Amsterdam Insider Tips

If you want to escape the hustle and bustle of downtown, we at Locals have received special tips for places in Amsterdam that even locals love to visit. We always enjoy traveling to the Dutch capital. Have you seen all the famous sights in Amsterdam? Great, then here you'll find noteworthy places and insider tips off the beaten path that not everyone knows.

The NDSM Wharf is an old shipyard in the north of Amsterdam and our favorite spot when the sun is shining. It's increasingly becoming a hipster art center. Trams are rusting away, and an old submarine is slowly sinking in the harbor. Graffiti artists have ample space to unleash their creativity and spray their artwork on the walls.

Around the NDSM Wharf, you'll find great bars, cafés, galleries, and studios. Many artists leave their mark on the walls, and the street art is well worth a visit.

The best part is: You can take the ferries departing from Amsterdam Central Station for free to the NDSM Wharf. My next insider tip is also located here. So keep reading!

On hot days, you can chill at Pllek and gaze out at the city on the other shore. Pllek is made up of old shipping containers and an artificially created urban beach.

Here we spent quite some time recovering from sightseeing and enjoyed a refreshing drink at over 30 degrees Celsius in the sun.

One bay further from Pllek is Café Noordlicht. The building is a greenhouse that reminds me of Mad Max. There's often live music here, and the food is great too!

We particularly enjoy the small side streets known as 9 Straatjes (Nine Little Streets). In these alleys, you'll find small but unique shops, bars, and restaurants. From design shops, secondhand stores, cheese, art books to toothbrushes, you can find just about everything here.

You'll gain special insights into life and history in Amsterdam through tours.

Tickets often need to be reserved well in advance, as some tours can be booked out for 2-3 months. For example, the Anne Frank House, museums, and food tours are very popular.

I always book my tours through Get Your Guide. You can book your tickets directly and print them out or download them to your smartphone.

Joost van der Wegen is a freelance journalist and crime author. He'll take you on this tour through the Red Light District. He shares interesting details from the milieu, being an experienced crime journalist who has even written a bestseller (unfortunately only in Dutch).

The tour lasts about 2 hours. From prostitution to murders to cannabis - Joost doesn't hold back and shows you one or two crime scenes. Unfortunately, the tour is only offered as a private tour now, but it's worth it in terms of price for groups. Otherwise, we recommend booking this tour in the Red Light District for insights. Very engaging.

Amsterdam is ideal for exploring from the water by boat. I also took a canal cruise. Countless boat tours are offered to explore the canal belt. I didn't want the large covered boats. So I opted for the Eco Tours with canal.nl: small boats that are powered only by electricity and can also navigate the smallest canals.

Most canal cruises start at Damrak or directly at the main train station. Even hop-on-hop-off tours (book here) are offered by boat. At each stop, you can get off briefly to visit a museum or a sight.

There are various tours through the canal.

If you don't feel like a boat ride but still want to enjoy the atmosphere by the shore, do it like the Amsterdammers. Just sit on the edge of a canal and watch.

You can also visit houseboats. This is probably on my to-do list for my next trip to Amsterdam.

These tickets are very popular and should definitely be reserved before your trip:

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