Amsterdam Things to Do

The biggest and best-established arts festival in The Netherlands brings international musicians and actors into Amsterdam every June – 2013 dates are June 1 through 26. Encompassing all genres of music from classical to garage, drama, dance, film, and opera, the festival spreads across the city into every sizeable venue from the mainstream Muziektheater and the Royal Theatre Carré to the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam and the home of leftfield music and drama, the art-house venue Westergasfabriek.

Amsterdam in spring means flowers; Keukenhof Gardens near Lisse only open for a couple of months a year – in 2013 from March 21 to May 20. Every year seven million bulbs are planted here, forming a psychedelic carpet of flowers, with some 100 varieties of tulip as well as daffodils and hyacinths. The Gardens are xxx from Amsterdam and there is a direct bus from Schiphol Airport Plaza.

With some of the best markets, specialty stores, and boutiques in the world, Amsterdam’s shopping streets are easily explored on foot, from the pedestrianized Nieuwedijk-Kalverstraat to the cobbled side streets, canal-sides, and squares. You’ll find everything from big department stores to specialty stores glittering diamonds, crumbly Gouda cheese, and the famous blue-and-white Delftware.

Since 2009, the famous Hermitage Museum of St Petersburg in Russia has had an offshoot in Amsterdam. They hold exhibitions curated from the incredible collection held in St Petersburg. For those unlikely to travel to Russia, it’s a great opportunity to see art from the huge collections of western and other art exhibited there.