Hello TPers..
Planning a quick 2 week holiday in Germany, the latter part of the week is pretty much set in stone. However, my first week I am flying into Amsterdam, and would like to maximize my first few days. Fully aware what Amsterdam has in store, but I was wondering are there any cities or townships in the area I can venture out too? Any must sees, within homebase of Amsterdam?
M.
6 day trips by bicycle from Amsterdam, all of them between 30 and 40 km.:
Amsterdam - Markermeer - Broek in Waterland - Monnickendam
The natural reserve of 'Het Twiske' - Landsmeer - Ilpendam - Broek in Waterland - Monnickendam -Amsterdam
Purmerend - Ilpendam - Monnickendam - Volendam - The Isle of Marken
The Beemster landscape north of Purmerend
Oosthuizen - Purmerend - Edam
Zaandam - The windmills of Zaanse Schans - Wormerveer - Ilpendam
A short trip of 7 km to the natural reserve of Ilperveld:
Amsterdam - Ilperveld
More bicycle trips in and around Amsterdam:
Amsterdam by bicycle
Maps available in Dutch and English at MacBike and several stores.
I did a day trip to Haarlem - it's only a short train ride from Amsterdam, and is a very quaint town that you should explore on foot. Very lovely place. Near Haarlem is Zandvoort, a major beach resort. Utrecht is about an hour away, if I'm not mistaken, plenty of outdoor cafes where you can sit and have some coffee and admire the view. Den Haag is also about an hour away and the seat of government - the International Court of Justice and Peace Palace are just some of the important buildings there. Rotterdam has some interesting architecture, such as the Erasmus Bridge and Euromast, and the cube houses (my favourite) that are worth seeing. And you can also hop to Den Bosch to visit the Sint Jans kathedraal, a very lovely, imposing and rather freaky cathedral.