Amsterdam in April - things to do/see?
 

My S.O. is planning a trip for sometime early April.

What C&V -related things could I find there then - cycle jumbles/swaps/markets, events...

You're a few weeks too late.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8a1ec1c3fe.jpg

Rent one of these (or the men's version if you prefer) and cycle. I don't know if it gets much more C&V than riding on one of these on a bike path in the Netherlands:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9bfeda66ee.jpg

Are you only goin' to Amsterdam or do you mean the Netherlands? Sorry to ask but it seems many people from the US don't know the difference. Sometimes they even think Copenhagen is 'Holland'.
I ask this because there is a free bicycle fair near Antwerp in Belgium, not that far from the border. One hour and 45 minutes drivin' from Amsterdam.
I've never been there but I heard good things about this fair.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2856a11855.jpg

Amsterdam, we have tix to the Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum.

Vermeer eh? That's cool.
Let me know if you're into classical music or opera...tickets can be had.

[MENTION=173992]non-fixie[/MENTION] may be your man on the ground here.

Have fun.

Brad

I had a good time at the museums there ... between stops at the coffee shops. :innocent:

Wow! Almost nobody has, enjoy!

We do go to classical concerts a fair bit, not usually opra.

Our tickets are for the 5th.

What do you know of?

Good friends of ours are both professional musicians. One sings for the National Opera and the other is a composer of some repute.
I'll reach out to them to see what's on.

While I live and work close to Amsterdam, I seldom venture into town, and haven't anything to add to what's already been posted.

However, I would like to second bikemig 's suggestion to just rent a bike and experience cycling in and around Amsterdam. That's a sure-fire way to make memories. :)

iirc from the last time I was there in 1995, there's a great market in Rembrantsplein? Weekends only perhaps?

Don't forget to check out the new parking garage too.


-Kurt

Rembrandtsplein has a art market, only on sunday.
Waterlooplein has all kinda stuff and is from monday till saturday. It's not the flea market from the sixties/early seventies anymore ...

Cycling in the Vondelpark is a bit of an experience, it is something like an arcade game.
The Sarphatipark is a really nice and lovely park to hang out.
Going cycling across the dike towards Volendam might be nice. The town itself is very touristic and not really for me.

If you like beer, De Prael (Oudezijds) is a good bar. It is a workplace for people with a distance to the regular labor market, as they say in The Netherlands. And the beer/brewery is really great.
https://www.deprael.nl/

Rent a bike and ride to the ocean! only about 20km away or so. There's a lovely brewery on the way.

There was another big one out of town...perhaps the Black Market near the Haarlem train station? I still have a relative or 2 in Heemskerk and Bevervijk.

I love that you can ride on the sand at the ocean. Real hard pack.

When do they haul up the bikes lurking in the canals?

Every day, according to this:
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/0...msterdams.html
Just need to find out where in the canals they're operating.

Lots of musical events at the Concertgebouw by the house band and others. Lots of Bach, The Messiah, some recitals, some jazz.

If you like architecture, you could cycle around the late 19th early 20th century neighbourhoods. Lots of art deco and it's Dutch brick variant called the 'Amsterdamse School'. Lots of social housing in that too, privately financed through association, and with architecture to 'elevate the working classes', they are still inhabited by the Amsterdam lumpenproletariat of course, but some are open to the public on the inside too and with a small museum inside ("Het Schip" if I remember correctly). But there's also a spectacular art deco cinema called Tuschinski and the Shipping House now Grand Hotel Amrath in the centre. There is a lot of mural art to see to, at the NDSM island North of the Central Station (free ferry), a former ship building yard full of artsy stuff and people, but also in some deprived neighbourhoods

For the old city centre, mostly 17th century, I'd suggest renting a boat when it's nice weather and just go and see where you end up. You don't need a licence to drive a (electric) boat but you are expected to avoid collisions but only the Amstel river is a bit more challenging and the IJ river requires competence. Only a few of the canals are restricted. It's really a different experience from seeing it cycling or walking.

But it's Amsterdam, depending on the weather it's just nice to cycle around without somewhere specific to go. It's relaxed when you manage to get in sync with traffic (watch the legs on the single speeds and predict) but watch out where there are tramrails, they might not only catch a rear wheel when you hit them at unsufficient angle, it's also where the trams go. If you want to go outside the urban area, I suggest Broek and Waterland or the Stelling van Amsterdam. This is UNESCO sight of fortifications that were supposed to work with inundating the area, effectively turning Amsterdam into a defensible island. I don't know about cycling specific stuff. Of course there will be some but contrary to popular belief the Dutch don't love bicycles, they just like to get around.

Well, we are here; a bit tired on arrival, weather is nice enough.

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But ALL city bikes. I have seen three 531 frames out of probably thousands of bikes, maybe ten bikes in total with drop bars.

There sure are a lot of different kinds of city bikes, some three-wheelers with huge carts in front, about half the rest have racks and/or/seats/and/or panniers.
Everything is extremely heavy-duty - drum brakes, chaincases, frame-tubing the size of drainpipes, mudguards.
Oh, and two tourists wearing helmets; nobody else is that silly.

great bike

Photograph bikes, eat Indonesian food, book a a Bike and Barge trip, look at tulips. Enjoy.