Amsterdam in April
 

FT crowd - was wondering if I could solicit some thoughts on places to see, things to do, restaurants to eat at, and hotel recs in the Canal Ring. I've only ever transited through AMS, and that was a long time ago - have not spent any time in the city itself. Will have 3 full days here on Good Friday weekend - so any recommendations would be greatly welcomed.

Thanks!

I haven't had a lot of luck with restaurants, although enjoy some of the Dutch food served in bars, such as bitterballen, with a beer. I also enjoy the herring and onion, so keep that in mind. :)

Also - I have no idea how Easter weekend will affect closings, you may want to research that.

The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh are both excellent, even if you're not an avid art fan. There are so many masterpieces, they're both worth a visit. Also, the Anne Frank is rather moving. At least for the Van Gogh and Anne Frank, buy your tickets online first to avoid the lines. I can't recall for the Rijksmuseum.

Maybe some will say it's silly, but I really like the canal tour. Boats leave just a block or so from Centraal Station. It's a beautiful view of the city.

Of course, you can stroll through the red light district, it's definitely interesting. And I prefer to wander around the Jordaan, full of little shops and restaurants.

I usually stay at the Renaissance. Easy walk from Centraal, the Jordaan, and many other areas. The other Marriott is nice as well, near the Leidseplein, which seems much more touristy to me, but also closer to the museums. I know there are some higher end hotels near the Rijksmuseum but haven't ever stayed around there.

If you have any specific interests or questions, I might be able to get more specific.

Last time in AMS, I stayed at the Ink Hotel. The restaurant I remember are Blauw (for rijsttafel - we did book a table ahead and it was quite busy), kantjil & de de tijger. Then there were a couple of Chinese restaurants, I don't remember.

Re: sightseeing, I would stick to the classics. Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Red light district, oude kerk, Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder, etc... .

I did not visit the Anne Frank House. Seems like an attraction, that is particularly frequented by overseas tourists and the queues go out of the building and are >2 blocks long.

The rijstaffel is a good idea -- OP, look for Indonesian restaurants with good reviews. This is really fairly unique in this part of the world. I can never remember the names of restaurants in AMS!

The Anne Frank house is worthwhile if you liked the book or found it personally meaningful, as it brings it to life visually. Otherwise, I would say it can be skipped. You can avoid the line by buying the ticket online in advance. There is a side entrance with a bell you ring if you have the online ticket. I would not wait in that line.

When I went to the Anne Frank House, I found the lines later in the day to be shorter (or non-existent) than if we had gone earlier in the day.

Even though you mentioned attractions in the city itself, I will say that since you are going in April, try not to miss the tulips in Keukenhof Gardens. Keukenhof is outside the city but worth a visit if you can get there.

I like Hotel Estherea on Singel. It's an independent boutique hotel with full service, a lot of character, and a great location.
For rijstaffel, try Long Pura on Rozengracht. Be hungry.
Previous posts list good attractions.
Just remember...cafe for coffee, coffeshop not for (just) coffee

I would definitely recommend the Anne Frank House (was actually surprised how moving it was) and you could spend most of a day wandering the Rijksmuseum.

Ate at a restaurant called Lion Noir that was very good, and had the most delicious apple pie of my life at Winkel 43. I would also recommend a tasting tour of Wynand Fockink which is the oldest distillery in Amsterdam (since like 1670 something!). They're known for "jenever" which is a cousin to gin but they manipulate the flavors so that it really has a wide range of tastes.

Hotels:
I would highly recommend the NH Doelen although it is a bit expensive. Everything is walkable from here and half of the rooms have canal views.

Places to eat:
Van Kerkwijk - just off Dam Square; no reservations are taken so be prepared to wait if you eat dinner here; also open for lunch, which I would suggest.
Lombardo's - located between the flower market and the museums; best burger in Amsterdam in my opinion.
B&B Lunchroom - about a block away from Lombardo's; good spot for a quick lunch
Pancakes Amsterdam - located in the Jordaan and I think there is another near the train station; good pancakes but only takes credit cards or ATM cards. No cash and no AmEx.
Puccini Bomboni - two locations; Not a place to eat but definitely a place to buy chocolate.

Things to see:
I agree, the Van Gogh are Rijksmuseum are both worth seeing. They are a very short walk from each other so you can easily do both in one day.
I would also suggest walking through Vondelpark. It is beautiful park located very close to the museums.
The Albert Cuyp Markt is an outdoor market which I believe is open daily. There are hundreds of vendors selling pretty much anything you can think of including fresh stroopwafels.

Thanks for the tips! Anne Frank House is certainly something I will consider, given the history. The rijsttafel looks quite intriguing, although I am kind of concerned that the two of us can't eat that much food! :)

I have tentatively booked the Pulitzer Amsterdam for accommodations - TripAdvisor has extremely high rankings, and it seems like a nice, boutique hotel that captures the essence of staying in the canal areas (as opposed to a standalone hotel structure).

A couple of other questions I did have:

1) Is mid-April too early for tulips? Some of the research I read suggests that this is around when they first start blooming.

2) Any canal tours worth taking? I'm not sure how long they go, given it seems like there are a fair number of them :)

IIRC, they are usually around an hour. I think they're definitely worth it if you haven't been in the city before. I'd recommend doing one first thing, it will give you a good sense of where things are around the canals (although you'll still be a little confused when back on land :)). A good tour will give you some history along the way, and you'll maybe discover a landmark or a certain area that wasn't on your radar to visit previously.

The Pulitzer looks nice, and if you cross Prinsengracht, you're basically in Jordaan, which is a nice area to spend some time. You're actually very close to the Anne Frank House and Westerkerk there.

Tulip time is not 100% predictable, since it depends on the weather. The "normal" time for it to start is mid-April, but it could be up to a few weeks earlier or a few weeks later. If you're too early for tulips, it should be the right time for daffodils or hyacinths. Crocuses are even earlier. So there will probably be some bulbs in bloom. Better predictions can be made closer to the time.

The tulips normally start blooming late March to early April. Mid-April is fine, around the 20th of April is perfect. Depends of course how cold this winter will be.

Go visit Keukenhof. There should be plenty blooming.
https://keukenhof.nl/en/

We were there in early April 2016 and the weather was overcast and in the 50's. The one sunny day was a gorgeous 60 degrees. Haarlem is an easy train trip of 30 or 40 minutes, seeing some Holland on the way, where you can more easily go to the Corrie Ten Boom House than Anne Frank. You can get a Haarlem Greeter, who is a local person to show you around for free (but tips and donations are appreciated) by signing up in advance. We did manage to get Anne Frank tickets by checking the website daily and an opening finally appeared 60 days before our dates. The Dutch Resistance Museum is also well worth your time. The rice table at Kanjil and Tiger was disappointing and the decor ordinary. Better to go to Long Pura. The Pulitzer I am sure is the best and most charteristic choice, but for others who read this, the Radisson Blu is a great use of Club Carlson points. Location is one street away from the Red Light District; if you want to avoid that, you will never see it unless you walk that way. The rooms are lovely, not large but big enough, very nice bathrooms, operable windows. Great breakfast, worth the €30 upgrade option for two. Dinner in the bar was good pub food in charming, dark wood intimate decor with an antique spiral staircase salvaged from the original building.

Do remember that quite a few places will be closed on easter sunday and that the country will be rather full with tourists that whole weekend

The Anne Frank is a place of great historical significance but if you take that away there's not that much to see expect an insane amount of foreigners. Unless you were especially touched by the book I'd say skip it, it's not worth the wait and the crowds in my opinion
If the subject interests you then this is another less crowded option:
http://jck.nl/en/node/963

Less popular than the rijksmuseum and the van Gogh but certainly worth considering is the Hermitage. https://www.hermitage.nl/nl/
There will be some already depending on the weather but not many in the city itself.

Keukenhof gardens will be open and their gardeners have a lot of tricks to ensure tulips for foreigners. It's a little way from Amsterdam but easy to reach from Schiphol airport train stationAny of the basic tours is a nice way to see the city from the water. Not that much difference and it's a very typically tourist thing to do. (http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visitin...canal-cruising)

Somewhat more original is a bike tour and that will allow you to see more than the canal area of the city.

Another very cheesy thing to do for tourists is the Alkmaar cheese market
and the last one, Dutch railways site, easiest way to travel between big cities.