Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a lovely place to visit. Put aside the red light district and the 'all you can smoke cafes' ( if there not your type of thing), and the sights to see are amazing. 

One you thing must do is take a boat around the winding canal. It is a lovely relaxing way to see the city.

Prices start from about €8. You can also do a three course dinner cruise with wine from €30 euros per person which is great for those with a larger budget. You get a guide to tell you about the history of different buildings, or if that's not your thing, you can simply just people watch.

If you are interested in culture there are museums in abundance, whether it be Van Gogh, Anne Frank or the Hash, Marijuana and Hemp museum.

Students, and holders of an I Amsterdam card can get discounts on many museums and tourist attractions around the city, and definitely is worth getting if you are going to do a large amount of culture.

Just walking around the streets of Amsterdam is cultural enough however. 

It is such a chilled out city and strangely enough, it feels totally safe despite the high levels of drugs and prostitution (which are legal in the red light district and designated cafes).

Three Best Cafes

1- The Bulldog Cafe

The Bulldog was established in 1975 and one of the oldest and most established 'smoking cafes'. It sells great coffee amongst other things and has a great friendly atmosphere. However, it is often very busy, as it is so popular and you might find it hard to get a seat. It is also one of the more expensive coffee shops.

2- Prix D'ami 

This coffee shop was the first one we went into on our first visit to Amsterdam, and is probably still my favorite. Just been refurbished, it is full of wide screen televisions, leather sofas and has three floors, so it is very spacious. The staff are really friendly and even if you don't smoke, you can feel totally at ease sitting down on one of the large sofas and having a coffee. Very reasonably priced also with an extensive menu.

3- Grasshopper

This is a lovely place to visit. It is really chilled out and lovely to sit in during the evening as you can people watch though the big windows at the front. Is a little pricey, but lovely atmosphere. It is also in a more expensive and up-market area of the city. 

(Map of coffeeshops: http://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/Map.html)

Hotel Citizen M

We stayed in this hotel, it is a little out of the city centre, but so worth it for a quick tram ride into the centre of town. The hotel is extremely modern and everything looks brand new. You check in yourself on one of the widescreen computers, then a friendly member of staff will come and help you upstairs with your bags. 

Here are a few pictures of our room.

Around half of the room is taken up by a huge king size bed. Then there is what I can only explain as a shower pod, which you step inside and the walls close around you at the press of a button. There are two choices of shower gel, whether you are a morning person, or an evening person. You can also control the lighting, music, television, and blinds by a remote control that is fixed onto the side of the wall. The wide screen television offers free movies (all new and just released) as well as normal television and adult movies. They offer free internet access on Apple Macs in the reception area and you can relax and look through some fascinating books that are on display in the lounge. 

‘Modern design, friendly technology and the proximity to a city,’ is what citizenM will offer and all at an ‘accessible price’.

Lounge Area


We paid £70 pounds a night for this hotel, it was definately worth it, and perfect if you want to enjoy the mad partying of Amsterdam, and then come back into a modern world of calm at Citizen M.