Things to do in Amsterdam and most of them are for FREE!!
As a "professional tourist" (and wife and cook and cleaner) for 8 months in Amsterdam I loved the fact that there are so many things to do in Amsterdam for free. Not the its free but there is a catch kind that I am use to in Africa..genuinely for FREE. NO STRINGS ATTACHED.
Finding an amazing crew of friends who are as free as you are is the first step to enjoying all the below activities. But even if you are alone ...GO! I met my fun friends through these activities and we painted Amsterdam red 😉
Sign up to the Meetup app.
Meetups introduces you for free with people who have the same intrests and hobbies as you have. Get togethers, workshops and events are then sent to you depending on your intrests.
There are many people in Amsterdam who are looking for jobs or here because of their partners. I met one of my amazing friends at a meet up of ladies in the park. It is daunting to put yourself out there on your own but its a great way to meet people who have similar intrests or in the same situation as you are.
Follow @iamsterdam and the many other whats happening groups on facebook and Instagram to find out whats happening In Amsterdam while you are here. There are always new, fun and interesting events happening.
@iamsterdam plans a discovering new areas in Amsterdam once a month which allows you free access to different areas, buildings and events. Events such as tulip day are also advertised. 200 000 tulips are given away for free to the public annually at Dam square for National Tulip day ⚘
Concertgebouw:
Enjoy a FREE lunch hour concert every wednesday at Concertgebouw.
Where? Located in Museumplein, this magnificent concert hall plays host to many artists and you could easily feel like you are sitting in a grand concert in Vienna
When? Every wednesday
Time? 12.30 till 1pm (go to their website to view who is playing on a particular wednesday)
concertgebouw.nl
Be sure to get there by 12 as there are only 400 tickets on offer in the small hall and over 2000 tickets for the large hall.
Get your free ticket at reception and go early so that you can get a good seat in the balcony to fully enjoy this spectacular treat. They do sell out and I recomend going before 12pm to be safe.
Muziekgebouw:
On some Tuesdays there are also FREE performances in the Muziekgebouws big hall during lunchtime. The performances are different each time and are musicians from the Amsterdam conservatory.
When: Tuesdays, once or twice per month, between 12:30 – 13:30.
See their website for updates
https://www.muziekgebouw.nl/informatie/english/
Where: Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ – Piet Heinkade 1, Amsterdam. (Near centraal station.)
Entrance: free
The modern glass building alone is stunning to see.
Instameets:
An Instameet is where people gather in a pre-determined place, at a specific time to take photos and then upload them to Instagram.
Amsterdam organises the best free instameets every few months. With FREE access to locations that are not normally open to the public, free tours or workshops, free coffee and you get to photograph and watch and meet your favourite Instagrammers and make new friends who share a love of photography.
Professional cameras are not a requisite, a phone camera is fine, everything is free, they are super organised and best of all they have competitions at the end for the best pictures.
Follow and keep an eye out on when the next big instameet is happening on ig and facebook @igersamsterdam
I was lucky enough to join 3 instameets. The first was discovering the area Rokin. It included a talk on food photography, free coffee in a few places, free rooftop access, freebies, free entrance to a museum and more.
The second was a grafitti tour on the Ndsm area which has the Anne frank portrait and not only viewing some amazing grafitti but also trying our hand at grafitti. ( This whole area NDSM is always open to the public and it is free to browse around and the ferry to take you there from centraal station is also FREE)
The third instameet was of the Adam lookout. Access to the Adam lookout and the swing were free and we were then served tea at a 5 star hotel and given access to the hotels roof which is out of bounds to even their own guests.
If you take the NORTH free ferry from centraal station you can enjoy one of the many exhibitions at the iconic Eye Film Museum
The basement exhibition is free and the building is an architectural masterpiece and worth going to see.
As I have mentioned in a previous post, join one of the many free walking tours around Amsterdam. Join a local who loves where they live and can give you an insight into Amsterdam. They live on tips given at the end of the tour if you enjoyed the tour. Sign up online.i would highly recomend Sandemans tours.
Access to Rijksmuseums beautiful garden is free. So grab a book or coffee and relax on the many benches in this picture perfect garden.
Take a jog or a picnic and head over to Vondelpark which is a lovely public urban park of 47 hectares in the heart of Amsterdam. In summer there are many free concerts in the park.
Go to the top of Nemo science museum roof for free and enjoy the views.
Spend a relaxing afternoon in the ultra modern Oba public library near centraal station. 6 floors filled with books, coffee shops, reading nooks and computers. Be sure to go to the roof and enjoy for free amazing views over Amsterdam. Have a peep at the childrens section which will make you wish you were a child again! It houses a Mouse mansion that is three meters high and has more than 100 rooms that will fascinate both adults and kids alike.
Winter options:
*Take a canal cruise to see the light festival. Boats leave the canal infront of central station.
There is also a free walking pathway. Starts 5pm
*At Arena there is a Ice sculpture festival
*Feel the excitement of winter in the air at the open air ice rinks infront of Rijksmuseum and Amstelveen stadshart mall.
They are surrounded with christmas markets and delicious hot beverages
If you are lucky enough and it is a severe winter the canals freeze and are safe enought to skate on.
Museum Night:
In 2016 museum night was held one one night in November between 7pm and 2am.
50 Amsterdam's museums opened their doors for the seventeenth time during Museum Night. Inspired by the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions a special program was planned which composed of more than 50 participating museums. One can enjoy music, fashion, theater and special tours of the many museums in Amsterdam. With buying one ticket you have access to visit all participating museums including the extra programmes and workshops that most of these museums have on the night.
http://museumnacht.amsterdam
Science weekend:
Yearly Netherlands has a science weekend.
The National Science Weekend is a nationwide event designed to emphasize the importance of science and technology to the public all for FREE. Visit science universities and labs that are not normally accessible to the public. Meet scientists working in their own labs. Take part in experiments. It is designed for the whole family! The activities are suitable for children from 6 years. There are activities for children and workshops for adults. It is an eye opening event to the many fields out there and as a wannabe CSI agent i was in CSI heaven.
Add them on facebook and online and dont miss out!
Keep an eye out for Open tower day and Open monument day also
Amsterdam is a magical place filled with many new activities every week that can keep one very busy and never bored. These are just a few I was lucky enough to discover and enjoy. Would love to hear from you in the comments which activities in Amsterdam you discovered and loved.
For more information,tips and pictures follow me on @travelling_muslimah on instagram.
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