- Madam Tussauds. I have been there once when I was 12, which is 13 years ago. It was alright, it is not that crazy. It is a waste of money, that is for sure! Just looking at some wax statues, wooptie freakin doo…
- Any of the big well known musea. Sure, if art is your thing, then it can be nice. But the lines!!! If you miscalculate, you will lose precious hours to just standing in line. There are countless other musea in the city than the 3 most wellknown (Van Gogh, Rijks, Stedelijk). List of museums in Amsterdam – Wikipedia
- Same goes for the Anne Frank Huis. Sure it is worth a visit. But go very early in the morning, if you want to avoid standing in line for hours on end.
- Any restaurant in de city center. That also goes for fast food. Especially those with somebody standing outside to get you in an/or pictures outside of the food and in their menu. Fast food is usually overpriced, not good and most of those places are owned by criminals. If you really want a burger, go to a quality place like BurgerMeester, BurgerBar… If you really want pizza, look up an authentic italian woodoven, instead of a shabby snackbar. And so on. We have internet with neverending info on there, there is no need to get stuck in one of those shitty places.
- Bike rentals. Apart from the fact that they are very expensive, they also make you a target. And everyone else on the road hates you. Especially if you are a big group.
- Any bar or restaurant at the Red Light District.
- Manneke Pis at the Damrak. Why they have a line for those soggy fries is beyond me.
- Any stupid souvenir shop. Clogs and tulips, really? Still?
- Any coffeeshop in the city center. Especially the Bulldog!!!! Never go to the Bulldog!!!! Or the Grasshopper!
It is very easy to determine whether something is a tourist trap or not. If something is easy to find and right in the city center, if employees really want reel you in, it is most likely a tourist trap. In the city center, a tourist is just and atm machine for most businesses. If you venture a bit out of the busy center, you will find that people are more human. They will be interested in where you are from, be happy with you being there, not treat you like cattle. Nowadays with the internet we have the possibility to look up almost anything! Make use of that. Use Tripadvisor, Yelp and Iens to scout for nice restaurants. Check for cool musea, festivals or exhibits. Maybe a nice concert? Maybe a comedy show? In this day and age, I find tourists acting quite helpless still, wich is not nescessary. I see it every day. You don’t have to be helpless, since there is an unthinkable amount of information on the internet.
