Quote:
Originally posted by Radio Monk33
Just be careful and watch your back there. It's a pretty seedy city there. Fairly dirty and dangerous as you can imagine, given it's lax laws..
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Sure... I've been a student in Amsterdam for over six years, and I can guarantee that it's not fairly dirty and dangerous, even with the "lax laws". That's just bullocks. Perhaps you saw the mess after a national holiday or something...
I do agree that you need to watch your belongings. Also make sure you do NOT respond favorably to shady figures offering to change your foreign money - they're usually easter-European criminals trying to pick your pockets. If you do want to change cash, try a bank - they're everywhere.
The Rijksmuseum might be an idea, were it not for the fact that it is partially closed because of rebuilding/cleaning up. You can still see the Night Watch and other selected masterpieces, but it's not as big as it normally is. No worries, though - there's the van Gogh museum nearby, and the Stedelijk museum, which are both top-notch too.
The red light district is kinda silly - lots of tourists go there, and the rest of us (dutch people) can't understand what is so bloody interesting... It's just a bunch of semi-naked prostitutes and loads of sex shops. Wheeee.
Other cool museums: The Amsterdam History museum, near the Dam square, which has some cool things to see. Then there's the torture museum, which is decidedly, er, sick. The Sex museum is apparently overrated. You might be able to check out the royal palace, though - very cool and pretty. Otherwise, you could try the church next to it - kinda expensive, but very pretty.
non-museum stuff... er... dunno, really. Perhaps you could try and hire a boat somewhere, to see the canals, and even go out to the "countryside", which is quite pretty. It'd be advisable to get a local expert to steer the ship, though...