Good sites to see in Amersterdam?

Question

I am going there in a couple of weeks for a week to be a tourist and wondering if you can suggest good sites to see?

Answer 1

the street with the callgirls and great canal

Answer 2

Amsterdam has many fascinating neighbourhoods to explore, from red light sleaze to bohemian chic to stately grandeur. The landscape is riddled with graceful bridges and eccentric churches, the air laden with carillon chimes. Most attractions are within the canal belt, so sightseeing is a breeze.


Westerkerk

Rembrandt is buried in an unmarked pauper's grave somewhere in the Westerkerk; the church also boasts the loudest carillon in the city and sweeping views from its 85m (279ft) tower. Built for the western canal gentry, the Westerkerk was the world's largest Protestant church when finished in 1631 (until St Paul's in London surpassed it in 1710).


Anne Frank Huis

More than 80,000 people a year cram into Amsterdam's most famous canal house and, with precious little space for visitors, it might rank among the lowlights if not for its towering subject matter: the ordeal of a young girl who documented the horrors of WWII like no one else did. Expect long queues and lengthy delays, particularly in the middle of the day.


Rijksmuseum

If you've only got time to visit one museum, Amsterdam's answer to the Louvre is it. Even with most of its rooms closed for a lengthy renovation (scheduled for completion in 2008), the Rijksmuseum still offers a stunning feast for art lovers, with 17th-century masterpieces, silverware, Delft pottery and icons of Dutch history to be admired.


Amsterdams Historisch Museum

This museum will help you understand how Amsterdam grew from a fishing village on the banks of a stagnant swamp to a bustling metropolis. It makes you realise just how implausible it is that this town ever got built without bulldozers, electric pumps or mosquito repellant.


Artis Zoo

With 8000 animals, a planetarium, a wonderful aquarium and acres of gardens, Artis should satisfy the most jaded tourist. Founded in 1838 and laid out in the former Plantage Gardens, it's the oldest zoo in Amsterdam. The zoo grounds, with ponds and plant-lined winding paths, also serve as an important botanical garden.


Museum Willet-Holthuysen

Named after the millionaire's widow who bequeathed this monolithic mansion to the city in 1889, the Willet-Holthuysen is decorated in the high-camp neo-Louis XVI style. It features a series of authentic period rooms and an annual programme of exhibitions. The garden out the back is a grand place for a rest.


Van Gogh Museum

Art lovers should brave the crowds to view the treasures of the Van Gogh Museum, which holds many of the artist's most famous works. Five hundred drawings, 200 paintings and over 700 letters make up the collection. Any visit to this museum brings the genius and vision of this tortured artist to life.


Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum

It's not surprising, really, that an old sea-dogger from the East India Company is permanently dry-docked somewhere in Amsterdam. The Dutch got rich sailing the high seas and their relationship with water is fundamental to the national psyche. This museum also owns what is probably the world's best collection of shipping memorabilia.


Hortus Botanicus

This botanical garden was established in 1638 as a herb garden for the city's doctors and moved to the Plantage in 1682. It became a repository for tropical seeds and plants brought to Amsterdam by the West and East India Companies' ships. Coffee, pineapple, cinnamon and palm oil were distributed from here throughout the world.


Vondelpark

In the 1970s the Vondelpark used to be a haunt for hippies; these days it's less of a political hotbed but still one of the city's most beautiful green spots. Laid out as a green belt for the bourgeoisie in the 1860s, the English-style Vondelpark offers a wealth of ponds, lawns, thickets and winding footpaths to while away the hours.

Answer 3

Paige is giving a good answer.
You can find all those museums, and more, on this site:
http://www.amsterdam.info/museums/
Click on a museums name and you get a page for that museum, mostly with a direct link to the own site of the museum, and most museums in Amsterdam have their websites in English too.

More general info is on the other pages of this site:
http://www.amsterdam.info/

Walk around, the canals can be crowded (red light district) or quiet and peaceful, the ring of canals, (Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keisersgracht.)

There is a lot of shopping to be done in Amsterdam, many different kinds.
From around the world, (Japanese, Chinese, South African,) and objects not often found, (hammocks across from the flowermarket on the Singel,) to the best known, (diamonds, many places in the town).

Go into a corner cafe (pub) for a drink, coffee is served in most but the most served drink there is beer.
Visit one of the many markets, new or secondhand goods, fruits and vegies or flowers.

Have dinner in town, there are many etnic eateries, from Ethiopean to French, from cheap to expensive.
Go to a show or concert, or a film. Most film are shown in the original language, with subtitles in Dutch.

Take a daytrip out of town, there are several companies offering those on the main street leading from the station into the town, or ask at the tourist office. You can also take a train to one of the other towns in the Netherlands.

This map can show you the places in town you want to go:
http://www.amsterdam.info/map/