Amsterdam for first timers

#amsterdamtrips If you planning the trip to Amsterdam, everyone would say: “oh you going to have good party” It’s a little sad that a city as rich in history as Amsterdam, the centerpiece of the Dutch East India Company (who sort of created the idea of “owning stock” in a company and our current form of capitalism) and one of the biggest powers in Europe in the 17th Century, is reduced to merely being a party destination. My top 5 what to do for your first visit: 1. My favorite thing to do on my first day in a new city is a walking tour with a local guide. I view this as building a strong foundation for the rest of the trip. 2. Take a Walk Along the Canals in the Early Morning. The atmosphere is completely different in the early hours of the morning, when the streets are mercifully empty. Particularly on Sunday morning, when Amsterdamers seem to sleep in until at least 10am. This entire section of the city was designated a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2010, which means that any development in the area must keep the original facade and footprint of the building (which is why you don’t see any crazy modern houses here). 3. Take a Canal Cruise to See the City from a Different Perspective 4. Learn About Dutch History at the Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum is a collection put together by the government of the Netherlands, which you might have guessed by the name (you’ve probably seen “rijk” spelled as “reich” before in German, with much darker connotations). 5. Get Inside an Artist’s Mind at the Van Gogh Museum Van Gogh was born in the south of the Netherlands, and grew up in the Netherlands before he made his way to France later in his life. Van Gogh’s story is fairly unique because, unlike famous painters like Rembrandt, Velasquez, or Da Vinci, Van Gogh wasn’t actually famous during his life. He only ever sold one painting before his death.