Amsterdam in winter: what to do in the city of canals if you're visiting for the first time

In our previous articles about the Netherlands, we didn't say a word about Amsterdam, deciding that the Dutch capital deserves its own story.

Our encounter with this city was brief, but very memorable, and it made us want to return to Holland.

We first traveled to Amsterdam at the end of January, which turned out to be a very good time to visit this world famous capital. The weather is good for visiting museums, there are no crowds of tourists and walking around the city is quite pleasant if you dress warmly.

In this article we are not going to talk about the red light district and coffee shops, you will find plenty of information about that in other sources. We will, however, share with you our turn-ons, which gave us a great insight into the city.

We decided to stay at Hotel van de Vijsel, which is a 5-7 minute walk from Museum Square. It's a long way from the Central Station, but it's just right for sightseeing. 

The rooms in the hotel are small but cozy and equipped with everything you need. The lobby is full of modern art. And the café on the first floor, where breakfast is served, is reminiscent of home cooking.

Van Gogh Museum

The modern museum building is located on the Museum Square. Today the Van Gogh Museum houses around 200 works by the artist, more than 500 drawings and around 800 letters from Vincent to his brother.

You could easily spend a couple of hours in the museum. We recommend using an audio guide.

You should buy your tickets about a week before your visit on the museum's website. 

Rijksmuseum

In our opinion, the Rijsmuseum is a must for anyone who wants to understand Holland better. It is also one of the 20 most visited art museums in the world. The basis of the museum's art collection are numerous works by Dutch masters of the XV-XIX century, especially the famous masters of the "Golden" XVII century, especially Rembrandt, Jan Leuijken, Jan Vermeer and Frans Hals, as well as Pieter de Hoch, Jan Sten, Jacob van Roijsdal, Bartholomeus van der Helst, Jan van Skorel and others. The museum is well worth a day's visit.

The museum building also houses an antique library, listed as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

Flower market

Aethetic lovers will certainly appreciate this beauty. A million colors, a multitude of tulips and a magical fragrance that makes you dizzy.

Walk along the canals

Wrap up warm and take a walk along Amsterdam's canals. Check out the cozy cafes, shops and art galleries along the way.

In the winter, it's a little bit cold for tourists to ride a bike, but the locals are very active on them.

Oude Kerk

Amsterdam's Old Town is dominated by the oldest church and one of the most majestic buildings in the city, the Oude Kerk (Old Church).

It began as a simple wooden chapel in 1306, was later rebuilt into a stone basilica, and during the Reformation was almost completely looted and left to decay. However, in the 18th century the church was restored, in 1726 the famous Vater-Müller organ was installed, and in 1955-1979 a thorough reconstruction restored this majestic building to its former glory.

There are also regular exhibitions of contemporary art, one of which we were lucky enough to attend. In our opinion, it was one of the best examples of adapting an ancient cultural object to a modern reality.

Amsterdam is an amazing city, that's for sure. Tourists come here with at least a hundred prejudices in their heads, and in fact they disappear if you spend at least a couple of days in the city. Clouds of smoke from people passing you by, red windows with all kinds of girls, representatives of youth subcultures and other stereotypes you've heard about are no match for the free and creative nature of the Dutch, who have created an artistic space in their city for people who think and reach for art. Wonderful museums with pearls of painting, fields of tulips, cozy canals with boats, pensioners on bicycles, sometimes faster than young people, and an endless sense of freedom that you want to breathe in like oxygen. This city is an example of the fact that life is not only black and white, there are always bright colors that dilute the palette and create a perfect composition.

Once you visit Amsterdam, you will definitely want to come back!