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USD $16.00
Alternative Amsterdam Walking Tour
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam is a unique city, famed for its misnamed coffee shops, cannabis culture and alternative vibes. In this 2-hour tour, experience Amsterdam's alternative scene and hear the stories behind the city's coffee shops, houseboats bikes and squats. Learn about sub-cultures and drug policies, and encounter the real Amsterdam on this guided walk.
Meet your guide in central Amsterdam and set off to learn about the alternative culture that prevails in the city. This city is like no other, known for its iconic landmarks and monuments and also for its coffee shops, bicycles and prostitution.
As you'll learn on this 2-hour guided walking tour, the city is also well-known for its liberal laws, alternative housing arrangements and being the first in the world to recognize marriage equality.
Delve into the alternative scene that makes Amsterdam a must-visit destination for visitors interested in subcultures. Explore such facets of Amsterdam society as the post WWII housing crisis that led to the phenomenon of living in boats or in squats, and the counterculture movements that developed into today's unmatched city shape of unique coffee shops and street art.
Take the opportunity to experience an authentic side of Amsterdam.
Axel is just a bottomless well of knowledge and entertainment. I highly recommend this tour.
Review by: John A. M, September 2017
A lot of walking but interesting. I was fortunate to have a real good, knowledgeable guide.
Review by: morrisjk1, June 2017
Very interesting, lots of background info on how Amsterdam and its alternative cultures have been absorbed into the general culture and add to it's unique character. Our guide, Axel, was excellent, with perfect English and extensive knowledge he was very happy to impart. Really enjoyed this tour and would highly recommend.
Review by: Matt T, April 2017
Neither Viator nor the tour company took into account the fact that it was King's Day on this particular weekend. With thousands upon thousands of people storming the city, finding the guide was impossible. We gave up and did't do the tour.
Review by: Ali K, April 2017
Axel was great. He was fun and explained everything in a very happy, funny way. I would recommend this one.
Review by: Gil O, February 2017
1.we are not native english speakers , it was very hard to understand the guide _br/_ 2.we thought it will be more focused on the coffee shops and it was very general about many topics _br/_ 3.the guide was nice and knowledgeable_br/_ 4.high price
Review by: JOHNNY D, January 2017
Tremendously interesting.
Review by: susan d, October 2016
I booked and paid for coffee shop tour, did not get this, it was an alternative Amsterdam tour. stopped outside 1 coffee shop as brad pitt and George Clooney filmed a scene for an oceans film._br/_ Booked this tour because I really wanted to find out history of coffee shops, best coffee shops / worst coffee shops_br/_ If I knew it wasn't about coffee shops, I would not have booked this_br/_ Not happy
Review by: deborah a, October 2016
Coffee Shop Tour was combined with an alternative lifestyle tour, which was very interesting. Unfortunately, our tour guide walked very fast and sometimes got separated from the entire group. But, he did eventually stop to make sure everyone had caught up. The information he gave was very interesting! _br/_ Thanks Much!
Review by: Jackie T, September 2016
Great Guide,_br/_ He should us alot of cool places and the stories behind the places._br/_ Worth going, _br/_ He was funny and friendly...
Review by: Suzie Q, September 2016
Wonderful tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and answered questions.
Review by: Floyd S, September 2016
What a great tour. So many things we assumed about Canabis in Amsterdam incorrect. Our tour guide was awesome and passionate about living life freely. Thank you Matayas.
Review by: Archna A, July 2016
It was a very informative tour and the tour guide was fairly interactive
Review by: Jackie R, July 2016
It was a decent tour but not what I expected when I booked it. It's a walking tour of the city, not really a coffee shop tour at all.
Review by: Vicki L M, July 2016
The tour is not for people over 60. Also, you have to be tall to keep up with the guide. We left the tour right after it started because they were too far ahead. We just could not keep up.
Review by: Viktoria O, July 2016
The tour was great, the guide was really knowledgeable and it was a fun introduction to the city.
Review by: Ian W, July 2016
Skipped this one. Figured it out on my own. No review. Don't post on website.
Review by: didicapo, July 2016
Very informative guide. Learned about the coffee houses, the red light district and the squatters in the city . A good way to learn about a city and feel the vibe.Different from the history tour, good to do them both!
Review by: David H, July 2016
This tour was very informative, a must do early in to your trip to Amsterdam.
Review by: mroehl, July 2016
This tour is not as advertised. We were told when we checked in that it was changed to an alternatives tour. The tour only covered about 10 minutes of the 2 hours on coffee houses, and it was cursory at best, We did not get to go in. The tour guide Axel seemed to be stretching to fill time, He almost seemed to be concocting the stories as he went along. I would not reccommend booking this tour. We were highly disappointed.
Review by: KJ R, July 2016
The guide, Kristalisa (sp?), was outstanding. Was very complimentary to my ongoing studies in public space within the urban environment.
Review by: Sunita M, June 2016
Great Learning experience about Street Artists, Provos and Amsterdam Coffee Culture.
Review by: Pcristina11, June 2016
It was not a coffee shop tour but they don't tell you that until late in the tour. Do not take this tour._br/_ The guide was wonderful and knowledgeable about things in the square. He was caught in a terrible position. Everyone was upset.
Review by: Sunita M, June 2016
This tour was amazing!
Review by: Philip F, June 2016
Not really the tour e thought it would be
Review by: j. carlton m, June 2016
The tour was not a coffe house tour. We were informed of this when we showed up. They told us viator had been told of this change but we nor anyone else that had signed up knew of this change. The tour was just about how socialist Amsterdam was.
Review by: Paul B, June 2016
Nothing to do with coffee shops. We were informed of this when we arrived. Only lasted 25 minutes and left the tour. Very disappointing
Review by: jerrell l, June 2016
The tour was great, but it wasn and #39;t a coffee shop tour like I booked. Also, when I arrived at the meeting spot, I was informed we didn and #39;t have enough people for the tour. The real tour scheduled was and #34; Alternative Amsterdam and #34;, and the guide said he would show me around, but two more
Review by: manashi D, June 2016
It was an informative tour.
Review by: jSheng, June 2016
Our tour guide, Axel, was not only funny, personable, and open-minded, but he also offered in-depth explanations on the things that made the city and its culture so unique. Furthermore, he left us with helpful tips on how to proceed with our time in the city. This was a very enjoyable and educational tour... highly reccomend!
Review by: Michael Benj, June 2016
A real coffee during or at the end of this trip would have been nice._br/_ Definitely a walk on the alternative side of life in Amsterdam.
Review by: Delwyn N, June 2016
What a terrific way to understand the coffee shop culture...actually VIATOR u need to change the name of this tour as it is now called the Alternative tour....which also includes more info on the growth of Liberalism. A really great intro to the workings of Amsterdam.
Review by: Antonius G, March 2016
Wasn't what we expected at all as they changed the tour and didn't notify us, BUT Robert gave us one of the best walking tours we have had. Full of info on Amsterdam and the Art side of it was just great. A big tour but very good.
Review by: pamelaholland7, March 2016
Unfortunately due to illness we never did the tour
Review by: Richard A B, March 2016
Axel is the greatest tour guide of all time! Absolutely a storehouse of historical facts, fun stories and great guy to spend a few hours walking the streets of Amsterdam. Highly recommend this tour guide and tour!
Review by: MrNandoJr, February 2016
An excellent opportunity to explore Amsterdam's most distinguishing characteristic. If I could I'd choose this tour again.
Review by: Gloriana R, January 2016
Aichane Agut was great! Excellent tour guide. Knows everything about Amsterdam, LITERALLY! The tour was in Español but she knew many languages. Best tour of Amsterdam so far! On time, she carefully explained everything and with details. Thanks
Review by: Ancella S, December 2015
We really enjoyed this tour and learnt a great deal more about Amsterdam and it's culture from our tour guide Kendra than we read about online. This tour has a revamped itinerary of not only the coffee shops but also about the gradual openness and attitude one sees in Amsterdam. Kendra was wonderful as our guide and told us about the squatters, resilient citizens and the bicycle culture which defines Amsterdam. She also took us on a tour of the various coffee shops and how they came about to operate and the various regulations and etiquette which exists today.
Review by: Peter J M, November 2015
Not a smoker but still found the tour rather interesting to get a bit of history on the coffee shops.
Review by: Jason P, November 2015
This trip is less about the places to smoke pot as it is the real history of why Amsterdam is the way it is. Kendra is awesome and really cool about answering questions about Amsterdam even when it is not about the tour topics like how to navigate the bus system
Review by: Joan H, November 2015
Change the description! This was not accurate.
Review by: ERIN F, November 2015
Kendra was our tour guide and was terrific. Funny and very informative. Although it's more than just coffee shops. It's actually a walking tour seeing different sites and imagery of the progressiveness of the city. Definitely worthwhile though. Just don't expect to stop in coffee shops.
Review by: Brendan D, October 2015
The guide only show twould_br/_ coffee shops
Review by: Robyn G, October 2015
Loved this tour. Not just a coffee shop tour but a walking tour including lots of information we never got anywhere else during our visit. Graffiti, squatters, coffee etc. Kendra was a great guide.
Review by: Thelma N, October 2015
Never had a chance to visit this tour because our guide was not available for the tour. They offered the next day but we had another trip scheduled.
Review by: Liesl K, October 2015
We had a great time seeing all the sites and listening to all the stories that Kendra told us. She was very knowledgeable and kept us interested and engaged with interesting bits of information. She was a courteous guide and is highly recommended.
Review by: Maria Z, October 2015
First of all, the name of the tour is and #39;The alternative Amsterdam and #39;. The guide, Mark ( I hope I remember his name correctly), PhD student was fantastic! Very knowledgeable, whitty, eager to share information. It was the best guided tour I and #39;ve been for years! It wasn and #39;t only coffee shop tour either.
Review by: rose n, September 2015
The tour guide was really fun and knowledgeable. He knew a lot about the social history of Amsterdam._br/_ We all really enjoyed it.
Review by: Jean C, September 2015
What an incredible tour and fantastic guide. Another Amsterdam must do in Amsterdam.
Review by: Catherine C, August 2015
The guide was great but it was more about the city then the different coffee shops.
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