5 September 2026. Inspired by a review in De Standaard of ‘Queer Amsterdam, the Pink City‘ exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk, Thanh and I travelled to the nominal capital of the Netherlands. To make it a proper excursion, we added a lunch a at Michelin-starred MOS Amsterdam and some walking around.
A day in Amsterdam: from queer history to the northern waterfront
Our day in Amsterdam began, as many city trips do, at Amsterdam Central Station. Thanh and I arrived at the station and first found a place for a quick coffee and tea before setting off into the city.
Our first stops were two exhibitions. We visited ‘Queer Amsterdam’, exploring the city’s LGBTQIA+ history, followed by ‘World Press Photo 2026’, with its powerful collection of photographs documenting events and stories from around the world. The exhibitions provided a thoughtful start to the day before we headed further into central Amsterdam.
From there, we walked to Dam Square for photographs of the square and the Royal Palace on the Dam. After the crowds and bustle of the historic centre, we continued towards the IJdok, where the character of the city gradually changed from monumental Amsterdam to its modern waterfront.
Our destination was MOS, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the tip of IJdok. Its location is particularly striking, with views across the IJ towards the EYE Film Museum and A’DAM Tower. We had lunch there, with a multi-course menu built around carefully prepared seasonal ingredients.
The meal included dishes such as sea bass with anchovies, pickles, salted peach, sesame and crème fraîche; North Sea crab with mustard bavarois, smoked trout, sorrel, chervil and shellfish vinaigrette; BBQ monkfish with Zeeland mussels and green apple; and, for the later courses, roasted quail and a raspberry, champagne, financier and mascarpone dessert.
After lunch, we walked back towards Amsterdam Central. Rather than immediately returning home, we crossed the IJ by ferry, taking us into a very different part of Amsterdam.
We passed the EYE Film Museum and A’DAM Tower before continuing into the Overhoeks neighbourhood. The walk took us along Docklandsweg, Asterweg and Distelweg, through an area where former industrial and harbour landscapes are increasingly being transformed by new development.
At the Tolhuiskanaal, we crossed the IJ once again, this time heading back towards the city centre and into Westerkanaal and the Oude Houthaven. From there we reached Karlskrona-Eiland and continued along Eilandgracht. We passed underneath the railway tracks and emerged onto the Haarlemmer Houttuinen, eventually reaching the lively Haarlemmerstraat.
By then it was time for dinner. We stopped at Nieuw Amsterdam, where we had our evening meal before continuing our walk back towards Central Station.
But the day still had one final stop. At De Ruijterkade, we went to see ARC Gloria, the Colombian Navy‘s impressive training sailing ship, which was visiting Amsterdam.
The tall ship provided a striking final image after a day that had taken us from Amsterdam’s historic centre and queer heritage to its contemporary waterfront, industrial northern districts and harbour.
From there we returned to Amsterdam Central and caught our train home. It had been a full day, but also a very Amsterdam day: exhibitions and historic monuments in the morning, a Michelin-starred lunch beside the IJ, ferries and former docklands in the afternoon, dinner in the Jordaan area and, finally, a Colombian tall ship in the harbour before heading home.
Amsterdam Adventures
- REVIEW | Restaurant MOS Amsterdam.
- REVIEW | ‘Queer Amsterdam, the Pink City’ exhibition at De Nieuwe Kerk (until 4 April 2027).
- ‘Freedom’ by Erwin Olaf enters final days at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.
- Ype Driessen’s ‘Vanilla’ explores sex, friendship and breaking free from romantic expectations.
- BOOK REVIEW | ‘Vanilla’ by Ype Driessen, daring to question the societal precedence of the romantic relationship.
- REVIEW | F1 The Exhibition in Amsterdam.
- REVIEW | Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam.
- REVIEW | Crowne Plaza Amsterdam – South.
- AMSTERDAM | Pokémon at the Van Gogh Museum.
- Zandvoort, home of the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix.
- REVIEW | Holiday Inn Express Amsterdam – Schiphol.
- A tour of Amsterdam avoiding the clichés of cannabis and mass tourism.
- De Hallen Amsterdam.