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Amsterdam, like all great cities is built on water so its a given that a boat trip should be involved at some point in a visit. We were going to find ourselves a guided tourist tour but noticed that people seemed to be hiring boats. This was much more our thing and a short bit of internet research found a boat rental place that offered much better value for 3 hours self guiding than an organised tour likely lasting only an hour. We’d miss all the historical facts and figures (not really our thing anyway) but would be able to go where we wanted at our own pace.

Piloting the boat felt a bit daunting at first and it takes a few minutes to get used to the movement but its much easier than I thought and the canals are not that busy. You just need to watch out for the bigger tourist boats who have right of way and pull over to the right to let them past.

Armed with suggested routes we pottered about and took in most of the main canals of the city and it’s not only a great way to see the city from a different perspective but of course its also great fun.

We had a few bumps where we didn’t quite make the sharp bends but other than that it was just gentle cruising for 3 hours that seems to fly by.

The Montelbaanstoren tower.

TBF takes over the controls.

TJF enjoying the sun.

TJS looking happy in a photo for a change.

We went through the old part of the city, around some of the residential districts, and then a tour around the Jordaan and its many canals.

The Prinsengracht

The t’Smalle bar we drank at on our first day.

One of the larger canals opening its road bridge.

Along the Brouwersgracht.

Houseboats along the canal. Lots available to rent if you fancy a water based overnight stay.

The Westerkerk.

The Rijksmuseum.

And the Reguliersgracht with its line of bridges.

And heading back to base along the Amstel and past the Magere Brug bridge.

An absolutely splendid trip and one of the highlights of the whole holiday. What better way to celebrate than another trip to the market for some poffertjes pancakes.

There was still plenty of day left so we went for another wander around the Jordaan from the Dam Square which looked much nicer in the sunshine.

And of course no trip to the Jordaan would be complete without a couple of beers at our favorite bar.

Afternoon finished off with a walk along the Brouwersgracht.

And through the Westerpark.

Evening sunshine meant another canal-side stroll into the Jordaan for a meal. Evening sunshine brings the canals to life in such a wonderful way. I could have walked for hours.

The Westekerk looked especially grand.

After a meal the Funsters went home while me and TJS decided to, well, have another beer at the bar. It would be rude not to.

Finishing off the day with walk to the Centraal station and back along the Amstel to the apartment.

Wonderful day’s entertainment.

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Summer holiday time. We had a fantastic time on our city break by rail trip a couple of years back so all agreed a similar repeat was in order. This time the trip was focussed on a week in Nice on the Cote D’Azure with a few stops on-route. First stop was Amsterdam. Rather than an overnight in London we decided to use the overnight ferry from Harwich. At less than £300 for ferry crossing, cabin and train fares from London and to Amsterdam is was good value and its a nice relaxed way to travel (other than transferring between stations in London in the rush hour with luggage – not recommended)

We had a quite a nice sunset from the ship and were in bed and asleep before it left port.

Arriving at Hook of Holland on time it was an easy bus transfer to Schiedam station for an onward (and busy) train to Amsterdam Centraal.

We dropped our bags at the apartment, a very nice, narrow Amsterdam Townhouse on Utrechtsestraat above a shop (we had to open up the shop to access the apartment which was neat!). Time to explore.

We took a walk along and around one of the main wide rivers/canals, the Amstel.

A cloudy day was beginning to blink into sunshine as we walked.

Looking across the Amstel to the Keizersgracht.

And over the Magere Brug bridge.

After lunch at the Albert Cuyp Market (more on that in a later post) we returned to the apartment, unpacked and went straight back out to explore some more. Amsterdam has an extensive network of well run trams and we used these all the time to get around. We headed to the Dam, Amsterdams central square overlooked by the Royal Place. Rather dark looking while sun was in.

From there we headed out to the western canal ring and the Jordaan. It became our favourite part of the city.

Its the quintessential Amsterdam of the photos. Canals lined with tall gabled houses and flower decked bridges.

We took an ambling walk around the neighbourhood. Some of these canals may or may not be the Prinsengracht, Bloemgracht and Egelantiersgracht.

The impressive tower of the Westekerk.

Its endlessly charming and very quiet when you consider what a popular and in places crowded city it can be.

All this walking is thirsty work. Luckily Amsterdam is well supplied with quaint old drinking establishments that locals call “Brown Cafes” but are really pubs, all wood panelling and beer taps.

This one is the t’Smalle bar with a terrace right on the Egelantiersgracht where we were lucky to score a seat for a cold beer. I was starting to like Amsterdam quite a lot! 🙂

A walk back along the Brouwersgracht (Brewers Canal) to catch a tram home before freshening up and out again for a meal.

We thought we’d try some local dutch fare and found a rather nice quiet old world restaurant, De Koperen Ketel (The Copper Kettle). We sampled the potato Croquettes in various flavours and the Mash Pots with a sample of various meats, mashed vegetables and gravy, all delicious.

Bellies full we headed out for a long walk back around the canals before bedtime. The weather had cleared to a glorious sunny evening.

It lit up the canalside buildings to dramatic effect and was my favourite time of day in the city. The weather can of course be as cold/wet as the UK but we got lucky and had abundant sunshine for our first 3 days.

We wandered across and along many canals so I have no idea which one is which but it was all wonderful and peaceful.

Except for the bikes! Everyone knows Amsterdams is a city built for cycling but nothing prepares you for it. They are everywhere not only parked up and locked to railings in unimaginable numbers but also in motion. They pretty much rule the road here and it takes some getting used to to watch for these silent assassins as they emerge from every street and crossing. I lost count of the number of times I was nearly run down, they take no prisoners!

We had thought about hiring a bike for the proper Amsterdam experience but it would be a scary challenge. Trying to navigate around a city you don’t know among thousands of other cyclists who do. We decided against it (much to TBFs annoyance – she became somewhat obsessed with bikes and the idea of cycling in the city).

As the sun set on the city and our first day the views just got better and we realised we already loved the place.

First impressions were rather positive. Not a bad first day.