A Magical 3 Day Slowcation in Amsterdam
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I know what you're thinking: it's not possible to have a relaxing 3 day city break.
There’s simply too much to see and do, goes the logic.
But this really was our experience during a 3 day weekend in Amsterdam. We had planned our trip highlights - the things we absolutely had to do - but also left enough time in our itinerary to relax and unwind at the end of each day. It was a fantastic experience in slow tourism and it's made me a fan of this new travel trend of slowcation.
What is a Slowcation?
We’ve all taken that trip with the jam-packed agenda.
The one where every minute seemed to be planned.
The one where you find yourself running from one tourist attraction to the next.
These are the vacations you need a vacation from - too much activity, not enough relation.
A slowcation is the opposite of a busy vacation. It’s about prioritizing the things you’re truly passionate about experiencing, and ignoring the rest. Slowcations are a rejection of the “more is more” style of travel. It’s about finding time to rest and savor a location, rather than filling up your camera roll with photos.
Sounds interesting? Here are some tips for how to enjoy a slowcation.
How to Turn a Vacation into a Slowcation
How to trade in a hectic, stressful vacation for a slowcation? The most important thing is to remain mindful of rest and relaxation time.
Plan the most important tours, experiences, and dinner reservations, and then leave room in your itinerary for spontaneity. We bought tickets for likely-to-sell-out attractions like Keukenhof and the Anne Frank House, and fit in other experiences, like the Rijksmuseum and a canal tour, on a spontaneous basis.
Take a moment to enjoy your gorgeous hotel and all its amenities.
Is your itinerary already bursting at the seams? Consider adding an extra day to your trip so that you have more time and feel less rushed. At first, we considered spending just Saturday and Sunday in Amsterdam, but we added a full Friday so that we could experience the city at our own pace.
Afraid of overcommitting? Schedule your relaxation time into your itinerary to make it more of a priority. We weren’t this vigilant, but we did fall in love with our hotel, which made it easy to prioritize room service in bed over dinner at a buzzy restaurant.
Ease into your first day of travel. We dedicated the entire first day of our trip to visiting Keukenhof, an out of town excursion that made it difficult to plan for anything else in town. That decision worked out really well, though, because we only had to expend energy on one thing that first day.
How to Get to Amsterdam
As the capital city of The Netherlands, Amsterdam is home to Schipol Airport, a large international hub for the SkyTeam airline alliance, of which the national airline, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, is a member.
Amsterdam Centraal train station.
The city is also served by Amsterdam Centraal train station, which is located in the heart of the city and within walking distance of many of the city’s major attractions. The city’s central location in northwest Europe makes it easily accessible from all directions, a convenience which has no doubt made Amsterdam a popular destination for hen-dos and city breaks.
How to Get Around Amsterdam
Amsterdam has a very reliable public transit system, the GVB. Its network of trams, buses, metros, and ferries connects the city, and all modes of transportation are covered by the GVB Public Transport Ticket.
We booked a 72 hour card to cover our weekend in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam’s tram network will quickly whisk you about town.
Another popular mode of transport, especially among locals, is bicycles. I had my heart set on renting bicycles for one of our days in Amsterdam, but the weather was an unpredictable mix of rain and wind, so those plans were quickly scrapped.
Visiting Amsterdam in April
We decided to visit Amsterdam because it’s a quick four hour train ride from Frankfurt. April is also tulip season in the Netherlands, and visiting Keukenhof had been high on my priority list. Luckily, when we began planning at the end of February, there were plenty of time slots for Keukenhof still available.
The weather in Amsterdam in April can range from cold, windy, and rainy to bright, sunny, and no-jacket-required warmth. In our experience, the full range of Amsterdam weather possibilities was on display, oftentimes in the same day. It actually hailed for a few minutes after we entered Keukenhof, before the sun came out and made the rain a passing memory.
Aprils in Amsterdam: Sunny days, but we still needed our winter jackets.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for were the hotel prices. When I visited Amsterdam four years prior, hotel prices seemed normal. Apparently, post-pandemic inflation had changed that, transforming Amsterdam into a pricey hotel market. Had we visited in March, it wouldn’t have been so bad, but April is when things start to get busy in Amsterdam, and hotel prices certainly reflected that.
In terms of crowds, however, the city was still relatively calm and not at all crowded. This made it easier for us to casually hop onto a canal tour during our last day, and it made other spontaneous plans, like our Rijksmuseum entry time and some spur of the moment shopping, easier to pull off.
Overall, I would strongly recommend visiting Amsterdam in April. Aside from the unpredictable weather, the city was easy to navigate and never felt congested.
Touring the Tulips at Keukenhof
I am a huge fan of planned gardens, and visiting Keukenhof has always been a dream of mine. I will admit, though, that I was scared off by the logistics. I knew that the garden sat miles away from Amsterdam proper, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go to the trouble of planning how to make the trip on my own.
Welcome to Keukenhof, the world’s largest tulip garden.
Planning a Visit to Keukenhof
Unlike other public gardens, Keukenhof is only open for around eight weeks in the spring, usually from late March to early May. Since our Amsterdam trip was scheduled for the middle of April, I knew that the timing would finally be right.
Keukenhof was a centerpiece of this trip, so I was ready and willing to figure out the logistics. The garden sits about 30 minutes southwest of Amsterdam, in the town of Lisse, and there are no direct public transport stops at the garden.
A row of bright tulips at Keukenhof.
However, Keukenhof has arranged most of the logistics for transport from not only Amsterdam, but also from Schiphol Airport, and the towns of Haarlem (to the north) and Leiden (to the south). They operate a dedicated bus fleet that brings visitors to the garden and then returns them to their starting point.
Keukenhof’s website had an option to purchase bus transportation to the garden with a pick-up location in the city. The price was added on top of the admission ticket. I was relieved when I booked my tickets, thankful that they took care of all the logistics.
How to Get to Keukenhof
Now here’s where I was really impressed: during the day of our visit, I was half expecting some trouble in finding the bus out to Keukenhof, so we arrived a little early. But even the day-of operation was a well-oiled machine. The queue to board the bus was a little long, but we opted to take the standing room only seats for the trip out there. (The return trip to the city was a different story. We were tired. It’s easy to underestimate how much walking you do while touring through Keukenhof.)
The flower beds were carefully manicured with complimentary colors of tulips.
There are a ton of tour sites selling tickets to Keukenhof, but I would recommend buying your tickets directly from the source. This eliminates any potential issues with intermediaries; we ultimately kept our originally purchased tickets, but Keukenhof’s website allows you to reschedule your entrance date and time if there is availability. Their website is also full of helpful advice and its FAQs answer so many questions you might have before your visit. Best to stick with the source.
How Long to Spend at Keukenhof
Even after studying the Keukenhof map, I was shocked when we stepped inside by just how big the garden is. The size and scale of the garden, coupled with the sheer amount of tulips, hyacinths, and daffodils planted into the landscape, is truly amazing!
Tulipa Livorno, which resembles a peony or garden rose.
In terms of how much time to spend at Keukenhof, I think that 2 hours is a minimum. Three to five hours is not unheard of, especially for those travelling with families (there are a couple playgrounds inside) or those with mobility issues.
We spent a little over 2 ½ hours at Keukenhof and felt that it was a good amount of time to see the sights and stroll through the garden. That being said, if you plan to have lunch in the garden, or stop to buy one of the many bulb packages on sale, then plan to stay for closer to three or four hours.
What to Wear to Keukenhof
The weather was mostly good during our time at Keukenhof, though the first fifteen minutes after entering the garden it did start to hail for a minute or two. Some folks were walking around wearing rain ponchos but that wasn’t really necessary. We brought an umbrella from our hotel and this was sufficient for the weather we encountered.
Rows of yellow and white tulips at Keukenhof 😍
Because the forecast was on the cold side, we wore jackets and casual outfits like jeans and athleisure leggings. The most important thing to wear to Keukenhof, though, are comfortable shoes. It is a lot of walking, so be sure to wear a pair of trainers or sneakers. The bag I wore to Keukenhof was a small crossbody that fit my phone, wallet, and some chapstick.
What to Eat and Drink at Keukenhof
Keukenhof has several food stands and restaurants, but our entry time was around 2:00 PM, so we had already eaten lunch. We did stop for a hot tea to warm us up a bit, and while in the food court area I peeped the dishes other guests had purchased. Nothing looked especially appetizing, the prices were on the high side, and the lines to wait for food were very long. If you plan to be in Keukenhof over lunch, you may be better off by packing a small lunch of your own.
Is a Visit to Keukenhof Worth It?
This one is easy: YES!
The size of the garden is expansive, and the care the Keukenhof gardening team spends in keeping each and every tulip bed looking manicured and pristine is impressive. I watched the team tending to one of the beds there and I was fascinated by their quick method of deadheading the spent tulips to refresh the flower bed.
Throughout our time in the garden, I was struck by the fairy tale feeling that such a special place can give its visitors. There is simply no other place that has this degree of planning and artistry through flowers. The colors and various combinations were something to behold.
I absolutely love garden details like these topiary arches.
If you appreciate beautiful spaces and taking a nice stroll through nature, you’ll enjoy a visit to Keukenhof. But if you are a gardener yourself and enjoy growing flowers, you will absolutely love it!
The Anne Frank House
During my first trip to Amsterdam in 2019, I was surprised to learn that tickets to the Anne Frank House often sell out weeks in advance. By planning more than six weeks prior to our travel date, I was also able to snag two tickets to see that very popular attraction.
On display were copies of The Diary of Anne Frank - translated into languages from across the world.
The Anne Frank House was a somber experience. Visitors are touring the actual building where the Frank and Van Pels families hid during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. You see the cramped space in which they lived, in secret, for more than two years. I had toured exhibits dedicated to the story of Anne Frank before, but there is no comparison to the original. I highly recommend it, especially for those interested in history.
The rooms did become crowded with visitors at times. It was especially common just before a flight of stairs, which were very narrow and steep. For that reason, this may not be the best attraction for those with limited mobility.
Live Music at Maloe Melo
On our first night in Amsterdam, we wanted to catch some live music. Live music is one of my favorite performance type experiences to catch while I’m traveling through Europe. When it comes to performances, I think the smaller, the better. Large productions tend to feel the same way they do everywhere - polished and produced like they would be in the USA. But walking into a small music venue or jazz club instantly imbues you with a sense of how music is played and enjoyed in the place and culture you’re visiting.
We headed down to Maloe Melo on Lijnbaansgracht, a renowned Blues bar with a casual, old-school atmosphere. The unassuming, self-proclaimed “juke joint” served half pint beers at their front bar, dotted with communal tables. Just before showtime, they opened the doors to an intimate music venue in the back of the space, served by its own, cash-only bar.
The band covered classic rock hits as the sound bounced off the tinny acoustics of the walls. (Classic rock was always on the radio when I was growing up and it’s one of my favorite genres to hear live.) It was a great evening, though we left about halfway through owing to the very long day and our quickly fading energy.
Albert Cuyp Market
Amsterdam is known for its lively street markets. Depending on the neighborhood, they sell a mixture of fresh produce, hand-made goods, and vintage clothing and curios. Some feel more like a farmer’s market, while others have a flea market vibe. Popular markets include the food-focused Noordermarkt and the renowned flower fest at the Bloemenmarkt, but we opted to visit the Albert Cuyp Market on our second morning in Amsterdam.
Outdoor street markets, like the Albert Cuyp Market, are a relaxed way to take in the local Amsterdam culture.
The Dutch street food on offer included classics like the stroopwafel, and the deceptively versatile poffertjes. (Seriously, these tiny pancakes can be served with savory toppings - not just the typical powdered sugar and butter - and still be delicious.) I was also tempted by a stall selling more than twenty flavors of cannoli. Luckily, the cannoli man only took cash, and by that point I was fresh out.
The market also housed several stalls selling vintage clothing and small goods. I bought a set of tiny copper turtles to use as a feng shui cure in a corner of my flat, something I’d spent months searching for. (Yes, I believe in feng shui 😆.)
Taking a stroll through one of Amsterdam’s street markets is a fantastic experience that is free and mostly not time sensitive, as a lot of the most popular markets are open daily. It also doesn’t take very long - our stroll through the Albert Cuyp Market took around 45 minutes, and was a nice way to walk off our breakfast feast.
An Alternative to Amsterdam Coffeeshops
I often forget about the seedy side of Amsterdam’s reputation. During my last visit to the city, I walked through the Red Light District at dusk and was practically at the end of it before I noticed the windows full of bored-looking sex workers.
I remember the giddy excitement my college friends talked about Amsterdam with. “You can buy marijuana there!” But the legalization movement in the US has all but eliminated the need to cross the Atlantic solely for that purpose. Don’t get me wrong. Amsterdam’s coffeeshops - true coffee sellers that began selling marijuana and hash in the 1970s, and eventually pivoted to selling the cash crop full-time - are truly something to experience! But some can also feel very touristy, transactional, and gimmicky.
So instead, we visited Kokopelli, an alternative to Amsterdam coffeeshops known as a smartshop.
Labels from packages of mushroom truffles decorate a table inside Amsterdam smartshop Kokopelli.
What's the difference between a coffeeshop and a smartshop?
Amsterdam’s coffeeshops sell cannabis and hash products whose main ingredient is THC. Smartshops, on the other hand, are not permitted to sell THC products, but rather specialize in psychedelics like mushroom truffles or magic truffles. While related to magic mushrooms or psychedelic mushrooms, truffles are grown in the ground, and contain different concentrations of active compounds like psilocybin.
Kokopelli sells mushroom truffles as well as herbs, tinctures, and growing supplies. The spacious store also includes a chill-out lounge for customers who want to purchase mushroom truffles and enjoy them on the spot. This smartshop felt less transactional than in the coffeeshops I’ve visited, and rather more consultative and educational. The vibe was uplifting, airy, and communal. A bulletin board by the door was peppered with flyers for events with names like “Microdosing Mornings,” which made me envious of the locals who could participate.
If you’re looking to experience the liberal substance culture in Amsterdam, but coffeeshops just aren’t your thing, then swing by a smartshop. It’s an interesting part of Amsterdam, without the smoky air or long queues.
Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at the Park
As mentioned earlier, hotel prices in Amsterdam have risen relative to their pre-pandemic range, something that shocked me a bit when it was time to find a place to stay. I’m a big believer in booking the nicest hotel you can afford, but I also like to pay what I consider to be reasonable per night room rates. But when faced with a situation in which even budget hotels were asking for eye-watering prices, I decided to embrace my mantra and book a five star hotel, Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at the Park. I don’t do this for every trip, but I wanted the Amsterdam vacation to be special, and let me tell you, the hotel absolutely helped make this possible!
Pillows Hotels have a reputation for elegant design and a residential feeling. Its Amsterdam property, Hotel Maurits at the Park, sits in the Oud-Oost neighborhood near the entrance to the tranquil Oosterpark. I liked that it was away from the busy streets in the northwest and central areas of Amsterdam, yet still connected to these attractions with tram service.
When we arrived Friday morning fresh off a train from Frankfurt, we were welcomed into the Living Room, a guests-only lounge that was beautifully appointed with strong coffee, good books, and real, ink-on-your-fingers newspapers. The Living Room was better than a traditional hotel lobby, which can be a buzzing hub of activity. Rather, it was a place to relax, have a beverage, converse with the concierge or wait for a taxi’s arrival. It was a place to slow down. We visited multiple times per day during our stay, whether to grab a quick espresso or to peak at the titles collected on their bookshelves.
The Living Room at Pillows Hotel Maurits at the Park.
Our room was beautiful, with a small seating area as well as a writing desk, a huge, plush bed, and a television that retracted into a base at the foot of the bed. The bathroom was a mixture of blonde wood and marble, and I almost squealed when I saw that it stocked Diptyque products. It’s no secret that I love beautifully appointed hotels. But the quality of a hotel stay is about service. And on this point, Pillows Maurits at the Park went above and beyond.
The staff was kind and attentive throughout our stay, but what impressed me most was how their concierges made our trip easier and more enjoyable than we could’ve imagined.
On our second day in town, after breakfast and a stroll through the Albert Cuyp Market, we were wandering around central Amsterdam when I realized we didn’t have any dinner plans. Our train left the next day at six in the late afternoon, so this was our last night to have a good dinner in town.
I quickly fired off an email to our hotel, with attention to the concierge in the subject line, and asked them to book us somewhere - anywhere - for dinner. I was having fearful visions of wandering from restaurant to restaurant, being turned away everywhere, and having to settle for some sort of tourist trap.
My email outlined the specifics of our request: we wanted to dine at a restaurant that had good quality food for a fair price, with a nice ambience, and any type of cuisine. We wanted something more on the relaxed casual side, no fine dining please. I pressed send on the email, and then phoned the front desk to be sure the concierge received the mail.
Less than an hour later, I received the reply: dinner reservations had been made for us at a restaurant of their recommendation (Buurtcafé De Tros, which was fantastic!). I was relieved, and we were free to go on with our day without having to sift through Google Reviews to find a dinner spot.
Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at the Park
An elegant hotel in Amsterdam’s Oud-Oost neighborhood that feels like home.
Pillows Hotels are located in the Netherlands and Belgium. They’re a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, and certainly earned that distinction in my book. If you ever have a chance to stay with them, I strongly recommend it.
Canal Tours: A Must-Do Amsterdam Experience
There are two types of canal tours available in Amsterdam.
The first is a very traditional tour guide-led excursion in a large boat with a see-through-covered enclosure. This kind of tour will focus on history, pointing out sites of interest, and usually has capacity for more than thirty people.
The alternative type of tour is geared towards a more relaxed visitor. The boat is smaller, and open, with no covered enclosure. The capacity is reduced, with about twenty five people as a maximum. In addition to leading the canal tour, the tour guides also serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. They are less stringent about describing the history of every site passed along the way.
Canal tours allow visitors to see an entirely different view of Amsterdam.
Touching the underside of a bridge brings good luck.
I’ve taken the second type of tour twice now, and it remains my preferred type of canal tour. It’s more laid back, and affords you the opportunity to relax and take in the sites of Amsterdam from a completely unique perspective, the canals themselves.
Old Masters at the Rijksmuseum
Since this was my second visit to Amsterdam, I was determined to finally visit the Rijksmuseum. (During my previous visit, with Rijksmuseum time slots sold out, I toured the Moco Museum as an alternative and really enjoyed it.) We floated the idea of joining a guided tour, but ultimately decided that we would just explore the museum and its masterpieces on our own.
Rembrandt’s most famous painting, The Night Watch, is displayed in a specially designed glass chamber.
The main room where the Dutch masters of the seventeenth century are housed is called the Gallery of Honor. It consists of a main corridor with alcoves on either side, and its walls are heavily decorated. I absolutely loved this layout - it allowed you to dip into one of the alcoves but then return to the main corridor, which is beautiful and grand and really just a long conveyor belt guiding visitors to the main attraction: Rembrandt’s The Night Watch, which is undergoing a monumental, multi-year restoration.
The Cuypers Library is the largest and oldest art historical library in the Netherlands.
The artwork and the museum itself were beautiful, but in the end, I wish we would have booked a guided group tour! At one point, my boyfriend started trailing a guided group tour, even answering the guides questions. Guides do such a great job of directing your focus and taking you deeper with individual works of art, and with a large museum like the Rijksmuseum, that kind of focus can completely transform the experience from one of passively viewing paintings and their placards, to a more immersive understanding that contextualizes the art and its place in history.
Eating through Amsterdam
We ate very well during our time in Amsterdam, and were able to sample different types of dining experiences, from street food to chic restaurants and the ever elusive hotel room service!
Dumplings on Westerpark
Our first meal was at the Dumplings stand on Nassauplein, at the entrance to Westerpark in the city’s northwest corner. I am a sucker for dumplings, so when I saw this spot on Instagram a few months back I saved the post and vowed to check it out. For around twenty five euros we feasted on a multi-course menu of delicious gyoza, fried noodles, and bao buns.
Pillows Maurits at the Park
After returning to our hotel from Keukenhof, we opted for room service in bed. It was the perfect way to recuperate from an afternoon of hoofing it through the tulips. Eating a burger in a hotel bathrobe while watching Netflix… strong recommend.
On Saturday night, we stopped by Fitz’s Bar, the hotel’s cocktail lounge, for a nightcap. The drinks were fantastic, as was the swanky, speakeasy ambiance.
And Sunday morning we finally sampled their breakfast, which is everything a hotel breakfast should strive to be. ❤️
The Cottage Amsterdam
For our first breakfast in Amsterdam, we snagged a reservation at The Cottage. Located in Amsterdam’s Oud-Oost neighborhood, this laid-back restaurant serves simple English style breakfast, lunch, and Sunday roast. It was their scones that caught my attention, and the potential for a big English breakfast with baked beans and tomatoes. They served all that and strong coffee. I even bought a jar of their orange preserves to take home.
Buurtcafé De Tros
Recommended to us by our hotel concierge, De Tros had a buzzing atmosphere when we arrived. We indulged in delicious small plates and a bottle of orange wine and the light outside slowly mellowed to dusk. It was the perfect kind of laid-back, casual restaurant that still manages to turn out impeccable food.
What I’m Planning for My Next Amsterdam Visit
As soon as we sat down on the train bound for Frankfurt, it began to rain. It felt as though Amsterdam had been holding back the bad weather on that last day just for us, and we were truly thankful. It was an amazing vacation, equal parts adventure and relaxation. Looking back, I can’t believe that we were able to see everything we wanted to, and watch multiple episodes of Sex And The City in bed! It definitely set a new standard for me in terms of slowing down and savoring each trip I take from now on.
I’m already planning a list of things to do when I come back to Amsterdam. The Van Gogh Museum will be high on my list, and I hope to have time to explore The 9 Streets (De 9 Straatjes) area for its shopping. My other big hope for a next visit it to finally rent a bicycle so that I can get around town like a true local. 🚲 🌷