Off the Beaten Road: Unique Things to Do in Amsterdam

While people often just come to Amsterdam for a few days, this city is rich with history, museums, cultural experiences, and much more - enough to keep you entertained for days, weeks or months! Since someone recently asked me about a travel guide for Amsterdam, and more specifically - unusual things to do in Amsterdam, I thought I’d turn this into a blog post!

Best Time to Visit Amsterdam:

Amsterdam is a year-round destination - although it can get quite chilly in the winter months! Expect cool temperatures even in spring/fall as well. However, I think the best times to visit would be April/May when you can visit Keukenhof and see the tulips in bloom!

In order to make this a more comprehensive guide, I also wanted to quickly bullet out the most popular sites in Amsterdam….

Most Popular Tourist Sites in Amsterdam

• Anne Frank House - WWII teenage diarist’s house museum

• Van Gogh Museum - World’s largest van Gogh collection

• Rijksmuseum - Art museum

• Dam Square - Palace & national monument

• Vondelpark - Huge park with open-air theater

• Heineken Experience - Interactive beer garden & tour

• Red Light District - Prostitution area of the city

• Rembrandt House Museum - Dutch master’s 17t century home studio

• Canal Boat Ride - Cruise the canals in a boat about learn about their history

• Visit Coffeeshop - The weed stores (which technically aren’t legal I found out, but totally accepted within the city)

Unusual Things To Do In Amsterdam:

• Keukenhohf Gardens - **This activity is only available in April & May**. But it’s well worth a visit if you plan your cards right. The temporary exhibit is absolutely stunning. You can also visit various fields around the formal exhibit as well.

• Wander around Jordaan district - Trendy part of town where you can find no shortage of indie boutiques, cozy pubs and hip eateries. You can also wander around the stalls of the Noordermarkt to find things like jewelry, clothes, antiques, food, and art. A few cool things that can also be found in this part of town are the Houseboat Museum and Cheese Museum.

• Electric Ladyland - Make sure to check out this “first of it’s kind” neon light museum. The interactive museum turns visitors into participants thru unique demonstrations, exhibitions, and trippy sights! (Visit the coffeeshop before you go for an added layer of fun!)

• Zaanse Schans - No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without visiting some of the historic windmills! These distinctive green wooden houses will make you feel like you stepped into an 18th/19th-century village. Here you’ll find various interactive exhibits featuring model windmills, chocolate making, cheese making, and artisan workshops demonstrate rare handicrafts such as wooden clog carving! (you can buy your own pair of wooden shoes here too, cozy!)

• De Poezenboot (Cat Boat) - If you love cats, you have to check out this cat sanctuary in a houseboat on the canals! The Cat Boat takes in stray cats from all around Amsterdam and help find them families. They re-home 250-300 cats per year, and even help with some of the new cat expenses!

• KattenKabinet - On a similar note, this odd museum should be on any cat-lover’s Amsterdam hit list. The former home owner (& cat lover) collected all sorts of quirky cat memorabilia that are now on display for visitors.

• In’t Aepjen - Secret (historic) bar in redlight district with a funny history! In the 1500s, it was full of monkeys because sailors returning home from Indonesia would use their newly-acquired pets as payment to buy booze & food. You can no longer pay for your beer with monkeys, but you will find monkey decorations all over the place in honor of their unique past!

• Our Lord in the Attic - Behind the facade of a bourgeois house is a secret church from the 1600s that that has now become a museum. It tells the history of the Catholics losing the right to worship and the secret church that was built as a result. It probably did not come as a huge surprise given that tons of former Catholics would show up at this house on Sunday….but this is just yet another example of Amsterdam being tolerant and turning a blind eye.

• Bloemenmarkt - This the world’s ONLY floating flower market. It was originally founded in 1862, it still has 15 souvenir/gift shops that you can visit.

• Dutch Resistance Museum - A good one for WW2 buffs, this museum takes you thru the Dutch experience from 1940-1945. It covers everything from everyday life to the Dutch resistance.

• Hollandsche Schouwburg — War Memorial - Dutch theater turned Nazi detention center during World War 2, now turned memorial. It now honors the Dutch Jews who were persecuted during this time in a small yet impactful exhibit.

• Pancake House Upstairs - I know this is kind of a random one, but there is there wonderful little TINY restaurant in town with only 4 tables that makes THE BEST PANCAKES I’VE EVER TASTED. It’s run by gay men so there is a flag out front.

• Cheese Museum - Cheese lovers rejoice! There is a small (but DELICIOUS) museum in Amsterdam that is completely devoted to cheese. This little museum will only take you 15 minutes or so, but it’s worth a quick visit to learn more about the cheese making process, it’s history, and sample some tasty pieces!

• Cheese Tasting at Henri Willig - More for the cheese lovers - stop by Henri Willig for one of their cheese tastings! A staff member will take you thru the craft of cheese making and have you sample various selections with signature dips and a glass of wine/beer!

• Tulip Museum - This is another small museum (there seems to be a museum for everything in Amsterdam haha) that takes you thru the history of the tulips in Amsterdam, how it came to be the signature flower, and includes a little shop where you can buy your own bulbs to take home.

Have you visited any of these spots? Are there any other unique Amsterdam sites you think I should add?