsterdam and the next evening for a tour of the red light district. He was very well informed about the history, politics, and culture of the Netherlands and was charming to deal with. Many thanks for the tip. Neil Phillips in Cherry Hill, NJ USA 06/06/2011 We stayed at Truelove-Antiek in Amsterdam which is recommended in the Amsterdam book. I would not recommend it to others. I had a credit card compromised that was in the room. When I asked before coming, I was told there was a washer and dryer in the room but when we arrived was told that it was not for guests to use. They advertise free wifi in the room but it was virtually unusable. Michael Bray in Idaho Falls, ID USA 05/20/2011 Restaurant - PortoRomao Sint Jakobsstraat 50, 8000 Brugge, Tel: 050/689219, www.portoromano.be Belgium, Portuguese and Romanian Cuisine. 20 euro Menu, 12-20 Euro Plates. Sorin (Romanian) waits tables and Ana (Portuguese) runs the kitchen. I had the "Meat Special" and my wife had the "Flemish Stew". Both were delicious. Also had Moules and Frites, were very good. Small family owned restaurant about two blocks north of the Markt Square. A true Rick Steves' experience. Steve Kirkland in Lincoln, Ca USA 05/12/2011 Stay in Haarlem vs Amsterdam....wonderful to go home to at the end of a day of sightseeing. Kathleen in De Pere, WI USA 05/05/2011 One of the places you should include in your new edition of Brugge is 2 be. Located at 53 Wollestraat at the canal. It contains a shop that houses a wall with 780 Belgian beers, a store with the beers and their glasses, all of which you can purchase down in the basement. As you traverse further into the shop, a bar serves beers on draft. To the right of the bar, an opening leads to seating all along the canal. Around the corner of the building is more seating and canal views under a beautiful tree. A wonderful place to relax and try some of the beers of Belgium. Craig Morgan in Westmont, NJ USA 04/25/2011 bike trip to damme from bruge with pink bear tours was great. bruce lahr in sauk rapids, mn USA 04/16/2011 Angela Mairs in Lynnwood, WA USA 03/22/2011 Please continue more books for Nook Color ASAP. At 15oz Nook Color saves weight of carrying books, provides web/email access, etc. However, Holland & Belgium 2011 on Apr 26 is too late for our 5-22 April 2011 trip. Keep up your good work & transition to e-books. Thomas Baran in Stuart, FL USA 02/17/2011 Hotel Vondel --near the museumplein --wonderful... Stephen Klatsky in Washington, DC USA 12/21/2010 Restaurant Ter Halle Geernaartstraat 1 8000 Bruges +32-50-34-00-56 * Small and cozy, off the central square, great food.
Martin's Brugge Hotel Oude Burg 5 8000 Bruges +32-50-44-51-11 * Part of a small chain, but it was a good price, very comfortable and a terrific location - directly behind the Bell Tower and steps from a bus stop. Shawn Broda in Downers Grove, IL USA 11/19/2010 I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the book, but Cafe de Raedt is great for a relatively cheap and delicious lunch. http://www.cafederaedt.nl/CafedeRaedt/Welkom.html Amelia in Salt Lake City, UT USA 10/25/2010 Anselmus Hotel: Delightful small, spic and span hotel, 17th Cen building, in Bruge short walk to Market Square qnd many restaurants including RS recommended Rock Fort. Particularly nice downstairs sitting room and breakfast room looking out on garden. Ronald Klein in Santa Fe, NM USA 10/19/2010 Hotel D'Amsterdam, Tweede Helmersstaat 4, Amsterdam - We had trouble fining hotels in the city for less than 5 day minimum for some reason and found this one on line It turned out to be a clean, moderately priced hotel, with excellent customer service in a very convenient, quiet location. It is near the Museums and across the canal and a couple of blocks to the Leidesplein. Amsterdam is expensive for hotels, and we liked this simple, nice one. There is also a very good Italian restaurant directly across the street.
Also discovered a terrific Italian restaurant in the Jordaan called Palladio, which you should check out. William Endelman in Seattle, WA USA 09/26/2010 L'Huitriere, a seafood restaurant in the Sainte Catherine Fish Market in Brussels, across from really good Hotel Welcome, was an extraordinary experience.
Also, you might want to visit Maastricht, where we visited for a conference. A thriving small city in the hilly, southern part of the Netherlands, it combines the old and the new in effective, often beautiful designs. Elizabeth Harris in Los Angeles, CA USA 09/19/2010 L'Huitriere, a seafood restaurant in the Sainte Catherine Fish Market in Brussels, across from really good Hotel Welcome, was an extraordinary experience.
Also, you might want to visit Maastricht, where we visited for a conference. A thriving small city in the hilly, southern part of the Netherlands, it combines the old and the new in effective, often beautiful designs. Elizabeth Harris in Los Angeles, CA USA 09/19/2010 Amsterdam Tulip Museum -just steps from Anne Frank House. Tiny, one room museum, but informative and with cute gift shop. Entry is 4 e, but 1/2 price coupons abound (actually alerted us to museum) www.amsterdamtulipmuseum.com karen kutno in trumbull, ct USA 09/19/2010 Brought back a large sack of chocolates from Dumon, Neuhaus, Galler. Thanks for the recommendation! Rebecca in Washington, DC USA 08/28/2010 HI Rick and Friends, We are Canadians who love your approach - thanks for the great travel books! We are in Haarlem at the Carillon (thanks) and went to Vincent's for supper but it has been closed down. Some other tourists recommended "Pasta di Mamma" just off the Grote Markt - especially as we have kids. It is right up your alley: Friendly, fun, welcomes families, great homemade pasta and pizzas. Our kids loved the way they served themselves and swiped their meal card at each "station". For example, our daughter ordered linguini pesto and swiped her card after the friendly chef had taken her order. My wife chose a wine from the display, swiped the card and voila - a glass of red. The kids were given a "round "buzzer" (like you get at a restaurant so that you can wander and when your table is ready you can return). They were delighted as their buzzer lit up when their pasta/pizza was ready. Not exactly Dutch but all the staff are local (as well as the beer on tap)! We were very happy to find a kid-friendly restaurant where we could enjoy great food and have some fun. I asked our waitress whose brilliant idea this all was: she pointed to Andy. Turned out that the guy who was helping us through the swiping system was the owner, so I asked him for his name and website. Here they are in case you are interested: Andy van den Dungen http://www.pastadimamma.nl/web/default.aspx Any questions? Please contact us. Cheers, John john whidden in calgary, ab canada 08/09/2010 Bruges Bike Rental located at: niklaas desparsstraat 17 (brugesbikerental.be) Best rate in town (8 Euro per day with flyer from hotel), excellent equipment, friendliest owner - Bilal. As cheery at 10pm as he was at 9am! Tom Bruno in Whitefish Bay, WI USA 08/08/2010 In Brugge at Genthof 5, near the city center, is Bean Around the World, an American coffee house, run by a young lady from California married to a local guy. The coffee varieties and other drinks were great with all kinds of American treats, like root beer and candies. The food selection was good and everything we tried was tasty and economical for us on a budget. I would definitely recommend this place. They also have free wifi, great music, and a separate dining room on the second floor so you can sit and relax for a break while enjoying this great little city. Bean Around the World has a Facebook page too that is written in both dutch and english. She told me they have an English language evening once or twice a month so many people come to practice their language skills, and they also accommodate a Mac Users Club several times a month. There are also plans for live entertainment and "open mic" nights in the works. I guess I'll just have to go back and check it out next summer! Jan Hendricks in Kapolei, HI USA 07/26/2010 Bruges--2 favorite restaurant discoveries not mentioned in the book: 1) Ganzespel (Ganzenstraat 37)--only open on weekends, off the beaten track, amazingly fresh and delicious 3-course daily specials for under 10 Euros!; 2) Passage (Dweersstraat 26)--mirror-lined restaurant with all the typical Flemish dishes and beer (great waterzooi and cherry beer)
Amsterdam--Bike rental at Rick's recommended Frederic's: They acted surprised that we asked for the printed 10% off a multi-day rental when you flash Rick's book. They were hesitant to go along with this and said "What is he printing in the book now?". But when we told them we wanted to rent 2 bikes for 3 days, they said, "Well, if it's printed in the book, then it's printed in the book" and gave us the discount. Lisa in St. Louis, MO USA 07/24/2010 For Brussels, add a substantial section on Art Nouveau. Prior to the start of our Rick Steves' tour, my husband & I visited the Horta Museum in the suburb of Ixelles. With its fantastic interior design and filled with Art Nouveau furniture as well, it was our top site for the 6 days we spent in Brussels. We also discovered a local organization called A.R.A.U. that works to make people more aware of Brussels' rich heritage of Art Nouveau & Art Deco architecture. On Saturday mornings, for a very reasonable price, they offer a 3-hour bus tour of many impressive Art Nouveau sites, including the interiors of 1 or 2 not generally open to the public. It was an outstanding experience. They have a site on the web where you can even book in advance.
In Amsterdam, I would recommend that you add a very reasonably priced and outstanding b&b called the Seven Bridges, Reguliersgracht 31 near Prinsengracht. Lovely room, quiet & beautifully maintained, very helpful staff, sumptuous, high-quality breakfast (which you can decline for a lower room rate, if you choose), and, if that's not enough, they left us a bouquet of tulips every 2 days! In a wonderful neighborhood and within walking distance of all the major sites. They're on the web. Shirley Ellsworth in Caldwell, TX USA 07/22/2010 Bean Around the World, 5 Genthof, Bruges
Great American Coffee Shop very close to the central market square in Bruges. Oline, originally from Bakersfield in CA, is the owner and runs a great cosy café with a great atmosphere, freshly made home-baked goods, and free-wifi. It's split over two floors and is a regular haunt for the locals. She also serves hot dishes and a great club sandwich so definitely a place to include in the next edition. Oran Kiazim in London, - UK 07/21/2010 The Guidebook for A/B/B includes several day trips from A'dam but not many in Belgium I fould a day trip from Bruges to Ghent to be one of my most rewarding trips. The day trip fare was cheap and Ghent is worth a day if only to see the Ghent Altarpiece. At the TI opposite the cathedral (where the altarpiece) I got a map of a "city walk" that was better than your recommended walks for Delft or Haarlem (both of which I did). A day trip to Ghent from Bruges or Brussels should defintely be a part of the A/B/B guidebook. David W. Madsen in Seattle, WA USA 07/16/2010 Love the guidebooks, and use them regularly to trips to Europe. This week, I wanted to take a day trip from Paris to Brussels. Booked train on Thalys (expensive, but a joy to ravel with - btw, check promotions as I got a much better fare than listed). Train drops you off at Gare Midi in Brussels. The guidebook just says take the metro to Central. For some reason, I fond it difficult to find a train to Central from Midi. Anway, I took one to the Bourse, which is actually very close to Grand Place, and I think easier then going to Central. BTW, the fare is now 1.70, not 1.50 Glenn LaSalle in Marlton, NJ USA 07/11/2010 Maastricht, Netherlands - yes, it's difficult to get to, and the downtown area is like a shopping mall, but there are wonderful cathedrals, and excellent back door neighborhoods. We re-discovered the regional delicacy of white asparagus here in April!
Gent - Gent is undergoing a bit of a renaissance lately - formerly scary neighborhoods are getting fixed up (not gentrified - bad pun), public transportation improved (project complete Dec 2010) lots of good friendly local pubs and restaurants, and loads of history and flemish art. Definitely worth looking into as a stopover from Brussels or Bruges. Matt Rogers in San Diego, CA USA 07/01/2010 Keukenhof gardens were the most magnificent spectacle. We were told it was the last day so we cancelled all plans and took the train out and couldn't have been more pleased. It was a true wonder. In Amsterdam while trying to find a Rick Steves recommended restaurant, we stumbled upon the most charming 8 table Italian Restaurant: Ponte Acari near the Latin Quarter. The food was delicious, the waiters wonderful and the prices decent. This restaurant should be in the guidebook. Brugge is over-the-top in charm although we found some of the store clerks a little grumpy. S. MacLean in Clayton, CA USA 06/15/2010 Bean around the World - independent American coffee house in Bruges (Belgium) run by Oline Aucoin from Bakersfield, CA - a real treat for tourists and locals alike - see www.beanaroundtheworld.be or the great reviews on Trip Advisor Jo Detavernier in Bruges, Belgium 06/12/2010 This is a comment on a hotel. Just returned from 3 week visit to Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and England. Philip Correia in Fairfield, Ca USA 06/10/2010 The Museumkaarts (year-long museum passes) in the Netherlands are also good for a discount at the new Vermeer Center in Delft. Susan in Longmont, CO USA 06/08/2010 Hotel Zandbergen on Willemsparkweg. Convenient to Van Gogh, and the Rijks on foot. the tram was steps from the door. It was clean, reasonable (E134.50), VERY helpful owner, and a good breakfast. The rooms were small but comfortable; the only downside was extremely steep stairs. Many good bars and restaurants in the neighborhood. Jan in Rhodes, CA USA 06/01/2010 Pre-Purchase Any Tickets You Can Before Leaving! I purchased both our Anne Frank House and Keukenhof Gardens/Bus tickets online before leaving. It was easy to do on each of the websites and saved time having to stand in line. Prepurchasing tickets for Anne Frank House allows you to enter through a different door and we did follow Rick's advice and visit later in the day around 6:30 p.m. Prepurchasing the Keukenhof Gardens/Bus ticket allows you to just board the #54 bus that goes directly to the Gardens and takes you back to the Leiden train station. I also purchase our train tickets from Brussels to Amsterdam and Amsterdam to Bruges on the Belgian Train website ahead of time. This saved lots of time having to purchase the tickets at the train stations. Barbara Murphy in Chicago, IL USA 05/13/2010 Hotel Zandbergen in Amsterdam--Wonderful B&B just down the street from the Museumplein. Tram #2 stop half a block away. Henk, the owner, is so nice and answers all your questions. The hotel also sells tickets to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum so you can avoid the lines. The breakfast is more the adequate to start your day and rooms are comfortable. Barbara Murphy in Chicago, IL USA 05/11/2010 Bistro Refter in Bruges is a fabulous restaurant near Rock Fort (which had no availability) Indrapura Restaurant in Amsterdam (on Rembrandtplein) was the best rice table Indonesian food I have had. stephen wahlberg in denver, co USA 04/17/2010 We traveled to Amsterdam in March 2010 and I would not recommend this time of year - very cold and rainy. Bringing layers, small portable umbrella, glove and scarf a must. See below for severla rec's on restaurants and accomodations Marie Griffin in Leawood , KS USA 03/15/2010 If you get a free Thalys frequent traveller pass, you will get a 50% reduction on admission to Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. ( 7 euro savings) Lydia Engelhardt, MD in Mount Pleasant, SC USA 01/29/2010 Haarlem section in Amsterdam, Bruges, Belgium
Parking in Haarlem Catherine in Edmonds, WA USA 12/16/2009 Amsterdam, Bruges and Brussels Catherine in Edmonds, WA USA 12/15/2009 English Theatre of Bruges For more information, visit www.tematema.com Clare in Liverpool, UK 12/10/2009 - Frittes - found the best ones at a place down the street from St Nicholas church, behind Grand Place. Can't remember the name but when I do will come back and edit this. Apparently very popular with the locals as it was packed when we got back on our last night.
- Prestige - best pastry shop, of the many we visited. Off the main square in Bruges, had the best almond croissants. Great service!
- Pancake Bakery in Amsterdam - pancakes 12" across with lots of fun and tasty toppings.
- Indapura - Indonesian cuisine, next to the NH Schiller in Amsterdam. Not in the budget category, but really great food.
- Pianetta Terra - best Italian food outside of Italy!!! Our host in Amsterdam was Italian, and took us here for dinner one night. Please take the time to research this restaurant, definitely merits being in your book!!! Monica B in Zionsville, IN USA 11/29/2009 Had a wonderful time at De Garre (Bruges) taking in the local beer culture. A little tricky to find but worth the effort. Catherine Fox in Saratoga Springs, NY USA 10/26/2009 The Aviodrome flight museum in Lelystad http://www.aviodrome.nl/english/
The Spoorwegmuseum Train Museum in Utrecht http://www.spoorwegmuseum.nl/en/index.html
The Archeology Museum in Bruges. Went in on impulse with my three day card. Unexpectedly fun little place. Some interesting exhibits. Stuff there for kids too.
De Krijtberg church in Amsterdam, another impulse find. Very pretty RC church with some extremely unusual symbols inside. Charles in Darien, IL USA 10/22/2009 Our favorite experience was the Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam, first weekend of August. This parade is a huge party, with judged floats along Prinzengracht canal on Saturday afternoon. However, that's not the best part. The floats were for the most part rather tame. What impressed us was the atmosphere surrounding the entire celebration. From late morning, people flocked to the canal, wearing pink clothes and accessories. It was a non-stop party, and the floats seemed almost a distraction. Boats were moored two and three deep on both sides of the canal, leaving just enough room for the floats to pass. The streets were completely filled as well. Everyone was just so mellow and friendly. There was a lot of drinking, music, eating, partying, but -- and this is what really impressed us -- NOT ONE incident of belligerence. No fighting, no raised voices, no shoving, nothing you would expect to see in such a crowd. Just a good time for all. Margaret Plotkin in Philadelphia, PA USA 10/17/2009 The Hermitage Amsterdam is outstanding! As you note in the 2009 edition, it moved into new quarters in June. We liked it better than both the Van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum. It deserves much more prominence in the next edition.
The present exhibition is about the Russian Czars and the Russian court. In March of 2010 there will be a completely new exhibition, of French art if I recall correctly. We found the audio guide to be worthwhile. Ken Brown in Toronto, On Canada 10/13/2009 Just returned from Amsterdam and discovered the public library and the wonderful cafeteria "La Place" on the top floor of the library. The library and the cafeteria have great views of the Amsterdam skyline; the architecture of the library is worth noting; and the cafeteria has fresh and reasonably priced food with terrific views. Located very close to the Nemo science museum. Susan Gibb in Santa Ana, CA USA 10/09/2009 The Hermitage Amsterdam was phenomenal. You mentioned it in the book, I think, but it is worthy of a Rick Steves tour, like the other major museums. Laralyn Sasaki in Columbus, Oh USA 10/09/2009 I've been checking the rates in Bruges for next summer (august), and most of them are nearly double the amounts mentioned in your guidbook. Steve B in San Diego, ca USA 10/09/2009 tervuren belgium if you need a break from the city take tram 44 from brussels & in 40 minutes be a world away beautiful grounds, forrest & small town gives you a break from all the flemish cities on the usual tour route tho lovely they are only 1/2 the story see where & how the locals chill hiking & bike rentals avalible for museum fans the congo museum is there as well lovely local church & sidewalk cafes many english speakers as there is an english school there as well also del rey chocolates in amsterdam near the train station amazing pastries as well as chocolates & cookies try the lemon herb finger food YUM!!!!!!! the best thing i tasted & as you know in belgium the competation is stiff freddy boon in richmond, va USA 09/28/2009 I highly recommend the Vondelpark Museum B&B, Vossiusstraat 14, Amsterdam. Great location, adjacent to Vondel Park, short walk to such as Van Gogh museum, Rijksmuseum, and canal boat stops. Very friendly, helpful mother and son. Arranged for a reasonable taxi ride to airport; purchased our transport tickets; recommended good, inexpensive restaurants; gave us browniesl and offered the use of their washing machine. A great value! Susan in Ledford, MT USA 09/21/2009 Restaurants in Brugges!!! Maggie from Royal Stewart B&B is an angel of recommendations!
Den Voerman Maalsesteenweg 2 8310 Sint-Kruis Brugge Tel: 050 35 82 88 www.denvoerman.be
This restaurant is on the edge of town, near the windmill ring. We took a taxi (we were tired and its a small walk from town). It was totally worth it! A very "local" place to eat with a daily menu. 30 euros per meal. The staff was small and amazing. I had Flemish asparagus with local Salmon and potatoes. sooo good! Homemade ice cream was brought to us on the house. They liked us -- 2 ladies from America! Go early to avoid the late night dinner crowd.
Gruuthuse Hof Mariastraat 36 8000 Brugge tel 050/3306.14 www.gruuthusehof.be (since 1955)
Another recommended by Maggie at Royal Stewart. Ask for Phil! Charming, very clean and stylish. 35 euro each for lunch -- a big lunch! My friend had rack of lamb and I had a big steak. It was amazing food and very close to the square.
Delft - has a lot of touristy places in the mail square. Of course. Just down a few streets is...
Spijshuis de Dis Beestenmarkt 36 2611 GC Delft tel 015/2131782 www.spijshuid de dis.com
The owner was our server and chef! It was absolutely packed in this restaurant. Mostly dutch people. tidbit: The chef's parents live in San Luis Obisbo, CA...near my home. Chef Chris(I think that was his name) makes traditional Dutch dishes with a new flare. Rabbit Stew was amazing. His son is also a chef there and does amazing desserts! Great wine selection. This was THE BEST AMAZING restaurant we went to in Delft. I'll say it again -- AMAZING!! Carla in Hollister, CA USA 09/17/2009 Jan de Clerk Chocolaterie in Brugges. (near Royal Stweart B&B) Hand made and sold by Jan himself. It was the BEST!! Carla in Hollister, CA USA 09/17/2009 In Brugge, try the Sacre Coeur Restaurant, in the Bauhaus Hostel. Great food, great prices, and an amazing selection of Belgian beers. George Allen in Ann Arbor, MI USA 09/09/2009 I just returned on August 23rd from a 2 week trip to the Netherlands. Celebrated my 60th birthday with another friend from Minnesota. Had a fantastic week-long bicycling/boat trip through the province of South Holland. Needed a massage badly--found a legitimate and very therapeutic place called "Sabayjai Massage" in Schiedam. The full address is Rotterdamsdijk 409 A Schiedam. The web address: www.sabayjai.mysites.nl The proprietor was a Thai woman who kindly directed us to the Western Union store to make phone calls. (We found it difficult to exchange currency (banks would not do it) and to find public phones on our travels through the country). Otherwise we found the Rick Steves guide to be MOST helpful in planning our travels. Loved the Cafe 'tSmalle in Amsterdam. Thanks for all the help! Jan Larson in Worthington, MN USA 08/26/2009 I just returned on August 23rd from a 2 week trip to the Netherlands. Celebrated my 60th birthday with another friend from Minnesota. Had a fantastic week-long bicycling/boat trip through the province of South Holland. Needed a massage badly--found a legitimate and very therapeutic place called "Sabayjai Massage" in Schiedam. The full address is Rotterdamsdijk 409 A Schiedam. The web address: www.sabayjai.mysites.nl The proprietor was a Thai woman who kindly directed us to the Western Union store to make phone calls. (We found it difficult to exchange currency (banks would not do it) and to find public phones on our travels through the country). Otherwise we found the Rick Steves guide to be MOST helpful in planning our travels. Loved the Cafe 'tSmalle in Amsterdam. Thanks for all the help! Jan Larson in Worthington, MN USA 08/26/2009 Add Ghent to the addition, it is truly a beautiful city. Karen Greenberg in Chappaqua, NY USA 08/15/2009 Just back from Amsterdam yesterday-Prostitute Information Center was closed during stated business hours? Upon arrival to Centraal Train Station, there were no computers available to buy tram tickets. You have to go to the white GDV booth, wait in line, and buy your ticktes. I confirmed this with the woman who worked there, although you can buy ticktes on certain trams. Bought a 3 day pass for 15E. Bought ticktes online for Anne Frank house and Rijkmusuem and just walked in. Line for Van Gogh musueum not bad in the morning, about 15 min wait. Not a lot of nightlife for those who don't want to smoke or drink or walk around red light district (in my opinion). Train from Centraal Station to Schipol airport was 10 min and cost 3.8 E Joy in Dayton, OH USA 07/23/2009 I discovered that Amsterdam wakes up *very* late, so going on a morning walk is an incredible way to see a bit city and feel like you're the only one there. Even at 9, I went blocks without seeing a soul. Abby in Seattle, WA USA 07/09/2009 The note that average taxi fair from the airport to downtown Amsterdam should be about 40 euros is correct, but you should add that there is a different fare scale on Sundays. We were a little surprised when the fare to downtown on Sunday afternoon (with absolutely no traffic) was 55 euro. The fare returning to the airport on Tuesday morning was 39.50. J Holland in Arlington, VA USA 06/24/2009 In the section "Advance tickets and sightseeing cards" (page 28), I would add the HOLLAND PASS (www.hollandpass.com). It's cheaper than the Iamsterdam card (Euro 34; but I paid 32.30 Eu on line) and it gives more or less the same benefits. In addition, the Holland pass lets you skip the line at several museums. The pass has 5 coupons (A to E) that can be used to visit different sites. For instance, I've used coupon A for the Van Gogh museum, the B for the Rijksmuseum, the C for a Canal Cruise, the D for a 24-hr unlimited transportation pass, and the E for the Houseboatmuseum. If I had to purchase all tickets separately, I would have spent 48Euros. The Holland pass also gives you discount to museum and a few restaurants. Totally worth it!!! Clarissa Ceruti in Philadellphia, PA USA 06/11/2009 Page 180--eating near Leidseplein--We had a very nice, inexpensive, steak dinner "special" at Alberto's Uruguayan Steak Restaurant, Leidsedwarsstraat 26, tel 020-624-0095 (the waitress told us the beef actually comes from Argentina) Paul Overmyer in Fort Collins, CO USA 06/09/2009 Bruges was amazing all over. Loved it so much! Jennifer H in London, ON Canada 06/04/2009 Rick's tip about visiting the Anne Frank House after 6 pm worked perfectly! At 3 pm the line was around the building. We went back at 6:30 and there were 3 people in line. Mary Ann in Orlando, FL USA 05/13/2009 Aalsmeer Flower Auction (FloraHolland) is a must see in my book and there is bus service from airport (ask at the information desk). Also, I recommend buying tickets for the Anne Frank House, Rijks Museum, and Van Gogh Museum online (the lines are very long). Greg in Jackson, KY USA 04/11/2009 Haarlem, Netherlands: The ticket machines at the train station only took coins or cards - make sure you have some change!
The Hague, Netherlands: If you have a particular interest, we recommend visiting the International Criminal Court. You have to email them two weeks ahead of time, but we got a highly presonalized tour, they answered loads of our questions, and were very pleasant even though the US has not ratified the Rome Statute. We also got to see the Charles Taylor trial in action. Dave W. in Seattle, WA USA 01/20/2009