Amsterdam, belgium and luxembourg megatrip 2weeks

Trip Summary: Amsterdam -> Rotterdam -> Antwerp -> Brussels -> Luxembourg -> Amsterdam by car

16th December 2024: Day 1

The Red Light District and Museum

We arrived in Amsterdam at 12:45 PM and later in the evening, around 8 PM, visited the Red Light Secrets Museum and took a walk around the Red Light District. The area was lively and crowded, with neon lights illuminating the streets and a mix of tourists and locals exploring the scene. The smell of weed was quite overpowering there though, so if you are not used to it, do beware. The museum provided an interesting insight into the history and realities of the industry, giving us a deeper understanding of what goes on behind the windows.

For the workers to rent a window, the average price was 150 euros for 10 hours. If you are intending to receive their services, the museum states that the average price is 50 euros per session, and each session is on average 6 minutes long. It was quite illuminating to see the difficulties of prostitution as they are exposed to tremendous risk of physical violence day and night, though more measures have been put in place to protect them. Unfortunately, the museum does restrict photos from being taken of the interior.

Walking through the district, we saw the iconic red-lit windows, numerous bars, and coffee shops; it was a very eye-opening experience. For dinner, we ate at The Oriental, but the food wasn’t great, and the whole place smelled of weed. Also, if you’re planning to visit Keukenhof Gardens, keep in mind that they are closed in the winter, so we weren’t able to see them.

Stayed at NH Collection Amsterdam Barbizon Palace. Would recommend as it is close by to the red light district and many attractions.

_{Re: Biking In Amsterdam, we wouldn’t recommend it—it’s very chaotic, with locals constantly overtaking you, which can make you feel like you’re blocking the bike lanes.}

16th December 2024: Day 2

First Stop: Van Gogh Museum

Since we decided against getting the bikes, we got around the city by tram. We started the morning with a visit to the Van Gogh Museum. It was a bit tricky to get in since tickets had to be bought online, and the OTP took forever to arrive. It was well worth the money though, you get to see some of Van Gogh’s most famous works in the flesh. We found his technique sheerly astounding, but his personal story was quite sad, with him cutting off his own ear from mental illness.

Rijksmuseum

After that, we visited the Rijksmuseum, where we saw famous paintings like The Night Watch by Rembrandt and The Milkmaid by Vermeer, as well as the Big Duck, which symbolized Dutch resistance. For lunch, we ate at the Rijksmuseum, though it felt more like a brunch than a proper meal.

Rembrandt’s Night Watch (partially obstructed from touch up works)

Anne Frank House

In the afternoon, we visited the Anne Frank House with an introductory tour. We would recommend the introductory tour, as it was interactive and engaging and really helps set the context of the visit and gives you a greater appreciation of the plight of Anne and her family during the occupation. During the introduction, we were allowed to take photos while a guide gave a presentation on the history of Anne Frank’s family and their time in hiding. However, photography wasn’t allowed inside the house itself. Her house was so small and the narrow staircases contributed to a sense of claustrophobia. Kinda mirrors how they were trapped by their circumstances, with the nazis out to find them.

Canal Cruise at Night

To end the day, we took a canal cruise. The staff at Amsterdam Canal Boat Tours (it was a yellow boat) recommended using GetYourGuide to get a discount. We managed tp save around 5 euros per person – do ask them at the counter for help though and see what kinda deals you can get. Along the water, there was an art trail for us to see the different lightwork art pieces.

17th December 2024: Day 3

Zaanse Schans

Didn’t go to the Zaanse Schans museum, but went to surrounding areas. Well worth a visit. 10/10. Its a 20min uber ride from Barbizon Palace Amsterdam.

Go to the clog factory if you can, they teach you how they make clogs there. If you are going in a tour group, it should be part of your visit to amsterdam – we saw many tour groups there.

The 3 places that are must-visit

Clog Factory
Paint Mill
Sawmill

The Clog Factory has talks every 10 minutes on how they make clogs, using the machinery in the photo below. You definitely won’t miss a demonstration.

Paint Mill above. Should go, and pay a little extra to climb upstairs to get the idyllic views.

Journey to Rotterdam

Drove to Rotterdam

We visited Rotterdam Markt, which has no air conditioning. If you’re going in winter, like we did, be sure to keep your jacket on. The market offers a wide variety of food options. We chose to eat at Sumo, a Japanese restaurant that serves all-you-can-eat meals. Since I wasn’t too hungry, I opted for the à la carte menu, but the portions were disappointing. For the teriyaki chicken rice, they gave a lot of rice but only a few pieces of meat.

The markt does look spectacular.

Rotterdam wasn’t so high on our priority list, so we opted to look at the cube houses at night. I think you should get a tour though, we didn’t really know what we were looking at apart from what chatgpt provided. They are really unique!

We also considered going to the Kinderdijk Windmills which are 20mins away by drive, but we had already seen Zaanse Schans, so we didn’t think it would be such a novel experience.

18th December 2024: Day 4

Mauritshuis