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Published: July 14th 2021
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Amsterdam is definitely one of my favorite cities in Europe for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades. Also, this city has amazing museums like the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk, Anne Frank House and the list goes on. Amsterdam is not all about the notorious Red light District or the coffee shops - there is way more to it.
However, Holland is not all about Amsterdam as well, isn't it? There are many other beautiful places around Amsterdam which is absolutely worth exploring, some of them are touristy however, way less crowded than Amsterdam. Too much crowd can be not so fun sometimes, and in such cases, a quieter gateway is all we need. Here are some such places which I loved and would highly recommend.
Giethoorn My favorite is definitely Giethoorn which is a beautiful village in northeastern Holland. It is known for it boat-filled waterways, footpaths, bicycle trails and centuries-old thatched-roof houses. It is a car-free village and hence the best way to reach there is by Public transport. You can check out my blogpost with more details
on this stunning village..
Click here to read about this village .
Zaanse Schans This is a beautiful, cozy village near Amsterdam with historic windmills and green houses. A must visit if you want to get a feel of 18th/19th century Dutch village and historic Dutch windmills. You can even go inside the windmills. It is a 30 minutes drive. It is roughly half an hour train ride from Amsterdam Central station/Amsterdam Sloterdijk (I will recommend, shorter duration and cheaper). The name of the station is Zaandijk Zaanse Schans and it is a 30 minutes train ride, costs 6 to 7 Euros return. You can buy the tickets at the station or online from
NSwebsite .
Click here to see how beautiful the village looks
Amsterdam Bos This is located in Amstelveen, to the South of central Amsterdam and is an English park or landscape park mainly built in the early 1930s. It is approximately three times the size of Central Park in New York City and entirely man-made. It contains 150 indigenous species of trees and over 200 species of birds. This can easily be reached by bike, tram or metro from the city center. It houses
a number of animal parks, sporting clubs, rowing courses, gardens and remembrance monuments.
There are so many activities that one won't run out of things to do there.
Some of the activities -
a. Rowing on the Amstel river, or on the canal
b. There are several open areas and meadows within the forest. Some of which are
located along an artificial beach along ponds
c. Swimming in the several ponds and streams
d. Open air Amsterdamse Bos Theater
e. Renting Canoes, kayaks and bicycles
f. goat farm
g. Camping
This is also a place to visit during Cherry Blossom season if you like Sakura trails.
Delft A canal‑ringed city in the western Netherlands, is known as the manufacturing base for Delftware,
hand‑painted blue‑and‑white pottery. This university town also offers canal tours, museums, markets and many pubs. Would definitely recommend the canal tour.
The direct train from Amsterdam Zuid takes 45 minutes and from Central station it takes 1 hour. The train runs every 30 minutes. The drive takes 1 hour as well.
If you like to hunt for good views, the head to the central square and climb the spiral staircase of the tower of the New Church. It is the second highest tower in the Netherlands and to enjoy bird's-eye view of Delft.
Den Haag or The Hague The Hague is the only big city with a beach directly on the North Sea coast. The city boasts many monuments, chic hotels, and a political heart. You can visit beautiful art museums and a day of high‑end shopping.
You can take the tram from the city center to Scheveningen and Kijkduin in just twenty minutes, where you can enjoy the sun, beach and sea.
Recommended during summer obviously, you would like to enjoy the beach there.
You can take direct trains from Amsterdam Zuid Station to delft which runs every
30 mins. The journey takes around 40 minutes.
It is around an hour drive for Amsterdam.
Leiden, Netherlands Leiden is a typical university city, university buildings are scattered throughout the city, with many students from all over the world give the city a bustling, vivid and international atmosphere.
Leiden is practically a hidden gem, known for its centuries‑old architecture and home to the oldest university in the Netherlands.
it's definitely worth a visit! I will also recommend boat ride there to enjoy the colorful city from the boat.
Keukenhof This is known as the Garden of Europe, is one of the world's largest flower gardens, situated in the municipality of Lisse, in the Netherlands.
Though its grounds are open year-round for private affairs and festivals, Keukenhof is only open to the general public for a world-renowned 8 week tulip display from mid- March to mid-May, with peak viewing arriving near mid-April, depending on growing season weather, which varies annually.
I was there in the first week of May and I would recommend that period. It is the safest time(the tulips will be definitely in full bloom) to
visit and also it will start getting a little warmer.
These are some of the cool day trips from Amsterdam which I would highly recommend, if and when you feel you need a break from the happening and crowded Amsterdam, you can choose any of these.
Tips - if you want to cover Amsterdam by public transport, get an anonymous ov-chipkaart. You can get it from any train station or even airport. Also online
OVChipKaart.
That is cheaper than the usual tickets, no need to carry cash for tickets, and also handy!!However, this card(anonymous) will not work for the places which are outside Amsterdam, but very useful within Amsterdam.
Scroll down to check out more photos 😊
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