I rarely visit the same place more than once, however Amsterdam is the one place I’ll forever be visiting, (and it’s only partly to do with the weed). I love everything about the city, the canals, the bikes, the buildings, the people…I could go on.

I’ve visited both in the summer and in the winer and I would definitely recommend visiting Amsterdam in the summer; even though it’s equally as beautiful in the winter, there’s a lot more you can do when it’s sunny. For example, when my boyfriend and I went this year, we got the train out to Haarlem which only took about 15 minutes and was around 4 euros for a round trip. When we got there we rented bikes (there are plenty of bike rental shops) and cycled to the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. It’s a 15-20 minute bike ride and you cycle past hundreds of incredible and incredibly large houses. I can only dream of ever living in the area. The National Park was so peaceful and lovely to cycle around, we came across a field full of highland cattle which was also a nice surprise!

The Hortus Botanicus botanical gardens are must on a sunny day:

Obviously the coffeeshops are the main attraction for most tourists but I also think its something that can’t be missed when visiting the city. My personal favourite is Barneys (the picture at the top of the page), there’s a bakery very close by so we got some cute little cakes and went to Barney’s coffeeshop for a coffee believe it or not. Dampkring is another good one but is often pretty busy, I’d recommend buying a joint and one of their milkshakes, hopefully you’ll find a seat and enjoy!

We paid to go up the A’DAM Tower where you can get a panoramic view of the city. I personally thought you could get an equally good view of the city from the NEMO Science Museum’s slanted roof which is free.

I mean, have you ever seen prettier houses than these?!

The Moco museum is great, even if you’re not that into art. It’s directly opposite the Rijksmuseum and is definitely worth a visit.