36 Hours in Amsterdam: Where to Stay, What to Eat and What to See
Thank you to The Pulitzer Amsterdam, Amsterdam Tourism Board, and Anne Frank House for hosting me. As always, all opinions and recommendations are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
After our fabulous 16-day trip in Greece, we had to fly through Amsterdam to return home and decided to do a stopover while there. Amsterdam is a cool city with all of its canals and colorful buildings. We were there in the fall which is a beautiful time to visit. I can’t wait to share all I experienced in 36 Hours in Amsterdam: Where to Stay, Where to Eat and What to See!
Have more or less time in Amsterdam and want to plan accordingly? I got you covered!
Have more time? Try this perfect 3-day Amsterdam itinerary
Have less time? Try this handy guide to 24 Hours in Amsterdam
Where To Stay
Pulitzer Amsterdam
The Pulitzer Amsterdam is quite a unique hotel with fantastic service and friendly staff. It also has interior courtyard gardens that make you feel as though you have escaped the city!
Renovated in 2016, it has an upscale, modern feel and is centrally located with beautiful canal views. It is located on the same street a few blocks down from the Anne Frank House in case that is on your list (and it should be!).
We entered to find our room full of personality…
and I especially loved the exposed beams and brick walls. I also loved the lighting behind the headboard. It added so much!
Look at the umbrellas on the wall…aren’t they cute???
Our bathroom was also spacious and featured a walk-in shower. This photo makes the shower look really long doesn’t it? Well, it is long! You could walk back in there quite a ways. It was pretty cool!
They left us some yummy welcome treats…
and these pretty flowers.
They feature a number of suites…
and if you like a certain theme, they just might have it! I personally loved the music-themed suite since I am from a musical family! So much personality here at the Pulitzer Amsterdam. If you are looking for unique, fun, convenient, and friendly, this is your place!
Where To Eat
Café Van Puffelen
You have to stop in and eat at Café Van Puffelen! Highly recommend the salmon with vanilla hollandaise sauce. It was delectably delightful!!! I’m a huge salmon fan anyway, but that vanilla hollandaise sauce just put it over the top!
The other dish we really enjoyed was the fresh ravioli. Filled with leek and different cheeses, it had a walnut pesto and amoretti crumble. Completely fabulous. Café Van Puffelen was a suggestion from our hotel and is only a few doors down from it. Convenient and yummy, we went back the next night to have the exact same thing again!!!
The Pancake Bakery
The Pancake Bakery has the most incredible pancakes and crepes. I got these pancakes with strawberries, bananas, powdered sugar, chocolate sauce and a side of Nutella. My stars they were so good!!
TIP: Use the Amsterdam City Card for 20% off your bill!
The Ice Bakery
While touring the city, stop in at The Ice Bakery for a treat. Nutella everywhere! I had the Nutella and Twix doughnut and it was heavenly! Perfect treat for our afternoon break!
The Happy Pig Pancake Shop
A unique place to grab Dutch pancakes is The Happy Pig Pancake Shop.
You can build your own and choose from sweet, savory, or sweet-savory. The interesting thing is the Dutch pancakes are made with organic ingredients! I got mine with wheat pancake batter, fresh bananas, fresh strawberries, chocolate-hazelnut sauce and French salted butter caramel sauce (both sauces organic)! They were really good and I loved having the Dutch pancake experience in Amsterdam! If pancakes aren’t your thing, they also have Belgian sugar waffles (made with 80% organic ingredients). 😉
What To See
Anne Frank House
One of the things to see in Amsterdam is the Anne Frank House.
Unfortunately, taking photos inside isn’t allowed. This is the exterior of the house. Understandably so, this was a very emotional experience but one well worth seeing. There’s an audio guide to give you the accounts of what happened in every room of the house and many of the original artifacts can be seen.
At the end of the experience, you can visit the gift shop. Since I had already read the book in English in school, I purchased a copy in Spanish. My first book in Spanish, I am currently reading through it and enjoying it for the second time!
Canal Cruise
Be sure to get your Amsterdam City Card online before you go. It gets you free public transportation, free entry to some of Amsterdam’s top attractions and includes a canal cruise! A canal cruise is a perfect way to see the city. You can see everything from the Walter Süskind Drawbridge, one of eight drawbridges in Amsterdam…
to the modern side of Amsterdam,
pirate ships and houseboats
and my favorite, the Bridge of 15 Bridges. This is the only place in Amsterdam where you can see up to 15 bridges at once!
Iamsterdam Sign
Don’t miss a photo-op of the iconic sign located behind the Rijksmuseum in Museum Square. As you can see, Amsterdam in the fall is beautiful!
Smallest House in Amsterdam
The Smallest House in Amsterdam is only 6 feet 7 inches wide and 16 feet 4 inches deep! Dating back to 1738, the house is located in the heart of Amsterdam.
Staalmeestersbrug Bridge
The Staalmeestersbrug Bridge is another of Amsterdam’s drawbridges, but what sets it apart is that people use it as a “love lock” bridge. You can also see the Zuiderkerk tower in the background!
Walking Tour
One of the things I enjoyed most was just walking around Amsterdam on our own.
This way you can truly take in all of Amsterdam’s color…
and its beautiful architecture!
PIN IT!
I found Amsterdam to be so gorgeous and the fall is a really pretty time to go! The weather is cool, but not cold which makes touring much more comfortable. The leaves and fall colors are gorgeous and mix well with Amsterdam’s colorful architecture. Hope you enjoyed my quick 36-hour tour of Amsterdam!
Thanks for reading and as always, if you’ve been, let me know what your favorite thing was about Amsterdam!
‘Til next time…
Trimm Travels,
I am headed to Amsterdam in April. Thanks for the tips. Sadly I am allergic to hazelnut, so my eating with have to be a bit different. You are a lot of hazelnuts! 🤪
Hi Jamie-You will love Amsterdam! It’s such a pretty city and one that’s very nice to walk around and just enjoy. Interestingly enough, I love the chocolate/hazelnut flavor more than the hazelnuts themselves. I hate you’re allergic to them. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Did you visit last Fall. I’ve been to Amsterdam but not during this season. It is so gorgeous with a lot of yellows, including Pulitzer Amsterdam~
Hi Carol-it was actually fall 2016 and I wanted to go back last fall and now this one, but haven’t been able to get back! The colors are gorgeous and that’s why I love Amsterdam in the fall. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Anne Frank’s father went on to re-marry, and I read a book written by his daughter-in-law, Eva Schloss, documenting life at that time. Believe it or not, I have yet to read Anne’s diary… The museum must be quite powerful.
All those pancakes and sweet pastries must go down pretty well in Amsterdam – a nice treat after using the City Card all day. Of course, walking around the city is always a good choice, too.
Is it possible to tour the pirate ship? It looks like the smallest house is now a coffee shop – did you go in?
Your Drifters,
Jerry and Fiona
Hi Jerry and Fiona-I read the book a long time ago in high school I think. But I purchased a copy in Spanish this time around when I visited the house for a different reading experience the second time around! The pancakes were absolutely fabulous! We didn’t go inside the smallest house. If I remember correctly, it was still private at that time. As for the pirate ship, we passed by it on a canal cruise. And yes, walking the city was amazing! I think my highest walking mileage was in Amsterdam at 13.4 miles or something like that? Thanks for reading! 🙂
I plan on visiting Amsterdam next Fall so I was very grateful to read your article. Now I really want to go even more than I did before. I cant wait to enjoy the scenery and those pastries!
Hi Kenan-You will love Amsterdam in the fall! It’s so pretty with all the changing colors of the leaves. And yes, eat all of the pastries! Thanks for reading! 🙂
Amsterdam is surely a beautiful place especially in fall with those colorful trees and buildings. Pulitzer Amsterdam does look like a fun place to stay..I love that rooms have a theme and they leave treats. The canal cruise looks exciting. And omg I’m drooling at all that food especially the pancakes. I would love to visit Ice Bakery as I love Nutella. I hope to visit someday. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Katie-yes Amsterdam is gorgeous in the fall! The food is amazing (I’m ALL about ALL things Nutella!) and the Pulitzer is so cute with its themed rooms. Thanks for reading! 🙂
Ooh that hotel looks amazing! I absolutely love Amsterdam so will have to return soon to try some of your food suggestions. Those pancakes look to die for :p
Hi Lauren-those pancakes were definitely to-die-for! Amsterdam is a beautiful city! Thanks for reading! 🙂
The hotel looks very nice and tastefully decorated. It makes me laugh how many foods you managed to sample in 36 hours 😉 The salmon with the vanilla sauce sounds very interesting – vanilla, like e.g. cinnamon, is always connected with sweet food, but actually, it’s totally neutral and can be used in hearty dishes; like I said, very interesting. Need to try that one next time I’m in Amsterdam.
Hi Renata-I know, right? I got my foodie ON in Amsterdam!! I can’t even tell you how good that salmon with vanilla sauce is! So good we went twice in 36 hours instead of going somewhere new! When I go back to Amsterdam, I will make a bee-line for it! Thanks for reading! 🙂
I can’t get over how colorful and unique that hotel is. I feel like I could do an entire photoshoot there with all the corners having so much charm. I would like to also visit the Anne Frank House someday. It’s too bad you can’t take photos inside, but I’m sure there is a good reason for that.
Hi Candy, Oh yes…you could most certainly do an entire photo shoot (lasting more than one day) in the Pulitzer! It’s so unique! The Anne Frank House was an extremely emotional experience. I’m sure no photography is due to the nature of the sensitivity and the preservation of the artifacts. Definitely visit if you get the chance. Thanks for reading! 🙂
The salmon with hollaindaise sauce left my mouth watering!! And that hotel looks absolutely perfect. I’ve only been in Amsterdam a couple of times on long layovers, but both times I left feeling like I have to come back because there’s so much left to do and see. Next time the Anne Frank house and PIcasso museum are definitely musts.
Hi Erica-that salmon…I’m telling you, I will go for it EVERY time I return to Amsterdam! The hotel was so unique and charming. And yes, the Anne Frank House is definitely something to experience. Thanks for reading! 🙂
We plan on visiting Amsterdam next year. Glad that I came across this piece. Your pictures are so colorful and tempting, specially that pancake looks absolutely delicious and Anne Frank museum is so on my Bucket List. 🙂
Hi Tanushree-Thank you so much! Amsterdam is a gorgeous city and you will enjoy it and those pancakes too! Definitely tour the Anne Frank House…it’s an emotional experience. Thanks for reading! 🙂