Everyone knows the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum, Heineken, Adam Tower and the Hop On Hop Off tours. During my last month in here, I wanted to experience something unusual, something that would make the experience in Amsterdam more immersive.

1. Kayaking in Amsterdamse Bos

Have you ever thought of Amsterdam as an outdoor destination? Well me neither before I found out the big green area in the south of the city. The huge forest is full of different kinds of activities for children and adults – running, zip-lines, stand-up paddling, swimming, kayaking and many more. The activity that caught my eye was kayaking!

The first time I tried kayaking was in Thailand, so I had some doubts how it would be in a city holiday destination, I mean kayaking is not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Amsterdam, but it was definitely worth it. There are 3 different kayak routes you can take around the forest. The route I chose was 1,5 hours and very relaxing – I didn’t have to exert myself at all, instead I could smoothly go forward and enjoy the quietness and green surroundings.

2. Plastic Fishing

How to combine helping the environment and getting the most out of the extra-ordinary canals of Amsterdam? Try the Plastic Fishing from Plastic Whale!

Plastic Fishing was my third canal cruising experience and for sure the best one! It starts from the Westerkerk with an introduction (I missed it though, because I was late, so I recommend being on time!). After you are provided with the nets and the plastic picking adventure begins!

It was surprising and shocking how much we actually pulled out of the water: dozens of full and empty beer cans, cups, glasses, a lot of condoms, packages of food and tons of plastic waste. From the plastic we collect, Plastic Whale creates furniture – which is pretty amazing.

While helping Amsterdam to stay clean, I had the chance to do sightseeing, learn about the surroundings and see the beautiful canal area!

“–The more people join, the more positive impact we create –”

3. Electric Ladyland

Amsterdam is a city of culture – a lot of museums. You can choose from the huge Van Gogh and Rijksmuseums or immerse yourself into history while visiting the Anne Frank House; or if these don’t interest you, you can do what I did and try something completely different.

Electric Ladyland is a small art gallery and museum located in the pretty Jordaan area of Amsterdam. It’s all about fluorescent art. In the right light, I was able to see minerals, rocks and other things I wouldn’t have known to be fluorescent, to turn into amazing bright colors.Also, it was my first experience with participatory art – you could really be part of the art piece in the museum: walk into it, touch it and see every tiny little detail – which is something different from all of the other museums.

In addition to the cool visual aspects of the museum and the fact that you could even be part of it, I loved the personal touch of the visit. You could talk with the people behind the whole experience, hear their story and really sense that your questions are answered with passion and real knowledge.

4. Mystery of A Secret Sender

“Exploration, puzzle solving and little-known stories from history to transform the way you explore the city.”

If you are interested in getting to know the city you’re traveling to a bit better in a fun way, this is definitely the activity to choose!

Puzzle by puzzle, the whole (true) story of the Mystery of a Secret Sender takes you around the city immersing you into the Golden Age of Amsterdam. It starts from the Dam Square where you are provided with a map, which(when used properly) will take you to some interesting sights and buildings around the city center. The story you are now a part of is easy to follow and really well put together. This activity can give you a really nice insight into Amsterdam by doing, learning, seeing and exploring! You’re not just walking aimlessly around but instead solving a true mystery happening in Amsterdam.

I liked how you can do it at your own pace and how the puzzles you’ll need to solve during the game are related to Amsterdam. However, if you want to speed it up – you can compete against the time limit!

5. Eat With A Local – Delicious Dutch Dinner Overlooking the Canals

I had heard previously about home restaurants and thought this would be a cool addition to the list – interesting thing to do in Amsterdam from a food-related perspective. After some research I found a really good one and tried my luck with it.

From the moment I booked the dinnerateatwith.com I felt really welcome: Martine and Olav, the hosts of the dinner, sent me a message with their suggestions of their personal highlights in the city – bars, cafes and restaurants.

When I was going to the location of the dinner, I really had no idea what to expect. Who were the people going to be, what will the place be like, and what kind of atmosphere would there be. But in the end, I was so happy with how the whole experience turned out. Martine and Olav were not just great with their cooking (all of their Dutch dishes from organic and local products, from appetizers to desserts were delicious!) but they were also great hosts. They explained the courses, answered all of the questions you could possibly ask about Amsterdam and also shared their stories about living in Amsterdam as a local. The atmosphere at the dinner was very homely and it was also fun to get to know to other guests in this kind of environment – sharing stories over dinner in somebody’s home. Last but not least, the view was incredible – from the window I overlooked the beautiful canals of Amsterdam.

I would definitely recommend this to everyone and specially the dinner with Martine and Olav!

How to book?

It is actually pretty easy to find all of these activities – most of them are in the center of the city. Kayaking is in the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest) and it is possible to go there without any bookings or reservations beforehand.

Plastic Fishing you can find here https://plasticwhale.com/. You can also read interesting info about their sustainable mission!

For the participatory art in Electric Ladyland, you canmakean appointment for yourself here ontheir website: https://www.electric-lady-land.com/.

Bookings for the Mystery of The Secret Sender can be found here: http://mystery.city/

And all of the immersive food experiences can be bookedfrom the https://www.eatwith.com/ website!

Throughout the whole year Amsterdam offers many kinds of attractions and activities – interesting museums, vibrant night-life in the red-light district and canals with the bridges covered in beautiful flowers and bicycles. What is special in the summer (what I didn’t even know when I first visited Amsterdam) is that you can experience something more summer like – urban beaches! During the summer these beaches provide festivals, parties, activities, drinks & food and just a little bit more vacation-like atmosphere to the city holiday!

1.Roest

When asking for recommendations for urban beaches, you probably will hear the name Roest mentioned often. Roest is in the east of Amsterdam near by the Brouwerij’t IJ – so if you cycle there you can pass one of the eight windmills in Amsterdam as well.

The concept of Roest is interesting, the venue is well used in the old industrial area – it is a café, bar and a restaurant (the food looks amazing), it also holds a lot of events and parties. For example, on the 14th of July you can participate in the Respect the 80’s party here!

2.Strand Zuid

Strand Zuid is located a bit more in the east, easy to get to with the metro line 50 from Sloterdijk. Alternatively cycling is also a nice option, since the area in the south is very scenic.

The first thing I noticed here when I arrived at Strand Zuid, was how charming the surroundings were. Cute little lanterns and a lot of green plants help make the place feel really cozy and fresh. Just a quick turn from the cycling path and you’re experiencing a totally different atmosphere. Strand Zuid offers nice terrace tables by the view to the Zuidpool and the Beatrix park behind it, but also tables and chairs on the beach where you can just take your shoes off and enjoy the day.

3.Dok

One of my favorite ones is definitely Dok. 13-minutes cycling from Teleport and you’re already there! At this place the view towards the water is actually outside of the beach, but when you get inside it doesn’t really matter anymore. At Dok you have almost everything else a beach would require – people walking bare foot, beach volleyball, sand and of course the palm trees! Literally you can just go there, take your shoes off and relax with a beer or a plate of nachos.

Dok also hosts a lot of events and on the 7th of July, you will find a Tapas Food Festival there!

4.Sloterplas

Interested in swimming, renting a kayak or a sailboat, having a picnic, running, yoga, exercising in an outdoor gym or just having a drink on a terrace? Well Sloterplas is a great place to visit then! I cycle pass this lake every day, but only recently found out about the beach (with seashells) where you can actually swim. Albert Heijn is not too far either (5 minutes away), so getting the picnic foods is not too much of a trouble. And if you don’t want to sit in the sand, on the other side of Sloterplas there are nice grass areas.

Sloterplas in very conveniently located from Teleport – only 9 minutes of cycling or 28 minutes of walking.

5.Het Stenen Hoofd

This small beach with more casual-like atmosphere is just 5 minutes from the central station. There is a little beach café, where you can order lemonades, soft drinks and snacks. I tried their lemon lemonade, which was really good – bubbly and sweet. You can have a drink at the café on its terrace or lay on the little beach left-side of the café with your own food.

From here you have a pretty nice view to the north – you can spot the A’dam tower and the NDSM for example.

On the 7th till the 8th of July you can find a beer festival here with live wrestling, tasty food and different craft beers!

Besides these five, there are other urban beaches in Amsterdam: Pllek in the north and Blijburg aan Zee in the east of Amsterdam. These two also host different events throughout the summer: open air movie nights at Pllek and different music events in the huge beach of Blijburg aan Zee.

As a non-local I definitely recommend these places for the people who are interested in doing something a bit different on their holiday to Amsterdam. After visiting some museums, I can’t think of anything better than relaxing on an urban beach with good music, tasty food and cold drinks or even enjoying a festival!

On this map you can check out all the places I mentioned and find the most convenient one![:]

Here is a scenario. You booked a nice city trip to Amsterdam. Flight tickets are booked and your stay at Amsterdam Teleport Hotel is confirmed! Now it’s time to get really excited. Evenings go by sitting at the couch, browsing the internet and looking at all the different places you want to visit. The number of places you are putting on your Amsterdam bucket list becomes quite overwhelming. There is so much to do and to see! But apart from not having enough time, what can go wrong during the trip you are asking to yourself? Then you realize there is one thing you haven’t checked yet: the weather! You add Amsterdam on your favourite weather app on your phone; you refresh the page a couple of times. Can it be true? Is the app working properly? You check other weather pages and that’s when you fully realize; it will be grey and rainy every single day of your trip! How is this possible you are wondering?

Here is a “comfortable” thought and explanation. Amsterdam has a mild sea climate with relatively warm winters and refreshing summers. Amsterdam gets on average 800mm of rain, spread out over 184 days, per year! But don’t worry; this is all normal for us! Local people are completely used to this type of climate. Most of us don’t even get bothered too much when the skies open up once again and we have to go bike to work, school or just for meeting a friend. And the good news is, since we have to deal with it 50% of the year, there is tons of exciting things to do even when it rains cats and dogs! So let me help you lift up your mood a bit and make you excited again for visiting our beautiful city!

Let me start by recommending two very cool places not too far from the hotel: Westergasfabriek and De (Food) Hallen. Both places are very popular cultural hotspots in the city and offer tons of different activities year round. Westergasfabriek has a big variety of different shops, coffee places, galleries, restaurants and bars. Once per month they organise a big largely indoor fashion, design and art market. Definitely worth a visi

If you decide to go a little bit further, by tram of course, why get under the rain when Amsterdam has such a good public transportation system, you get to De Hallen. De Hallen is a former tram depot that recently has been turned into a multipurpose cultural complex. Here you will find one of Amsterdam’s biggest food courts and lots of galleries and stores with unique souvenirs from Amsterdam. Those who are into cinema can eat their heart out as well. De Hallen has the largest independent movie theatre in The Netherlands which on top of that even has a one cinema hall (number 7) that is on the UNESCO heritage list because of its historical art deco interior.

I can hear you thinking: “This doesn’t sound too bad but what about the historical city centre”? Also in “old” Amsterdam there are many things to do when the weather is not cooperating. In the red light district for example there is the TonTon club. A cool, old school arcade hall where you can play lots of pinball machines and your all-time favourite classic racing, shoot-em-up games! After you had enough of game nostalgia you can go for a delicious local draft beer at Brouwerij de Prael or for those who want a bit more of a touristic beer experience at Brouwerij ‘t IJ which is located in a classic Dutch windmill. If gaming is not really your thing and you are wondering what to do, you should definitely go for a comfortable canal cruise. The easiest way to explore the city, all dry and provided with interesting historical information throughout the trip. During the winter months you might want to go for a special Amsterdam Light Festival watercolour cruise during the night.

After the canal cruise and getting to know you should visit one of the many museums Amsterdam has to offer. Get your skip the line ticket at the front desk of the hotel and get inside straight away while other tourists are waiting outside being all cold and wet! The Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum, Eye Film museum, Nemo Science museum, Anne Frank house, Tropical museum, Hermitage and Foam photo museum are just few of the exciting options that you have.

Another cool activity on a rainy day is to visit one of the many escape rooms Amsterdam has to offer. Sherlocked is located under the Beurs van Berlage, in the heart of the city centre. Other great options are Claustrophobia and Zombie escape.

Last but not least there are two places totally worth mentioning that are a bit further away. On the other side of the IJ river (behind Amsterdam Central station) there are the IJ-hallen. Here you can find the largest flee market of Europe. You have to be lucky though. The market is held only one time per month. The last place I think that should complete this list is The World of Food.  This food court can be found in the Bijlmer a.k.a. Amsterdam Zuidoost. This food court represents the true multicultural spirit of the city. Amsterdam people with roots from all over the world share their delicious food for affordable prices!

So nothing to worry about when coming to Amsterdam, there is always something to do! For those who are still a bit unsure and afraid of the bad weather, we provide free umbrella’s at Teleport! :)

This Christmas we challenge you to be more creative with Christmas gifts you bring home from Amsterdam! It’s time to find a worthy alternative to typical Dutch cheese, stroopwafels, tulip bulbs and Delft blue pottery that you usually would get as a souvenir from Amsterdam. This city has so much more to offer when it comes to original presents and fresh ideas. So let us share our favorite unusual Christmas gifts with you.

Scratch maps or solar queens from By Popular Demand

How about a scratch map as an original Christmas present from Amsterdam? A world map poster becomes personalized when your friends take a coin and scratch the surface to reveal the countries they have visited. Look for more of such unique gifts at By Popular Demand, where weird lamps, quirky socks, tote bag with a map of Amsterdam on it and funny pillows only start the list.

Raadhuisstraat 2

Moustache wax or special knives from Concrete Matter

You can find truly manly Christmas gifts at a bit posh Concrete Matter store that has prepared a huge collection of presents for him. Whether it will be whiskey disks to chill a drink without diluting, moustache wax for a great look, a radiometer to have a fancy object or a high quality pocket knife to use while camping, any gentleman would appreciate items from this shop. Just focus on what your man likes and you won’t leave Concrete Matter without a nice buy.

Haarlemmerdijk, 127

Street Art Calendar from ASA

Amsterdam Street Art is proud to present a limited edition calendar 2017. Explore the pieces by 14 greatest street artists of Amsterdam and give this wall calendar as a gift to your friends. The most talented guys did their best to create this unique art item that can add up a nice vibe to any place. Teleport Hotel embraces street art (maybe you have noticed one of the colorful rooms with the street art pieces already) and loves ASA!

Prinsengracht, 64

Wall vases or paper animals from Store Without a Home

If you want to add some creativity to your friend’s cozy place with your gift, then Store Without a Home is the best destination. Choose among extraordinary interior goods like wall vases, 3D puzzles that you can use as wall decorations, storytiles, porcelain monkey masks and lots of other design accessories. This shop hosts interesting shapes, conceptual designs and inspirational items that you will want to get even as a Christmas gift for yourself

Haarlemmerdijk, 26

Gluhwine chocolate from TONY’s Chocolonely

Since there is no Christmas without chocolate, why not bring an exceptional bar made in Amsterdam? We can’t emphasize how good 100% slavery-free TONY’s Chocolonely chocolate with a story to tell, but Christmas special edition suppresses all expectations. This year’s flavor is milk chocolate with gluhwine! Yes, you’ve heard it right-gluhwine as a flavor, and believe us-it’s delicious!

Polonceaukade, 20

Coloring book of Amsterdam at Athenaeum Boekhandel

In the times when coloring is not only suitable for kids, but is much appreciate by adults, get a stress relieving gift from the Netherlands-a coloring book of Amsterdam. Your friend will be making the city alive with colors, while you will be sharing you crazy stories from our vacation. Lots of details, recognizable spots and the most famous streets of the city are ready to be colored.

Rijksmuseum, Museumstraat, 1

A colorful mug from Blond Amsterdam

We don’t suggest you a boring mug as a present (that would be way too cliché), but instead we recommend you a bright collection by Amsterdam’s local brand. Blond Amsterdam will help you choose a very personal mug that shows the interests, profession or character of the future owner. Their blond girl is easily recognizable and will make an amazing gift for any ladies.

Gerard Doustraat, 69

[:]

Amsterdam is renowned for its beautiful architecture, canals, world class museums, coffee shops and red light district. There is so much to see and to do and then still after spending a couple of days exploring Amsterdam you have a feeling you didn’t have enough time to see it all! And guess what? You are right! Amsterdam, despite being a small city, compared to for instance Paris, London or Berlin, has so much more to offer than the regular tourist experience! Don’t get me wrong, I love the classic Amsterdam probably just as much as you do, but let’s be honest you truly get to know the city in its full glory, once you get off the beaten tourist track! Hopefully this article will help you to make your trip to Amsterdam more unique, diverse, interesting and local!

NDSM

NDSM is a former wharf on the other side of the IJ, the big river behind the central station. To get there is already a small adventure by itself. There are free ferries connecting the centre of the city with different parts of Amsterdam North. The one you need to get to NDSM is the one all the way on the left if you get out of back entrance of the station. In about 10 minutes you will be on the other side and able to see the iconic NDSM crane and old submarine laying in the water. NDSM is thriving and getting more interesting every day. Ever since the wharf went bankrupt in 1984, free spirits and creative souls have taken over the area and given it its unique character that makes NDSM so different than other parts of the city. Visitors can expect to see a lot of beautiful street art, especially around the old wharf area, the unique NDSM breeding place full of small workshops and galleries and cool bars and restaurants such Noorderlicht, Plekk and KEBEC.

Ruigoord

Ruigoord is a small artistic village a bit outside the city, about an 8km bike ride away from the hotel. This former village and island was taken over by squatters in 1973 and became a free haven for artists.  Here they can work in peace, not being distracted by the ever developing and fast city environment, being surrounded by lots of green and tranquillity. Very often the whole village works together on big art projects that characterize the place. In this unique place, living as a community and integrating art in their daily life has become a communal experiment. Ruigoord is also known for all the parties, festivals and other events that take place there. The best part about it all is that they usually take place in the beautiful old church that this artist community is famous for.

Westergasfabriek

This old factory, in the Westerpark, has become a very popular hot spot of the city amongst locals. This former late 19^th century gas factory closed its doors in 1967. Luckily, instead of taking the buildings down the area slowly developed into a place where innovation and creativity became the beating heart and energy of the renewed Westergasfabriek. It is difficult to describe what this place is like since there is so much to see and to do. The best thing to do is to hop on your bike or hike from the hotel, since its only 3km away and experience it yourself. If you decide to do so make sure you grab a coffee at the Espressofabriek, buy a fairtrade candybar at the Tony Chocolonely store, have a sandwich at the Bakkerswinkel, try a local draft beer at Brouwerij Troost, dance, eat with locals at the Pacific Parc and play old school arcade games at the TonTon club.

Amsterdamse Bos

Not many tourists are aware of the fact Amsterdam has a beautiful forest that offers a great getaway from the busy city. Here locals love to walk their dog, swim during summer, enjoy open air concerts and plays, attend festivals, have their morning run or just simply enjoy the changing seasons and nature throughout the year. If you are planning to go here you should first go to the beautiful visitors’ centre that explains everything about the forest, where you can buy maps with all the different trails on them and that has a great educational centre for kids as well on the second floor.

Other local gems

After describing four great places where you can experience the true Amsterdam spirit and where you probably will meet way more locals than tourists, there is few true gems left that are totally worth mentioning. Even though the summer has long passed it’s never too cold or rainy for a drink at Hanneke’s Boom, Café Sound Garden or Waterkant.

Another great way of spending your day is by visiting one of Amsterdam’s local markets at the Albert Cuypstraat, Dapperstraat and Noordermarkt to try some of the delicious local delicacies like stroopwafel or herring. For the ones that even the above experiences are not local enough should have a look at DinewithDutch, a super cool platform where you can arrange an at home dinner with a true Dutch family! It doesn’t get any more local than that! :)