Amsterdam, Phoebe Luckhurst
Yes, it has a reputation as a flytrap for students who want to trip on magic mushrooms — but if you leave the XXX-rated streets behind, there’s a grown-up city to discover. The Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museums are must-sees — the former for its Dutch Old Masters, the latter for a rich exhibition that spotlights the range of Van Gogh’s work. A more off-piste suggestion? The Dutch Resistance Museum in Plantage, a moving collection of interactive exhibits that explore the realities of the Nazi invasion during the war. Amsterdam isn’t a foodie city — again, the stoners probably don’t help — although there are gems to discover. Tacos + Tequila in Liedseplein — mango margaritas and Mexican food — and it’s worth the walk to Brouwerij’t IJ, a brewery on Funenkade situated inside an old bath house, to have a hoppy IPA in the spring sunshine. Otherwise, you can fill a long weekend wandering around the Jordaan, picking which elegant canal house you’d most like (presuming you have a spare £1.5 million to drop). Stay at the Conservatorium (from £690; conservatoriumhotel.com) — a stunning hotel a stone’s throw from the Museumplein — or, for real push-the-boat out glamour, Hotel TwentySeven (from £534; hoteltwentyseven.com), a quirky boutique hotel near Dam Square whose 16 suites are pure madcap luxury.
