Jim M asked:
I am planning a vacation next year to Europe when the airfare goes down in price with some friends (ages 18-30). My friends insist on going to Amsterdam or somewhere else in the Netherlands as part of the Europe vacation. I like musuems, parks, restaurants, and site seeing (need to see some castles). I was also hoping to see a place where they speak Frisian. My friends are more interested in the bars (taverns) that are infamous in the Netherlands. All of us want to interact with the locals and not be tourists. Where are some of the best places to stay to do this?
I am planning a vacation next year to Europe when the airfare goes down in price with some friends (ages 18-30). My friends insist on going to Amsterdam or somewhere else in the Netherlands as part of the Europe vacation. I like musuems, parks, restaurants, and site seeing (need to see some castles). I was also hoping to see a place where they speak Frisian. My friends are more interested in the bars (taverns) that are infamous in the Netherlands. All of us want to interact with the locals and not be tourists. Where are some of the best places to stay to do this?
May 13th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: News |
Filed under: News |
May 15th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
From Amsterdam to Friesland (where they speak Frisian) is a one-and-a half hour drive. Get a hotel in Amsterdam, and travel from there. Do not go to Friesland if you do not want to feel a foreigner, stick to Amsterdam if you’re into doing that…
May 17th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
I was not overly impressed with Amsterdam, but I guess if you want to smoke etc its an ok place to go.
Museumwise there is a national museum there and the Van Gogh one….I personally don’t know much about art and spent only 20mins at the Van Gogh one..there is one room of his stuff, while the rest of the museum has other artists.
Parks…hmm I don’t remeber seeing any, castle wise I am not sure there are any there!! (ok there may be, but they are not obvious like in other places (eg France, Germany, Czech Republic)………Um I guess you might need some local advice on trying to find locals to interact with than me, maybe if you go to a less touristy area maybe???
May 19th, 2008 at 5:40 am
i would sugest Groningen, that is also close to Friesland and it’s cultural has nice sites. but it’s really only a hob to take a train and visit amsterdam as well while you are here. holland is very small so that is good to do. it all depends on how you guys are doing europe, if you do it by car or train i mean.
good luck traveling and enjoy your stay
May 20th, 2008 at 12:22 am
For what it’s worth Amsterdam as 3 wonderful museums if not more….The Van Gogh & Rijks musuems is were you can see works of art up close that you’ve only seen in books or magazines. The Ann Frank House musuem is a must see for anyone (http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2). It will give you goosebumps.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
i suggest u visit Madurodam in The Hague.
Madurodam is a miniature ‘city’ that contains all the important places that are worth visiting in Holland.
It is absolutely lovely!! i reccomend u should start there and then u will know what else u want to go and see in Holland.
when it comes to castles, i suggest u go to Luxembourg which is not that far from Holland. I’ve made the tour of all the castles there and enjoyed it a lot!!
have fun!
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
The most famous castle of The Netherlands is Muiderslot
A site that lists all medieval castles in The Netherlands is
Unfortunately, neither is in English…
This one is
I suggest you visit the city of The Hague
You can take a guided tour of Het Binnenhof and The Ridderzaal (Knight’s Hall) which is now the national government building and het Mauritshuis, a museum with amongst others the girl with the pearl by Vermeer… Also the Gemeentemuseum (City Museum) with more modern art like Mondriaan… And you can visit the beach or go shopping in the city centre… Madurodam is also very nice…
If you visit The Hague/Den Haag, be sure to also visit Delft, a very nice medieval town right outside Den Haag
You can tell your friends that they can drink and smoke in Den Haag as much as in Amsterdam but that Amsterdam is much more expensive and much more “touristy” and that in Den Haag they can do it on the beach, unlike in Amsterdam…