Get the Most out of Amsterdam: 5 Hacks

5. Get on a Bike

Life's too short to walk. It's also too short to drive a car and ride the metro! You're only here for a while so get among a special part of the culture that is whizzing through the city's ancient, cobbled streets on a fixed speed bicycle. 

Amsterdam alone has over 500km of dedicated bicycle paths that are the life blood of the city. Download an offline map, pick a few hot spots and do it. There is no better way to explore and discover. Bike like a child discovering the joys of cycling for the first time.     ​

4. Say Yes

You will have much to discover which can be overwhelming. Think not of rules but of general courtesy and go where your heart takes you. Say yes to what you like the sound of and just do it. Be here to find yourself and most importantly go with your own flow. Share stories from adventures. Make a friend that you may never see again but will remain a precious memory. Try that box of mushrooms that you're a little hesitant to try and let them let you see the world through a new, psychedelic set of eyes. Have that extra beer. Bike that extra block.   

3. Be Helpless

Come here with only the bare essentials. Just being here is enough, you don't need to know where to go or what to do. Where to eat, drink or sleep. You'll see. Talk to that stranger sitting beside you in the park or in the tram. If it happens to be pouring down, let it become part of your experience. Arrive back to your hostel, hotel or AirBnB drenched, knowing that you gave zero fucks about your pack of ciggys getting wet. There is no place for rigidity in a city such as this. Throw your itinerary into a canal. Leave your phone at home!

2. Rave

You're young, you're free and you're in Amsterdam. So lace up your boots, check DJ Guide and prepare yourself for something out of the ordinary. Go somewhere slightly out of your comfort zone. You have the opportunity to create memories that'll last a lifetime! The Dutch are pioneers in the global techno scene, producing tunes that'll have you fist pumping till the sun rises up over the windmills. There are no shortages of festivals, with incredible line-ups being announced weekly for raves in abandoned shipping warehouses, forests and parks. Drop some high quality molly. Move your feet.

1. Find Your Place

The city has more than enough to explore for everybody. Something to discover, to find out. You want a to be spanked by a transvestite with a ball gag in your mouth? Great. That's okay here. Or are you the type that's here to experience the beauty of Dutch Golden Age artwork by the likes of Rembrandt and Van Gogh? Drug laws a little tight in your country? Here for the sole purpose of igniting the devils lettuce and giggling for hours on end at a painting on the wall that resembles your Aunts new partner? 

Whatever it is, open your eyes, speak to strangers, say yes, be helpless, get on a bike and prepare to be blown away by the magic of this crazy little city we call Amsterdam. 

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