Amsterdam Top 10

1. Rent Bikes!
MacBike has various locations and is great - we rented a bike for 24hours and explored every side of the city. (Make sure you have a good set of locks for it though, as our guide told us that it is funny for locals to throw unattended bikes into the canals, and that thousands of bikes are removed from the waterways every year.)

2. . I AMSTERDAM
This sign provides a perfect starting point for the trip with some great photo-ops. The IAMsterdam Card is also a good idea if you plan on seeing a lot in a short amount of time - it offers free admission to a number of museums as well as discounts in other places across the city.
3. Visit the Van Gogh Museum
Right next to the I AMsterdam sign, this museum has over 200 Paintings by Van Gogh, and are arranged in chronological order to view the images in a new perspective.
4. Visit the Rijks Museum
This museum has works from all over, but it's "greatest hits" are worth seeing. The garden is nice too.
5. Take the Free Walking Tour
New Europe offers free walking tours in many cities throughout Europe. The guides work on a tip-only basis, and so they're always energetic, knowledgeable, and a lot of fun. (They also take a group photo and post it on their site - ours hasn't been posted yet)

6. Visit the Anne Frank House
Visitors can see the space where the 8 Jews, including the famous diarist Anne Frank, hid during WWII. If you want to avoid standing in super long lines, pre-order tickets online - and that way you skip lines and enter through a separate door to the side.

7. Red Light District
You have to see it to believe it. Try going during the day and then at night to see how dramatic the difference is.

8. VondelPark
If the weather is nice, this is perfect for a picnic or a few beers. A great place to ride your bike through too!

9. Shop!
There are neighborhoods dividing Amsterdam. Each on has a slightly different feel from the one before it. In the city center, there are a number of great stores with a heavy design student influence. Hema is great, similar to Target at home, you can get anything you'd need while there - but having been designed by local students, everything looks cool!
Grab some Wok to Walk while you're in this area too - not at all typical regional food, but great customized noodle/rice dishes create a great quick and cheap meal.


10. Leave by ferry!
With an easy train connection from Amsterdam Centraal to Hoek Van Holland - a great way to leave Amsterdam is via boat. The ferry on the StenaLine is massive, choose between public seating in the restaurant areas or book a private cabin - the boat is complete with a casino, an arcade, a movie theatre, and many dining choices -- the 7 hour ride from Amsterdam to London's nearby port of Harwich, flys by.

some images courtesy of Wiki Travel