Amsterdam is such a babe. Check her out.

Museum Card

I am not much of a museum person but I do like savings which is what prompted me to buy one of these cards. You can buy them at the Rijksmuseum and various other museums. Just wait in the normal lineup. I think it was 50 euro as of 2013. The name is pretty self-explanatory, it gets you into museums… for free. If you’re unsure, you can check the museum website to see if it is valid. It also works for the Muiderpoort Kasteel and other historical attractions such as that. It is definitely worth it if you are planning on staying more than a couple weeks.

Eye of the Tiger

The Bibliotheek is located east of Amsterdam Centraal Station (hang a left out of the station). Not only is it a wicked library but if you scoot your boot all the way to the top level the views of Amsterdam are not bad either.

Grachtengordel, also pronounced Canal

Everyone knows that Ikea poster of Amsterdam with the red bike. I am unsure of which canal it is but I’ve found the intersecting streets of Keizersgracht and Leidsegracht are rather pleasant, especially at night since the bridges have lights on them.

Shops and their Canadian equivalent

I am highly aware you can easily walk into a store to see what it sells but regardless, here is a list comprising of Dutch stores, with their North American counterpart.

Praxis: Rona, Home Depot. (It is a building supply store)

Kruitvat: Shoppers Drug Mart

Action: Dollar Store

Xenos: Posh Dollar Store (sells furniture etc)

Blokker: Home Outfitters

This Little Piggy Went to Market

There are so many supermarkets here and compared to most countries, the Netherlands groceries are hella cheap but I thought I would distinguish the levels of cheapness

Expensive: if you can’t pronounce it or if it has the word organic in its name, it is probably out of your price range

High: Albert Heijn, Supercoop

Moderate: Deka, Dirk, Vomar, Coop

Super budget friendly (aka where I shop): Lidl, Aldi

Generally speaking, if you buy your fruits/ vegetables at markets or at vegetable stands they are cheaper than in the supermarkets. If you are buying them at Dappermarkt, Noordemarkt (on Westerstraat) or Albert Cuypstraat Markt or other various markets, be sure to purchase at the end of the day; the produce gets sold at a reduced cost seeing as the shop owners need to get rid of their inventory.

I found this lovely website which has some great tidbits.