Have you ever wondered why it is called Amsterdam?Yes your guess is correct,it was named after a dam on the river amstel.Once ,the fishing town transformed into the most popular tourist destination in the world.
The capital city of Netherlands,very popular among the tourists for its nightlife,cheese,wooden shoes and waffles, is also famous for beautiful tulips and age-old windmills surrounding it.
If you are a nature lover and want to be away from the hustle-bustle of the city life,then you would definitely love the countryside of the amsterdam. The green landscapes,beautiful houses and small water resources along the roads will make your visit most memorable.
The best time to visit amsterdam is during the spring season especially between march to may when the tulip festival takes place.
My 3-day itinerary in amsterdam was:
Day-1:
Keukenhof Tulip Garden
The world's most beautiful spring garden Keukenhof located around 40 kms from amsterdam,is definitely worth a visit.Everywhere you will find different varieties of the tulips which welcomes you into the new world, whose beauty is indescribable, should experience personally and admire it.
The garden spreads over an area of 32 hectares in which there are 7 million tulip bulbs planted every year.It is divided into different areas where you can find various typs of arrangements of the flowers.The theme of the year was "FLOWER POWER",which was evident through out the garden.
The entrance fee to the garden is about 18 euros,which you can book online or can buy in any of the I amsterdam centres or at the entrance as well.The buses and trains would be very frequent at this period,so it will be very easy to get to the garden.You can also roam in the tulip fields by taking a bike for rent at the entrance of the garden.
Day 2:
Zaanse Schans
Zaanse schans ,a fishing village about 20 mins away from the amsterdam central is famous for its windmills,cheese and wooden shoes.If you visit in the months of march and april,you will have beautiful tulip fields opposite the windmills which turns it into a beautiful scenery.In total it has 5 windmills on the bank of river Zaan,which were used in olden days for extracting oil, mustard and making dyes.You can have a look at the working of each windmill by paying around 5 euros at the entrance.
The cheese museum named catharina hoeve will offer you the cheese making process and different variety of cheeses.You get to taste them and can choose the best one.My personal favourite is smoked cheese with herbs which was unique compared to other cheeses.It also offers chocolates with different flavors.
You can also visit the wooden shoes museum in which you can have look at making of wooden shoes.There are also other museums like bakery museum,weavers museum and other small shops which you can visit.
You can ride a boat which costs 1 euro to the other bank of zaan river.On the other bank, you have beautiful houses ,shops and restuarants.The boat person will give you the pamplet with detailed information of the houses and places to visit.
Boat/cruise ride on river Amstel:
You can get to see the main places of the amsterdam by the boat ride.The age old bridges,houses and many important places are covered in this 1 hr boat ride.Amsterdam is also known as venice of the north because of the numerous bridges on the river.
Day 3:
EDAM:
Another beautiful fishing village in netherlands which is Edam, is just half an hour from amsterdam central station,is known for its cheese market, old bridges and beautiful houses along the lake Ijssel.You can have a walk around the town or can book a bike to roam.A half day visit to edam will be a good thing to go.You can also go for shopping in the pleasant streets and can have a some cheese treat.
If you take amsterdam regional ticket based on your stay,you can save more and can use any means of transport to reach all the places in and near amsterdam.It is available in all the railway stations and I amsterdam tourist information centres.
Most of the people use bicycles/bikes as main means of transport in netherlands,you can take a bike on rent and can explore all the places without any hassle.
If you have time ,You can also visit volendam ,marken and giethoorn.