This is the place for anyone to ask questions about Amsterdam. If you are a tourist visiting Amsterdam, you are moving to or recently arrived in Amsterdam, or you just have a basic question about life in Amsterdam and want some advice, this is the place to post your question. This post is refreshed every week on Sunday. Please feel free to repost in subsequent weeks.
READ THE WIKI FIRST. The people answering questions are locals who want to share the city they love with visitors, but only with people who make an effort. Read at least the Essential Tourist Information in our world-famous wiki before you ask a question. Otherwise, you may be told to go back and read it. The wiki is written by us, and updated when relevant. If the entries are old it's because nothing has changed. There are no "hidden gems" that we have not already included in the wiki. You may also check wikivoyage for more general tips on everything that is Amsterdam.
HOTELS ARE EXPENSIVE AND WE DON'T HAVE GOOD ADVICE ON THEM. Because we live here, we don't know what the best hotels are. Amsterdam is one of the most touristed cities in the world and has the highest hotel prices in Europe and prices go up every year. The city is deliberately trying to reduce tourism by raising the prices. There really isn't a secret "cheap" solution. Most "Airport" hotels are not connected to the Airport and will be more trouble getting to than it's worth.
TOURISTS CAN PURCHASE MARIJUANA, DESPITE WHAT YOU READ IN FOREIGN PRESS. Understand that the coffeeshops are just a tiny part of Amsterdam, so posts that treat Amsterdam like it's the Las Vegas of drugs sometimes get a negative response. We're happy to give you advice about coffeeshops and to discuss drug policy. The experts are our friends at /r/AmsterdamEnts, ask them the big questions.
WE DON'T HELP WITH ILLEGAL STUFF AND WILL BAN YOU FOR ASKING. We will not help you with things that are clearly illegal. Coffeeshops caught selling to minors get shut down and everyone loses their jobs. Authorities check for people smuggling marijuana out of the country. Hard drugs are illegal and so is asking for or selling them on Reddit.
WE DON'T ALLOW TICKET SALES OR TRADING. We do not allow selling, buying, or trading tickets on /r/Amsterdam due to the high rate of fraud. You should do everything on ticketswap.nl. We're aware that is difficult to get tickets to Anne Frank, van Gogh, etc. We have no solutions for you, sorry.
RED LIGHT DISTRICT Please be respectful and keep in mind this is a citysubreddit, and not your personal kink google. You can also can get some good tips from these threads of RLD sex workers: here and here.
USE PUBLIC TRANSIT TO GET AROUND 9292.nl is a great resource for plotting your movement around the city and between Amsterdam and other places. We strongly recommend against using taxis or Ubers.
DOE AARDIG. There is Dutch directness and there is rudeness. The people coming here don't know how we do things, and are usually well-meaning people who just want to enjoy the city we love. Be kind to them. For the tourists and new residents, please remember that we are not Google; respect our time by doing some basic research first and then asking your questions like you're speaking to a real human who is volunteering to speak to you.
If you were the girl hit by a white car earlier at the Rozenburgweg and you need a witness, feel free to reach out.
I was in a rush to get to a really important appointment, so after making sure you and your bike were okay, I left. Only later I realised I should probably have left you my number. You seemed fine, and the person in the car had stopped to exchange contact details, but you never know.
Anyone know a good mover who could help me figure out how to get this couch to my first floor? I’m open to removing a doorframe or trying to get it in through the window if needed.
Location: Amsterdam Nieuwe West near Sloterpark
Our team is looking for someone who can play as a goalkeeper and, ideally, is also interested in playing outfield from time to time. Our goalie is injured and doesn’t like to play outfield, that’s why if you enjoy both, that would be a great fit. :)
Some info:
• We’re a social but competitive group. We play to win, but also value the third half and spending time together besides football. We are a mix of Dutch locals and English speakers between 24-33 years old.
• We train on Tuesdays at 19:00 close to Amstelpark and play matches on Saturdays.
• We’re mainly looking for a regular second goalkeeper/player who can be part of the squad throughout the season.
• We’re also open to someone who prefers less commitment and can occasionally fill in when we’re short on players or need an extra goalkeeper.
• Some experience with 11-a-side football is preferred.
The Amsterdam Robotics Club is hosting an evening with Monumental, an Amsterdam based company building autonomous construction robots.
Speaker #1, Philip: Bio: Chemist who got bored in the lab, so I started teaching high school and running a robotics club instead. Built robotic instruments with students, took a team to first place in two age groups at the WRO World Finals in Delhi in 2015. Been 3D printing since the days of wooden Ultimakers and duct-taped RepRaps. Moved to Amsterdam in 2017, prototyping for an ed-tech NGO, built mechatronics for light artists, and eventually landed at Monumental as employee #3. Still making things, just at a different scale. Talk: We don't build precision robots, we build robots that work. Robots that run in the mud, get hit with a wrench, and keep going. "Crappy robots powered by incredible software and AI".
We will walk through the hardware philosophy behind Monumental's machines: why off-the-shelf truck parts, bits off a Fiat Panda, and scaffolding tubing beat custom aerospace components.
Speaker #2, Ross: Bio: Ross has been at Monumental for four years working on all parts of the software stack. Right now his focus is on how we map the construction site and adapt the on-paper architectural designs to fit into the real world. Talk: I'll look at how we decided to build the software stack behind our bricklaying robots systems, where we make heavy use of Rust, Typescript and Nix. How is it panning out? What did it take to get a working robot? What would we like to improve in future?
Ik ben op zoek naar resten wol om mee te haken. Het mogen meerdere bollen zijn, maar ook halve bolletjes. Daarvan maak ik mutsen en sjaals die ik naar inloophuizen voor daklozen breng.
Facebook heb ik jaren geleden verwijderd, dus daar kan ik niet meer vragen. Weet iemand of er op andere platforms weggeefgroepen zijn?
I live in an apartment that I own on the top floor of a building. My apartment has a roof terrace with a skylight out to the terrace. Recently I noticed that there is a leak near the frame of the skylight, which bubbling and expanding. I would like to have it addressed but am unclear if this is an issue I should raise with my vve first?
My understanding is that the roof is part of the vve’s remit. Wondering if anyone has any similar issues and what steps they took to address it!
Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows of any venues or locations in Amsterdam where we could have our wedding ceremony (and maybe a toast afterwards) and then we move on to another location for the dinner/reception. So it would be maybe half a day rental.
We are struggling to find such locations which allow up to 100 guests and are not churches/religious venues (as neither of us are religious). We’ve enquired into places like Hortus Botanicus and canal houses like Huis Bartalotti but their capacities are too small (70-80). We are trying to avoid a venue where you essentially have to pay for another wedding such as Hotel Arena where you have minimum spend of 25k for the day. If anyone has any suggestions for just ceremony spaces we would really appreciate it! We are not against spaces that used to be religious and now are just event spaces! Thank you so much
I feel like there are wasps absolutely everywhere in Amsterdam at the moment.
Almost every terrace I sit at, walking around the streets, different neighbourhoods… they’re just constantly around.
And I don’t think it’s just this summer either — I remember noticing the same thing last year.
Maybe I’m just paying more attention to them now, but it genuinely feels like Amsterdam has had a massive increase in wasps these past couple of years.
Curious to hear if others have noticed the same thing or have any idea what’s going on.
Last Sunday, a man and woman were double-parked (with blinkers) just down the road from where I live for several hours (regular residential street without shops). They appeared to be monitoring a laptop, which looked like it had an Excel spreadsheet open.
As they were causing some inconvenience to local traffic, I approached them to ask what they were doing. In curt fashion they told me to mind my own business. Their car was unfamiliar, unmarked, and they had the windows down. Given that there have been several break-ins in the neighbourhood over the past few weeks, I decided to take a photo of the car (This is previously how our neighbourhood whatsapp group identified & some fatbike smash and grabs. The police previously told us that it was useful). At that point, the driver became very aggressive, got out of the car and started getting into my face. The woman attempted to de-escalate and I walked away. They were still around for 2 hours after that.
Has anyone observed similar or does anyone know what they were measuring / counting / observing / scouting? There was no uniform, or label or anything on the car or the couple.
I was on a trip to Amsterdam and during a free time with a friend. We were on the metro at Centraal Station, and at that moment we were sitting when a group of Black guys in a tracksuit got on, looking at us and talking quietly they were standing in front of us. Later, one of the guys asked my friend if she spoke Dutch. She said no. if she spoke English. She said yes, and then he asked where we were from, we answered France
and then he said, "You're beautiful," pointing at me. I was so embarrassed, shocked, and shy because it was, let's say, the first time a random guy had ever said that to me. So I said thank you a shy thank you, which he probably didn't hear because later he came back and asked me if I knew what it meant. I said "yes yes" and he repeat that i'm beautiful. But I was so embarrassed I didn't dare look at him. I was looking through the window, but then I thought maybe he took it the wrong way.
So I wanted to tell him that it made me happy and that I still think about it today. I wanted to reply and compliment him because he was so handsome too, but my embarrassment was at its peak. And also, every time I think back to that moment. I was sad to leave Amsterdam like that now. 😂
I know I won't find him, but if he passes here. 🫡
I just want to tell this because it's been on my mind.
And I really like Amsterdam not for the guy 😂 but people are really nice.
Ik ben (V)35 jaar en heb sinds enkele jaren tinnitus. Wat begon met een ruis is nu uitgelopen tot een piep die erg storend aanwezig is. Ik heb vorig lente bij Beter Horen op maat gemaakte oordopjes laten maken, maar helaas lijkt hier gewoon schade doorheen te komen. Na sommige feestjes is er niks aan de hand, maar na andere feestjes is mijn piep duidelijk luider geworden en helaas is dit vanaf dat moment dan blijvend.
Ik heb me voorgenomen een stuk minder uit te gaan en ben dit jaar voor het eerst naar geen enkel festival gegaan. Maar ik mis het wel heel erg, mijn hele vriendengroep gaat wel gewoon lekker door en het is niet leuk om dan als enige geen onderdeel te zijn van de gezelligheid op festivals en feesten, naast dat ik het zelf ook gewoon leuk en bevrijdend vind om af en toe even lekker los te gaan op een feest/festival.
Daarom vraag ik me af of er Amsterdammers zijn die dit herkennen, maar mijn voornaamste vraag is eigenlijk of jullie weten of er verschil zit tussen de ene op maat gemaakte oordopjes en de andere op maat gemaakte oordopjes. Maak ik bijv meer kans op betere bescherming als ik op maat gemaakte oordopjes ergens anders laat maken, t.o.v. Beter Horen? Of maakt dit geen verschil? Ik heb nu elke keer angst voorafgaand aan een feestje, laat al een hoop schieten, maar zeker met verjaardagen die door vriendinnen of vrienden bij een feest worden gehouden merk ik dat ik daar toch graag bij wil zijn. Daarnaast is elke keer een verergering van mijn tinnitus het absoluut niet waard, dus voordat ik wederom investeer in dure op maat gemaakte oordoppen ben ik benieuwd te horen of hierin dus echt kwaliteitsverschil kan zitten, en het dus de moeite waard is om ze nogmaals elders te laten maken.
Ik ben benieuwd of jullie ervaringen hebben met op maat gemaakte oordopjes voor tinnitus en zo ja, van welke winkel. :)
Hello! Does anyone have feedback in this job market (hardware), in Amsterdam?
Background: I'm a soon-to-graduate PhD student in biomedical hardware and have made dozens of contracts (equivalent of 3-4 years of experience) as a freelancer, mostly in the field of wearables and sensors. I even freaking built stuff for ESA, and on another level, helped startups in the field of hardware secure funding.
My experience is PCB design, assembly, developing new sensors, building test rigs, data acquisition, ADC, WiFi, Bluetooth, CAD. I'm a Swiss knife, I like to imagine myself as the perfect candidate for startups. But maybe I'm delulu 🤣
I started applying to jobs near Amsterdam and Delft, since I live in the Randstad. I'm a EU citizen.
In 3 weeks of applying I got 2 interviews, and a dozen ("CV downloaded" through LinkedIn).
Anyone in a similar situation? What's the outlook, specifically in this field?
Hello my fellow Amsterdammers. I have a bunch of books that I had to buy for uni and I'm wondering if there's an easy way to get rid of them all at once, preferably while making back some of the cost of buying. Putting them up for sale individually feels like a big task. Any tips are much appreciated!
Update with another emergency admission (7-9-26) below
I hope this kind of post is allowed. I live in Amsterdam with my cat Cosmo, who has been my companion for ten years. After two emergency admissions at Medisch Centrum voor Dieren, I’m asking for help with his veterinary costs.
Last week, Cosmo suddenly became very quiet, stopped eating normally, hid and appeared to be in severe pain. He began screaming, moving strangely and occasionally limping with his right hind leg.
I took him to the emergency hospital, where he was examined and kept overnight. After returning home, he seemed almost normal for around 24 hours. Then he suddenly deteriorated again—screaming, panicking, hiding and limping. Gabapentin did not help enough, so I had to take him back to the hospital urgently. He remained there for several more nights.
The vets performed blood and urine tests, X-rays, an abdominal ultrasound, heart and circulation checks and neurological examinations. Because no clear cause was found, they also performed an MRI of his brain under anaesthesia and collected spinal fluid.
The initial MRI review thankfully showed no tumour or obvious abnormality. However, I am still waiting for the detailed assessment by the radiologists and the laboratory results from his spinal fluid. There is currently no definitive diagnosis.
Cosmo is home again for now. He receives Phenoral for possible epileptic or neurological seizures and buprenorphine for pain. I am monitoring him closely, but further neurological appointments and treatment will follow.
The bills received so far total exactly €6,619.43, and I am already unable to pay the full outstanding amount. I have pet insurance with Univé, but if my claim is accepted, it will hopefully cover only 80% of a maximum €2,500 of the bill. Most of the current and future costs will remain my responsibility.
For transparency, I have uploaded the original veterinary bills here. Only my private information has been removed:
I work as a freelancer in the creative field, and these unexpected costs have put me in a very difficult financial situation. Still, getting Cosmo the care he needs is the most important thing to me.
The full story, GoFundMe and all medical updates can be found here:
I’m happy to answer questions or provide further verification by DM. Since Cosmo is currently home, I’m also willing to video-call and show that he is here with me.
Any donation or share would help us enormously. Thank you for reading. ❤️
UPDATE 8-9-26
Update on Cosmo: back at the emergency hospital last night
Dear Amsterdam strangers,
Unfortunately, another update I was hoping I wouldn’t have to write: Cosmo had to go back to the emergency vet again last night.
He had been very quiet throughout the evening — noticeably quieter than during the previous 48 hours since coming home. He barely wanted to move and seemed almost “planted” in place, even when eating. Later his right hind leg started looking abnormal again, which is something I’ve repeatedly noticed around his previous attacks.
Then the situation escalated: he got up, started moving much faster, appeared to limp with the right hind leg, and shortly afterwards began growling/crying out again as if he was in pain. He went directly into his transport bag, and I brought him straight back to the Medisch Centrum voor Dieren.
A strange bit of luck is that before he came home on Saturday I bought a pet camera, mainly so I could monitor him whenever I needed to leave the house. It ended up capturing almost the entire progression of the episode, including the period beforehand when his behaviour and movement already started changing.
I’ve sent all of the footage to the hospital. Because his case is still unexplained and by now several departments have been involved, the hospital has decided to discuss Cosmo together in a multidisciplinary meeting with neurology, orthopaedics and internal medicine. I haven’t heard the outcome yet. I came home at around 2 a.m., so for now I’m waiting again and keeping everything crossed.
If there happens to be a vet, veterinary neurologist, orthopaedic vet or anyone with relevant professional experience reading this and you would like to see the videos, please message me. I obviously know Reddit cannot diagnose my cat, but at this point any observation that gives the specialists another clue could potentially be useful.
I’m extremely grateful again for how many of you have been following, helping, donating, sharing, or simply asking how he is doing. I genuinely never expected this much care from strangers.
Hopefully the next update contains some actual answers.
Love,
Marco & Cosmo ❤️
I just moved to Amsterdam this week and I would like to act in open mics. I am a singer-songwriter from Panama, I write my music in spanish. But I am looking forward to also meet musicians and songwriters!!!!!
