Can you really experience a city in 24 hours?

This is a question I ask myself a lot- how much time do I need in this city? As in how much time do I need to get a grand concept of the city and it’s culture as a whole. For some places, like when I did a day trip to Brugge or the Island of Capri, I was able to gain a sense of the vibe and see some pretty big sites as well as cover a good amount of ground by the end of the day. 

Other times in places like London, San Fransisco, or Rome, I feel like I could come back again & again and get a new experience of the city. Most of this was due to size of the city and the amount of things to do there. 

Now I understand there are things like vacation days, travel time, wanting to cover lots of countries in a short period of time, etc that can alter that answer. But how short is TOO short to visit a city, particularly a big European one? 

I tested this theory recently in Amsterdam with my mom. A booming city with many activities to pick your fancy. Normally people spend multiple days here and barely feel like they’ve touched the surface. Even just going to one museum could be a whole day depending on how much of an art connoisseur you are. 

We spent only a mere 24 hours here. Well more like 36 but only 20 if you take away time to sleep.

And ya know what, we saw a LOT.  

Just see below the list of things we accomplished in our time there:

Arrived in the afternoon at Hotel Fita Amsterdam

Note to self- shoes are for show, not to wear.

• Henri Willig cheese tasting

  • This hour long cheese tasting and seminar was actually extremely insightful as well as entertaining. They gave us samples of over 4 different cheeses as well as wine pairings. Each color wheel behind me represents a different flavor/type of cheese. Note that in the picture I had my feet in the dutch shoes. My mom & I were laughing so hard because my feet actually got stuck in them! And then we bought out the entire store’s supply of cheese haha. We really like cheese okay!

• Floating Flower Market

  • Beautiful place for photos. Looking for the other instagrammable spots in Amsterdam?? Click HERE.

• Dinner at Levant

  • Delicious Turkish restaurant with 14 different Mezzes to choose from.

• Bulldog cafe

  • This was the most popular smoke shop in Amsterdam, but is also a nice club. We went to check out the dance floor as it was dance week around the city clubs.

Next Day Activities

Iconic. A must do. Seriously.

• Anne Frank house

  • A MUST DO. Seriously, everyone who goes to Amsterdam should go to the Anne Frank house. Not only is it an important part of history, but we could all take the lessons from the past to make the world of tomorrow a kinder place. As a WWII buff, this was a non-negotiable on the itinerary. Ticket times in the morning go quick, and they sell online two months in advance. Get your tickets HERE.

• Strolled 9 Streets

  • Pluk Cafe

  • Bookmein

• Famous Amsterdam Frites at Vleminckx

  • Choose from over 19 different sauces

• Lunch at The Chicken Bar

  • Delicious. I highly recommend the pulled chicken tacos. You’ll feel like you were back in the south at a fried chicken coop stand. But classier decor. Oh and inside.

• Canal tour

  • We did one with Flagship which you can jump on right outside the Anne Frank house. It costs about 16 Euros per person and did not include any beverages but you could purchase one on the boat. We appreciated that they had blankets and pillows to make it comfy and that it was open so the view wasn’t blocked. Also, isn’t my mom so cute??

• Best Italian food at Assaggi for dinner

So… to answer the question of the hour- is 24 hours enough time? To me, YES. But it’s not for the faint of heart. You have to do your research before going to that city while also still being openminded and flexible with your activities so you can admire the things you stumble upon along the way. We literally came up with most of this on the fly besides our Cheese Tasting and Anne Frank tour. But I think it’s safe to say you will never be able to see and do EVERYTHING on a trip. You just gotta make the most of the time you’ve got!

What are your thoughts?

Sincerely,

Sarah

P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe to get more updates on future travels and tips!