Most travelers to Amsterdam will have heard about Vondelpark, the city’s answer to New York’s Central Park (on a much smaller scale, of course). We’ll revisit the pleasures of Vondelpark in a later post, but for now let’s fast forward to a lesser-known urban green space called Beatrix Park.
Located south of the city and nestled behind the RAI Conference Center, it’s an easy 15-minute ride from the city center along the Amstel River (or even quicker if you head down the center of the map along Ferdinand Bolstraat), Beatrixpark is an absolute gem. It is in direct contrast to the blanket-to-blanket crowd shoehorned into Vondelpark.
At Beatrixpark – named after the Dutch Queen Beatrix - you can park yourself on the grass along the canal, watching boaters on their sloops putter along, or head to the center of the park with more quiet corners, tree-lined trails and open space than you can imagine in this busy city. The park itself has quite a history, starting off in the 1930s and undergoing a brief identity change with the Nazi occupation before resuming its Beatrixness. It really feels like a neighbourhood playground, complete with the coolest swingset you or your kids have ever seen. It even has a group to ensure its heritage and beauty stay intact, the Friends of Beatrixpark: www.vriendenbeatrixpark.nl/html/nieuws/home.html.

Station-Zuid WTC, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Walk/Bike - from the RAI congress centre, facing the main entry to the right and turn left direction the Amstelhal of the RAI. Pass in front of this building and behind the canal you will see the park - it is located at the rear all exhibit halls.
Tram - line 5, exit on the Beethovenstraat - stop Stadionweg; walk left along Stadionweg, turn right into the Diepenbrockstraat. Cross the bridge. There will be two small passages into the park on your right – they are located at the number 15 and the number 9 of the street. It is about 5 minutes walking from the tram stop.
Car: exit the A10 ring on the RAI exit. Drive into the city in front of the RAI congress centre, turn left direction the Diepenbrockstraat; continue for 200m and you will see the park on your left. Metered parking in the street.
Google map: bit.ly/pmKgVv

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Find ‘De Erste Klasse’ on platform 2b of Amsterdam Central Station and be infused with years of rail travel atmosphere. This huge late 19th century wood paneled brassiere is the epitome of European railway romanticism: think ‘Brief Encounter’ without the tea urn.

Central Station

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Go and find peace and tranquility by visiting Begijnhof, a delightful group of houses once inhabited by women who belonged to the sisterhood. The houses are grouped around a central courtyard, just a step away from the busy shopping street Kalverstraat.

www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl/index_engels.html

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Take the train to the university town of Leiden (30 minutes). It has wonderful streets and canals, a historic university, great museums and it's just the right size to walk around.

You'll also find lots of great cafes and bars (traditional or trendy) to rest in for Dutch gin (jenever) with a beer chaser. Go in winter - it's very atmospheric and the houses are all lit up, so you can see how the Dutch really live.

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A 14th century enclosed courtyard chapel complex that somehow manages to be the quietest place in the city whilst also being spitting distance from the centre of everything, just off Spui.

The silence is unbelievable - it's a proper oasis in the middle of the city. It's a private religious property, though, so respect the silence, take a book and spend a half hour getting your breath back.

Walk down the Kalverstraat from the palace, turn right onto Spui and the entrance is on Gedempte Begijnensloot;
www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl/index_engels.html

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Olde-worlde 17th-century hotel right on the canal and very close to Anne Frank's house. It’s not cheap, it can be tricky to get a room and there’s no mod cons such as TVs and room service, but it's like living in the past splendour of Amsterdam and the opulence of the breakfast room has to be seen to be believed. Not really suitable for people with mobility problems as the narrow steep staircases might be problematic.

Keizersgracht 148; tel: 20 622 5182; www.canalhousehotel.nl

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It's fascinating to see where the old chap lived - not only do you get to see some of his personal artefacts, but this house does also give you a sense of what it was like living there at the time. Beds, for example, are in what look like cupboards in the walls - they only slept sitting up in those days. You also get to see the top floor studio and, if your imagination's up to it, the painter at work.

Jodenbreestraat 4
www.rembrandthuis.nl/cms_pages/index_main.html

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