{"id":9938,"date":"2023-03-16T20:13:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T18:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/?p=9938"},"modified":"2023-03-16T20:13:00","modified_gmt":"2023-03-16T18:13:00","slug":"8-of-amsterdams-best-kept-secrets-you-need-to-add-to-your-travel-bucket-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/destinations\/netherlands\/8-of-amsterdams-best-kept-secrets-you-need-to-add-to-your-travel-bucket-list\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Of Amsterdam\u2019s Best Kept Secrets You Need To Add To Your Travel Bucket List"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a good reason why Amsterdam is a city on so many\u00a0people\u2019s travel bucket list. It\u2019s incredible architecture, beautiful canals,\u00a0bustling cultural\u00a0scene and delicious food means that millions of tourists\u00a0descend to the Dutch capital every year.

Amsterdam has always been a popular tourist attraction\u00a0with South Africans via a direct\u00a0KLM Royal Dutch Airlines<\/a>\u00a0flight from both\u00a0Johannesburg and Cape Town \u2013 and for good reason. The airline\u00a0shares eight of the city\u2019s best kept secrets and lesser known attractions that\u00a0bring\u00a0in as much foot traffic as Dam Square, the Rijksmuseum or Vondelpark that\u00a0you need to add to your travel bucket list to fully experience the magic\u00a0the\u00a0country has to offer.

Westergasfabriek<\/b>

Amsterdam\u2019s Westergasfabriek has fast-become a beautiful\u00a0cultural hub that is rich with history. The Westergasfabriek was built inside\u00a0of an\u00a0expansive gasworks facility that dates back to the late 19th\u00a0century. The area is known for its industrial fa\u00e7ade and is filled with\u00a0restaurants, music\u00a0venues, an arthouse cinema and the largest coin-op arcade in\u00a0the city.

The City Archives<\/b>

If you\u2019re a history boffin, visiting Amsterdam\u2019s city\u00a0archives will certainly be an educational and eye-opening experience. Besides\u00a0the free entrance,\u00a0the archives offer so many attractive reasons you need to\u00a0visit next time you\u2019re in the city. Some of the highlights include a police\u00a0report given by\u00a0Anne Frank concerning her stolen bicycle and the document that\u00a0banished Baruch Spinoza from Amsterdam\u2019s Jewish community.

REM Island<\/b>

If you\u2019re looking for a unique dining experience, you\u00a0need to make a booking at the underrated REM Island. This unusual, waterborne\u00a0restaurant is\u00a0housed inside a renovated offshore platform that once stood\u00a0around nine kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands. Interestingly, the\u00a0platform was\u00a0owned by a group of pirate radio broadcasters, who had to abandon\u00a0the structure after the Dutch government raided their operation in 1964.\u00a0However, a few decades later, the platform was towed to Amsterdam\u2019s Houthaven\u00a0harbour and was transformed into one of the classiest and most\u00a0unusual\u00a0restaurants in the country.

The Pancake Boat<\/b>

That\u2019s right! Amsterdam has its very own pancake boat\u00a0where patrons are given beautiful views of the city while being presented with\u00a0an unlimited\u00a0supply of Dutch-style pancakes topped with syrup, fruits and\u00a0powdered sugar. The tour takes 75 minutes and departs from NDSM-Werf several\u00a0times a day.

Blijburg City\u00a0Beach<\/b>

While Amsterdam has some beautiful beaches that edge onto\u00a0the city\u2019s lakes, canals or rivers, visit the Blijburg City Beach for a unique\u00a0beach bum\u00a0experience. This beach is famous for its seaside resorts, golden\u00a0sand, clear water and its windsurfing school. Visitors like to enjoy an\u00a0afternoon\u00a0snack or drink at a famous tiki hut-style restaurant nearby as well\u00a0which adds to the beach\u2019s laidback style.

Ons’ Lieve Heer op\u00a0Solder<\/b>

Europe is rich in history and after the Reformation in\u00a0the 16th century, the newly-established Calvinist Dutch government famously\u00a0outlawed\u00a0Catholicism in the country. However, despite severe punishments, many\u00a0continued to worship in secret and some even built hidden churches.\u00a0During this\u00a0time, many churches were destroyed or demolished but this church, built on the\u00a0top three floors of a canal house during the 1660s,\u00a0survived the period\u00a0unscathed. Now, it has been preserved as an historic museum since 1888.

EYE Film Museum<\/b>

If you\u2019ve ever walked out of Amsterdam\u2019s Centraal\u00a0Station, you would have noticed the oddly shaped EYE Film Museum and, if you\u00a0haven\u2019t explored\u00a0it yet, a visit during your next visit is a must. There are\u00a0several facilities located inside the institute, including a gallery space that\u00a0regularly hosts\u00a0exhibitions related to filmmaking, four modern cinemas and a\u00a0multi-tiered restaurant that looks onto the river IJ. The venue also plays host\u00a0to a\u00a0variety of events including film festivals, concerts and movie screenings.

Poezenboot<\/b>

If you\u2019re a lover of cats, the Poezenboot is the perfect\u00a0activity for your next trip to Amsterdam. The Poezenboot is a floating cat\u00a0sanctuary that has\u00a0cared for stray or abandoned felines for over four decades\u00a0and welcomes visitors most days of the week. The boat is located in the northern\u00a0banks\u00a0of Singel canal in central Amsterdam and features a large, lower deck\u00a0where cats are given the opportunity to roam free and interact with visitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a good reason why Amsterdam is a city on so many\u00a0people\u2019s travel bucket list. It\u2019s incredible architecture, beautiful canals,\u00a0bustling cultural\u00a0scene and delicious food means that millions of tourists\u00a0descend to the Dutch capital every year.Amsterdam has always been a popular tourist attraction\u00a0with South Africans via a direct\u00a0KLM Royal Dutch Airlines\u00a0flight from both\u00a0Johannesburg and Cape Town […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9944,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4836],"tags":[4779],"class_list":["post-9938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-netherlands","tag-klm-royal-dutch-airlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9938"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southafricatoday.net\/travel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}