A Day in Amsterdam – European River Cruise

Amsterdam is 700-year old city, so rich in history, and if you only had a day here, it’s a tough choice as to whether to spend time outdoors, wandering along the canals (the Jordaan is the best area, I think) or spend time in the museum quarter visiting some of the many museums that exist here.  For a city the size of Amsterdam, it has a surpisingly large number of museums and of the top 10 attractions, museums occupy five of these spots.  On our canal boat tour, we sailed past the replica of the Amsterdam moored just alongside the Nederlands Scheepvaart Museum.

Lovers of art would not want to miss a visit to the Van Gogh Museum which houses the largest collection of the master’s work, or visit the Rijksmuseum with its extensive collection of paintings by Dutch masters.  Each of these museums would require days to really appreciate and cover the exhibits within.

I would have loved to visit the Bloemenmarkt, the last of the city’s floating markets. In the past, the flower growers used to sail up the Amstel and moor at the market to sell their flowers and plants from their boats.  These days the stalls are still floating, but more of a permanent fixture. 

Unfortunately, all we had was a very short period here and after our time around the canals, we walked around the old town watching locals and tourists soaking up the nice weather from the comfort of their cafe seats.

Helen