3 Amsterdam-like cities to avoid the masses

When people think about the Netherlands, they think of Amsterdam. And it is a truly beautiful city. Most Dutch people I know, never visit the city much, because of how touristic it is. There are loads and loads of visitors every year, smoking weed, visiting the sex museum and cycling on the wrong side of the road. It’s a very popular city. But did you know there are actually a couple of cities that look a lot like Amsterdam, but are a whole lot less crowded? Here’s three Amsterdam-like cities in the Netherlands to avoid the masses!

Delft

Delft is a famous Dutch city that, just like the other cities in this blogpost, has the same canals and quaint little houses that Amsterdam does. It’s cute and pictoresque and easy to photograph without hundreds of other tourists! Make sure to check out the market square and the library.

Alkmaar

A city famous for it’s cheese and cheese markets, Alkmaar is really lovely. It’s not too crowded, except in the summer and it’s close to Amsterdam. Don’t miss the cheese museum and markets.

Utrecht

My favourite city has to make the list: Utrecht. It’s what we Dutch would call gezellig, great for shopping, gaming in the arcade and it has the best pancakes in the country. Check out my city guide for all the highlights!

Cheese in Alkmaar

If you would ask my friends and family what my favourite food is, there’s a good chance that cheese is the answer (that or tomato soup). For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved cheese. Of course, my country is famous for this product so I kind of have to like it, though I don’t thing other Dutch people put as much cheese on dishes as I do. Cheese on bread, cheese on pasta, cheese on pizza… The first thing I do when I come back from traveling, is visit the supermarket (usually the big Albert Heijn at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport) to stock up on some cheese. Yeah, you can say that I love it.

Anyways, I came to realize that I never knew how cheese was actually made so when I was making list of things to do in my own country, a visit to a cheese museum quickly made it to the list. And last week I finally came to know how my favourite food is made on our visit to Alkmaar!

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A trip to little Venice

A while back, I discovered a little town called Giethoorn, also known as Little Venice or Dutch Venice. I never heard of it, but when I saw some pictures, I was sold. The place looked mesmerizing and I really wanted to go there. And just last month, we finally did!

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