The overrated seven
1) Madame Tussauds Amsterdam ($27) — replace with Body Worlds ($22, actually interesting). 2) Dam Square street performers — skip, walk 200m to the Begijnhof instead. 3) Heineken Experience ($25) — replace with a Jopenkerk brewery visit in Haarlem or a Brouwerij 't IJ tour at the windmill in Amsterdam-East, $15 and better beer. 4) The 'I Amsterdam' letters — no longer at Museumplein, and were always a photo cliche.
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5) Giethoorn day trips (see day-trips post — it's in another province and overrun). 6) Dam Square and Damrak restaurants generally — the worst-value dining strip in the country. 7) Overpriced canal dinner cruises — a regular $22 cruise + separate dinner at a real restaurant is $30 cheaper and much better food.
What to do instead
Go to a neighborhood cafe in De Pijp on a weekday morning. Bike the Waterland loop (Amsterdam-Noord ferry, then countryside back through Broek in Waterland). Visit Museum Het Schip and see Amsterdam School architecture in a working former post office. Walk the Haarlem old town at dusk. All beat the top-of-Google-search obligations.
Questions answered
Is Anne Frank House overrated?
No — it's the exception. Book ahead, go early, be prepared for a genuinely moving 90 minutes.
Should I skip Amsterdam entirely?
No — but spend fewer days there than TikTok suggests. Three days in Amsterdam plus three exploring the rest of Noord-Holland is a much better week.
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