Definitely go by the Hard Rock...they have the main place for tourists and a really fun annex down in Red Lights. You'll want to go to the Bulldog, Yazmina's, and the Last Watering Hole if they're still open. Just for fun, take a canal tour...they're cheap and not boring at all.

I highly recommend the Hotel Okura. Reasonable rates, great rooms, beautiful hotel....within walking distance of the Red Lights and other fun things to do.

I recommend not renting a car unless you plan to leave the city. The public trans is pretty good, very inexpensive, and there are always cabs. They don't drive quite as crazy as the French, but it's a near thing.

Wish I could go with...I never get tired of Amsterdam, and I've been there a bunch of times. We took our second honeymoon there, and plan on going again for our 40th.

bad pot is against the law.

and sightsee. There are a lot of small pubs with all kinds of really great beer. Cafe Belgique is really cool - it's one of the smallest pubs in Amsterdam, and it specializes in Belgian beers. http://www.cafe-belgique.nl/html/About%20Belgique.html The Grand Krasnapolski hotel on Dam Square is sort of elegant and has a nice bar if you like hotel bars, but the little hole-in-the-wall pubs are more interesting. I wish I could remember the name of a restaurant I ate at last time I was there; the food was great.

You can take the train from Schiphol Airport directly to the big downtown railway station. If you want, you can take a ferry (it's free) across the Amstel to the north side of town where there are a lot of middle-eastern (mainly Turkish) restaurants. Don't rent a car - use public transportation if you need to go any distance, but you can get a lot of places on foot. Just walk around and explore the little side streets (and the red light district).

It's a bit touristy, but the canal boat tours are always fun, especially with children. I think these start right near Central Station. Also the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseums are pretty good, if you're into that sort of thing.

I second the suggestions about not renting a car and walking around instead. You could also rent bikes and see some of the surrounding countryside.

and you may want to confirm this, that you will soon need a citizenship card to visit the coffee shops.

It'll sure put a dent in the tourism industry if it's not.

Not to mention the ripple effect.

-who feel their own tourist industries are losing out. I imagine all it will do is create a black market of Dutch nationals who- for a small fee- will go into a coffee shop and buy your stuff for you.

ETA: It's only hearsay at this time. I don't have this from any official sources.

It's on the horizon, but given the awful state of the European economy, can they really turn away millions of dollars in business???

nt

There would be a heck of a lot of squawking if no tourists were allowed. Also, there are so many coffee shops that it would be hard to police.

When we were there, I noticed them everywhere. It is such a fascinating city, Go and enjoy. Take a side trip to Haarlem if you want to see a beautiful, traditional Dutch town. It is not far and the train system and bus routes are great.

Amsterdam's rat population is pretty soft by US standards, but there are a lot of them. If you leave a bag unattended it will be gone in 30 seconds. A friend of mine had some junkie try to walk off with his bag right in front of him. He went to stop him, and the junkie started screaming that he was being robbed. There are also stickup men that you run the risk of meeting if you go out alone at night. Again- pretty soft by US standards. In the case of another friend of mine, he made it clear if they wanted his money they would have to come and get it, and they faded away into an alley. Naturally, your chances of having something like this happen increase if you broadcast that you are an arrogant American. If you're not a complete fish out of water in Europe, you're a lot less likely to have trouble.

they're really fast there.

http://www.jazz-cafe-alto.nl/

It's in the Leidesplein section.

http://www.amsterdam.info/leidseplein/

The building center-right is a 3 story restaurant with elevator.
Magnificent.
Different cuisine each floor.

"Leidseplein Attractions
There are plenty of interesting sights and entertaining services here. A common fixture of this entertainment focused square is the street performers that can almost constantly be found on the squares eastern side. From acrobatic break-dancing to freestyle jazz on the double bass, there is always something to see.

During the summer months, the other side of Leidseplein is taken up by the large terraces of the bars lining the square. Here, tourists and locals sit back and relax with a drink while taking a break in their shopping trip or on their way to the nearby Museumplein to take in more sights. During colder times of the year the terraced area is covered by an outdoor skate rink, while hot food stalls appear throughout the square."

If you're a Scotch Whisky aficionado, do visit the Whisky Bar.
It's on a street a block or so off the Leidseplein. Just ask someone.
They serve only Scotch and the menu is HUGE.

so sad with all the imported third world prostitutes. I went on a bus tour of europe and we walked as a group down an alleyway that had open windows with the women in their underwear. They closed the curtains in disgust as we walked by because of course they made us as tourists. We were quite the pathetic ones I felt.

I have friends elsewhere in Holland, so usually skip Amsterdam.

The Melkweg (the Milky Way) was a good place to listen to live music. I've never smoked anything so I can't comment on that aspect.

The Red Light district was interesting to walk through. When I first went through there 35 years ago, the women were mostly Dutch and German. About 20 years ago, there were more Eastern Europeans.

The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh are great. I never realized how huge the Night Watch was.

Get a bike and ride out in the countryside.

They call 'em brown because of all the pipe tobacco smoke that was in them for several centuries that made the interiors brown.

Amsterdam is just a 3 hour drive from here, but I haven't been there in ten years.
It's not hard to walk around in, though. You'll find what you're looking for sooner or later.

The rail connection from the Schipol station and Amsterdam Centraal is quick and frequent.
Just follow the train logo when you get out of customs. If you don't have any euros, only
buy a few at the airport, and the majority of what you need in town. You'll get a better rate
at the exchange places in town than you will at the airport exchange booths.

on taxis/cabs/public transport, places to go etc.

The Okura is a pretty neat hotel, but might be a bit expensive (check out the website). A cheaper but still decent alternative would be De Roode Leeuw (The Red Lion) also on the Dam. If you want to slum it, there are many alternatives but if you're coming in high season, book early. Also, keep an eye out on any planned soccer matches involving the Dutch national team. If they are playing a friendly against (say) the Germans in the Amsterdam Arena, you won't get a bed unless you've booked long before. And be aware, the price might be increased for the same reason. The European Championships are on later this year (in Poland and the Ukraine) so friendly games against major European teams are on the cards.

Be aware that credit cards are not as readily accepted in much of Europe as they are in the US/Australia. If you're going to be staying in a upper scale hotel, you can pay with a CC. But the cheaper you go, the less chance you will have of using this method. Travellers cheques will probably produce looks of bewilderment, even in banks.

Can't really help you with the pot situation. I'm not into that scene and, in any case, I have the required documentation.

I hope you enjoy your stay.

Groetjes uit Nederland.

JMcD

If you go to the Van Gogh museum, go really early or really late, otherwise the only thing you'll see is the back of other tourists' heads. And it doesn't matter when you go to the Anne Frank House, you'll be waiting in a line.

Also, I really like visiting some of the off-the-beaten path areas (of which there aren't that many in compact A'dam) such as the Pijp. And Rotterdam is worth a day excursion (very easy and inexpensive to do on the excellent Dutch rail system.)

Nederland is very tiny by US standards. The town of Haarlem is beautiful, with many of the tiny streets preserved
almost as they were in the late middle ages. Some streets are so narrow, cars can't navigate them. They were built
well before such things were invented. Amsterdam is maybe a 20 minute train ride from Haarlem, 30 minutes from
Utrecht, an hour from Den Haag. If reasonable accommodation is not to be found in Amsterdam itself, you can
always sleep in a nearby town and commute.

If you travel later in the year, and you are interested in a very special kind of zoo, there is the Apenheul, also informally
known as the Apjepark, near Apeldoorn. It's a very special kind of open air primate park where large numbers of various
kinds of monkeys and great apes roam around free. You can't get close to the gorillas or baboons, but the huge
family of death's head monkeys and spider monkeys roam around free (and all over your shoulders). They give you
waist pouches to seal your stuff in. Take them seriously, because the monkeys are extremely curious, and will swipe
anything and everything not nailed down. Once, in the death's head monkey area, we heard a loud piercing cry of agony
from a stroller next to us. The kid in it had taken out his pacifier for a moment, and was holding it in his hand. A
monkey saw it, grabbed it out of the kid's hand and was 150 feet up the nearest tree within 2 seconds. The kid was
inconsolable, and the monkey had no pity on the screaming kid or his poor parents.

But if you do I suggest the Grey Area - it's a favorite stop for Willie Nelson and Cypress Hill, among others.