I had known Amsterdam had a lot of parks, but I wasn’t expecting the areas outside of the official parks to be so well planted. Amsterdam in the autumn is beautiful with all the fall colors of the leaves reflected in the canals. Moreover, the weather is still warm and comfortable for walking around.
Amsterdam’s famous flower market was pretty but not as busy as I thought it would be. We were clearly off-season. Amsterdam in the Autumn has great weather, beautiful foliage, and a buzzing vibe — all of this with a lot less tourists. Although we’ve been to Amsterdam in the summer, we now realise that was a mistake and try and time our visits for the fall.
The flower market is famous for being ‘floating’ but it seemed fairly fixed on concessions that half hung over the water.
I was also surprised by how many houseboats had decked out their outsides with plants and patios.
houseboat gardens
We took a canal bout tour which we enjoyed (especially the children). We were told that there are 2500 houseboats in Amsterdam. You need a permit to dock a houseboat and they are hard to come by. The inside of many of the houseboats looked quite modern.
We also wandered around the Jordaan which is a trendy neighbourhood filled with boutiques and cafes. We were told the Jordaan was originally built for the working poor in 1612 and the word is probably a corruption of the word ‘jardin’ in French. Many of the streets in the area are named after flowers. So, it’s not only the Americans who think (a) putting a French word on something instantly makes it seem posher than it is and (b) housing developments with names from nature are an inoffensive way to name streets in a newly-built neighbourhood.
We also discovered that behind the pretty facades of the houses, there were beautiful not-so-secret courtyards for the benefit of the locals.
Discover other beautiful Autumn destinations in Europe. With less tourists, you will enjoy these destinations like Amsterdam in the autumn much more than if you came during peak season. We have friends who love the French Riviera in the autumn because the Mediterranean sea is still warm enough to swim in. Overall though, we think the cities of Europe are your best bet for autumn travel.
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