In Amsterdam, even breakfast is sophisticated.
When we heard that Andrea Gentl, foodie, part-time jewelry maker, full-time traveler, hunter and collector of beautiful things, was taking an inspirational trip to Amsterdam, we jumped at the chance to sneak in. After all, she has built her photographic career through the creation of evocative and impressive pictorial images characteristic of the Dutch masters . “I'm always looking for the authenticity of a region,” says Gentl, who lives in New York. "It's not just that the city is so alive right now, but the ease of immersing yourself in it, the whole world is open." The time has come experience Amsterdam literally through Gentl's lens.
One of the very modern rooms at The Exchange hotel, located in the middle of Dam Square.
FAVORITE HOTELS
Hotel the Exchange : The students of the Fashion Institute of Amsterdam have designed all the rooms, and each one is radically different from the others, from the one decorated in a palette of whites to another whose walls are upholstered with exotic fabrics. The spaces are not big, but the hotel is affordable and unique. From here you can easily glide through the surrounding streets or through the cobbled alleys that turn the city into a huge spider's web. Right in the center, next to Dam Square, its location is hard to beat (from €95).
Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy: Away from the city center, Eastern Docklands, once an unsavory neighborhood, has come alive in recent years. Thanks to new artist studios, busy restaurants and hotels, like this one, located in a former jail built in the 1920s. Ask for one of the larger rooms on the top floor. My husband Martin and I stayed in one of the swing rooms, which have real swings hanging in the middle of the room , next to a large bathtub (Oostelijke Handelskade 34, tel. +3120 561 3636; HD: from €80).
Fish marinated in green tea accompanied by oysters from the Lof restaurant.
FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
As: Most of the best restaurants in Amsterdam are outside the city center. The warm and welcoming Ace, for example, is on the edge of Beatrixpark, a lush and peaceful green space in the Zuideramstel neighbourhood, known for its canals with bridges. Salads and side dishes are prepared with root vegetables, mushrooms, watercress and berries bought at Beatrixpark, while the flock of chickens running around the restaurant's backyard supplies the eggs. My favorite dishes are a North Sea white fish with wild elderberry capers and a platter of house-cured charcuterie and local Dutch cheeses (€40 three courses).
Lof: This restaurant does not have a fixed menu, the waiters will offer you daily options, focused mostly on Dutch product. One day you try the leg of lamb with morel mushrooms, and another, ravioli stuffed with prawns. Much of the product comes from the local market and from an organic farm north of Amsterdam. It's perfect for dinner, with exposed brick walls and buckets of flowers (€35 for two courses).
Mondo Mediterraneo: The owner, Giancarlo Acciavatti, is an Italian immigrant from Abruzzo who imports his bread from Puglia on a weekly basis. This is a sourdough recipe that is about 100 years old. It's extraordinary. Combine it with a plate of roasted vegetables (zucchini, aubergines, carrots and mushrooms) with a touch of garlic, parsley and olive oil (starters: from €12).
The new restaurants are avant-garde and artisanal, where organic is paramount.
Petit Gâteau: This new French patisserie is a tiny family business of confectioner Meike Schaling (You may see your teen clearing tables and serving customers.) She attended culinary school in France and recently closed her six-year-old Parisian shop to open her own Dutch business. Schaling makes up to 100 different types of tartlets, both savory (bacon and Gruyère cheese) and sweet (caramel and pistachio), and teaches confectionery classes in the huge industrial kitchen of the premises (cakes: from €2).
Wilde Zwijnen: In Oost, a district to the east full of businesses from Suriname, Turkey and Morocco, is located this restaurant that holds the award for the best logo: the silhouette of a giant boar. The chef, seen in the open kitchen, even sports the words wilde zwijnen (wild boar) tattooed on his forearm and uses a lot of local ingredients. During lunch is when it is calmest and most peaceful (Dutch people eat light breakfast and lunch, dinner is the main meal) . He tastes the fish soup (from the North Sea) with anchovies and butter and, of course, the wild boar served in a herb sausage. His dishes are served on pottery by J. C. Herman, a potter from the Red Light District (from €10).
Worst: This bar specializing in sausage and wine is located in Zeeheldenbuurt, north of The Jordaan, a young and bustling area full of vintage boutiques. In addition to artisan sausages (my favorites are lobster and black pudding), they offer excellent charcuterie (culatello, pork cheese, prosciutto) and pickles. If you want less meat, Worst's sister restaurant Marius serves seasonal produce, and is right next door (starters: from €3)
Petit Gâteau, the new French patisserie from confectioner Meike Schaling.
...AND FOR COFFEE
Amsterdam doesn't have the coffee scene of Rome or Lisbon, but it points to ways. There are two lovely places in Haarlemmerbuurt, another old industrial area perfect for spending the day shopping and eating. The first, Vinnies, is a bright white space with a hipster accent specializing in vegetarian sandwiches (from €6). The second, Two For Joy Coffee Roasters, serves the best cut in town. They prepare cheese toastie, a staple of Dutch breakfasts (from €4).
There are plenty of designer shops with handcrafted items like these from J. C. Herman.
FAVORITE STORES
Droog - Trendsetter of contemporary luxury design for 20 years, Droog has tripled in size and now comprises a gallery, a café, a tea room and, on the top floor, a hotel. It also regularly collaborates with other stores and makes designer labels. When I visited it I found a pop-up from the Parisian concept store Merci. The design team (studio Droog) produces everything from conceptual Chinese-inspired teapots and glasses to kitchen knives.
Il Mattarello: It was here that I found unique Dutch products. Is tiny pastry, coffee and sandwich shop next to the Westerstraat open-air market is specialized in Italian items, but you can also find product made by small local suppliers, like honey sourced from a farmer in the rural north, elderflower syrup, dried mushrooms, and even clarified butter.
Noordermarkt : Dozens of vendors post their stalls in this square in jordaan on mondays in the morning, when it becomes a huge Flea Market. There are hundreds of kitsch objects at more than reasonable prices. Of course, it is advisable to go early to find treasures such as old photographs, paintings and ceramics. Don't leave without going through the Dutch apple pie stall: look for a long tail. On Saturdays the square becomes the largest organic food market in Amsterdam, which is nourished by meats, cheeses, vegetables.
Skins Cosmetics: Here you can find the fragrances from the Swedish perfume house Byredo, as well as products from Amsterdam-based beauty brand Zenology, and leather toiletry bags from Guild of Holland. If you want to pamper yourself, there is a lovely little spa upstairs.
Detail of the decoration shop Sukha Amsterdam.
Sukha Amsterdam: This fashion and interior design store on Haarlemmerstraat, a short walk from Central Station, is a white walled warehouse well stocked with eco-chic items from Asia and the Netherlands. Every corner is a feast for your eyes with fleece sweaters and vests, home accessories, jewelry and ceramics (most of them from the store's own label). If you acquire any piece that is too large to transport, they will take it to your home.
Tenue de Nîmes: The jeans are the point of interest in this denim specialty store, which has the best selection of global brands (Acne, A.P.C.). But the real raison d'être of this two-storey space is the search for some vintage treasure from the 60s, 70s and 80s. In addition, this magnificent place collaborates with legendary brands from North America. For example, I was lucky enough to find a parka from Penfield x Tenue de Nîmes, and they have a truly unique collection of fashion magazines, publications and books.
Sukha Amsterdam is a well-stocked white-walled warehouse of eco-chic items.
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES
Explore on two wheels... Ask any local: You won't really know the city until you've explored it by bike . On the Brouwersgracht (or brewers' canal, a part of the city historically occupied by brewers) Frederic Rent a Bike rents bikes (€10/day) devoid of advertising boards (many of the ones for rent are covered in advertisements ) . The goal is to blend in with the residents. They also rent rooms, apartments and houseboats.
Take a walk... The best way to get into Amsterdam is from Central Station and walk west through the Haarlemmerstraat until you reach Brouwersgracht. Along the way, you will pass many clothing and home design stores. Once you reach Brouwersgracht, you come across the main canals: Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. Then walk south to De 9 Straatjes (the nine streets), a small area packed with boutiques, cafes, restaurants, florists, vintage shops, markets, and antique shops, all hidden behind the facades of 19th-century buildings. XVII. Let yourself be carried away by your inner voyeur... Prinsenstraat is an elegant avenue full of tall and narrow buildings along the canals of the seventeenth century. At sunset, admire the interiors of the houses (don't be shy, the Dutch are proud of their homes, nobody seems to have curtains) : you will see families in exquisite rooms dining together. I felt guilty at first, but Amsterdam seems to cater to onlookers.
drink something... Not a tourist in sight at Cafe Papeneiland, a bar on the Prinsengracht called a "brown bar," a term of endearment referring to centuries-old bars. The walls have a brown patina after decades of life (hence the name). A quaint way to spend a couple of hours drinking Grolsch beer with a slice of Dutch apple pie.
The best way to get to know the city is by bicycle.
Keep the kids entertained... Designed by Renzo Piano, the Science Center Nemo , shaped like a ship's prow, is the best place to spend the day with children (at least two hours): it has exhibitions suitable for all ages. Another option is the Van Gogh Museum, which has entertainment for children, such as a treasure hunt or the challenge of 'create your own Van Gogh'. It's on Museum Square, next to the Stedelijk Museum and the Rijksmuseum, both of which have recently reopened after years of refurbishment.
Other data: all cafes and restaurants in Amsterdam are family-friendly. On Sundays, the As restaurant (see Favorite restaurants) offers family dishes off the menu: pizzas made in a wood-fired oven. This is how John Wogan tells it.
* This article is published in the double issue of the Condé Nast Traveler magazine for November number 78. This issue is available in its digital version for iPad in the iTunes AppStore, and in the digital version for PC, Mac, Smartphone and iPad in the Zinio virtual kiosk (on Smartphone devices: Android, PC/Mac, Win8, WebOS, Rim, iPad) . _In addition, you can find us on Google Play Newsstand.
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One of the 'swing' rooms at the Lloyd Hotel.