As you already know if you read my post about the Hotel Pulitzer last week, I discovered Amsterdam for the first time only this month. Which made me wonder why I didn’t go there earlier, as it made it into the top 5 of cities I would like to live in almost straight away…Amsterdam is beautiful – not in the same way my wonderful home town of Paris is beautiful – it is characterful, quirky and interesting. Obviously the canals play a great part in that quirkiness, but it isn’t the only reason. It felt less homogenous than most other European capitals I was lucky enough to visit. For a start, there aren’t too many high-street stores outside of the centre, which gives the general landscape something a little more individual. I am so bored of seeing the same stores wherever I go! Not because I want to shop desperately when I travel, but just because I think store fronts are an integral part of a city’s identity, and when the same usual suspects take over everywhere, identity melts away.
Amsterdam is as quiet or buzzy as you need it to be… I loved walking around the city and getting lost in the side streets, where you can hear the birds chirping and the squeaks of bicycles whizzing past. I also loved venturing in busier areas to get the pulse of the city. At the moment, I crave peace and quiet, so the more residential parts of town appealed to me more.
Below are some photos I took while I was there, a mix between walking and boating on the canals. Stay tuned for my city guide coming soon!
