Just a fantastic spot on the edge of the city. Its connection of the Amsterdam-Rijn Canal to the IJ, Amsterdam’s big open water, that was once part of the North Sea, but now dammed in by the Dutch. Sometimes it’s just a relief to leave the prettiness and the cuteness of the Amsterdam canals behind and experience some space. Few people come out here and in summertime it’s just a delightful spot to have a picnic and watch the boats come in.

Not a big fan of zoos and animals behind cages, but if you can spot Flamingos in the east-centre of Amsterdam, then count me in <3 ! You can actually see them while riding the bike on Plantage Middenlaan, quite a beautiful scene.  Note: De Plantage next to zoo is quite cool cafe/restaurant, with a mix of vintage style and industrial elements of the old buildings of Artis. Great atmosphere, and ideal for a more sophisticated outing. 

One of the oldest cinema's of Europe. Stunning Art Deco extravaganza. Make sure you watch a film in the big Cinema 1. 

A great music venue with ping-pong tables used to be a squat. 

It's a very small museum in the Hermitage about art made by outsiders. It's also known as 'Art Brut', a name given to it in 1972 by French artist Jean Dubuffet. It simply means that it is art made by people that don't fit in the normal life structure that humans suppose to have. Which can mean that the art is made by people who are in jail, who are ill, have a mental dissability or another way of not fitting into the community. The exhibitions are quite small, so it takes you just around an hour. And the hermitage has a nice canal view.