We are going to Amsterdam on May 3rd through May 17th. We are looking for some ideas about good deals on some decent to nice hotels, places in town that are free, or maybe some inexpensive sights (i.e. parks that we should check out), inexpensive restaurants with good food, etc. If you all have any advice for our trip, we would love you to share it. Thank you!!! P.S. I was watching a show about a windmill ride near Amsterdam that you can ride in a basket. It is supposed to be thrilling. Does anybody know where this is located?
About the windmills.. I think it's 'Kinderdijk' or sth like that.. what do you mean by 'basket'.. like a hot air balloon? 'Cause that will be very expensive.. or do you mean riding a windmill itself in a basket or sth? Never heard of that.. at least not for windmills.. Parks.. there are several.. Vondelpark (biggest one, near Leidscheplein), Westerpark, Oosterpark, Sarphatipark. There is a small but nice zoo (Artis) in the city itself.. info about food and hotels can probably be found in other threads at this forum, I'm kind of in a hurry now so I can't answer here. Good luck, have fun!
Believe me, after a day or two of walking about on cobble stones, uneven pavements and being stoned theres probably nothing better than hiring a bike for a day or two. This way you can easily get around and see almost everything there is worth seeing, but to not stand out like a tourist, make sure you get the bikes without imposing adverts plastered all over them, (Fredericks is best). Or, go on a canal tour of the city where you can hop on & off all day, or with the right ticket have access to trams, canal boats, trains, coaches, etc, for a fixed price. Best thing you should have with you though, is a detailed map.
I like the amstel bos, down south, which has a hedgerow maze. Sometimes i like to shoot over to scheveningen to see the boulevard or go to the aquarium there. Next time we go i want to go to this theme park that is fairy tale oriented. Elfspeet i think it is called.
The fairy tale park is called the Efteling and it's worth a visit if you have enough time and like fairy tales.. it's open in winter as well.. check here: http://www.efteling.nl/home.aspx?LanguageId=2 There is a hotel there as well.
hey- if the weather in may is good, there's a chance that there may be some free music festivals happening.... you BEST chance, would be to ask at the VVV right near the station ( i think there is also one in Schiphol, but i'm not sure) and ask them aboult local free events going on.... also, get a copy of the Amsterdam Weekly when you get here (you can get it almost anywhere in the city) which lists music, theatre and club events... not all free, but many are quite cheap... anyways, good luck ;-)
Hey hey hey - I'll probably be in Amsterdam around the same time (I think Apr. 30th to around May 5th or 6th) woo hoo!
