Top 5 hotspots in Amsterdamse Bos

With the weather getting better by the day, the first sun lovers walking the streets in shorts and the first people enjoying a day at the beach, it is only right for Htel Serviced Apartments to address one of Amsterdam’s summer hotspots. This time around we will highlight the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest). During your short stay in Amsterdam the forest is one of those sites you should visit. The forest boasts the ideal mix of nature wide park landscape and lots of possibilities for recreation and relaxation.

The forest is currently spanning well over 935 hectares. One of the goals of the forest’s designers was to have people be able to go and access every area of the park. For this reason the forest has a massive array of paths, enabling people to see almost every inch of the forest.

That’s why we from Htel Serviced Apartments think the best way to start your day at the forest is to go have a visit to the visitors center. The visitor center is located at the main entrance and can be recognized by it’s odd, round, egg-like-shape. Here you can get your forest maps which come in extremely handy considering the size of the forest and the attractions and sites that it has. If you have the feeling you lost directions, don’t worry, the forest designers made sure you can find your way through all areas of the forest with direction signs on almost every path.

Now we could name a few of the main attractions, but we believe our readers are more then capable to find these spots on there own. So how about we give you the Htel Serviced Apartments top five favorite spots in the Amsterdamse Bos. Your everyday and not so everyday spots.

1. De Heuvel (the Hill) We’ll start of with ”de Heuvel” (the Hill), one of the eye catchers in the forest. The hill was designed to imitate the feeling of being on a hill top, with an endless view. Perfect to climb or just sit and have a picnic.

2. Klimpark (Climbingpark) Fun Forest When in a more active mood the Klimpark Fun Forest is the place to visit. Paying a visit to the Klimpark Fun Forest is also the perfect way to get rid of your fear of heights. In the fun forest you get the chance to be a true Tarzan or Jane, climb and swing between trees, walk tree bridges and hike along the track. With eight different courses and a ranging set of difficulties, a visit to the forest is a fun activity for young and old.

3. Grote Vijver (Big Pond) If you are in for relaxing, enjoying the sun and just a bit of activity, the ”Grote Vijver” is where you should be. Apart from the large field where you can play some cricket, kick a ball or just lay down and enjoy the sun, you can also rent waterbikes and canoes to go and discover the forest many waterways.

4. Openlucht theater (Open Air theater) One of the other sites to visit is the Open Air Theater. This is not the place to expect a Broadway type show, because the theater is famous for it’s out of the box, intriguing spectacles. The theater will be hosting shows all summer. Most of the shows have a specific theme to it. This year’s show will be ”Verhalen uit het Wiener Wald” (Stories from the Wiener Wald) by Ödön von Horváth. The start will be in early July and it will go on till September.

5. Boerderij Meerzicht A visit to the Netherlands is not complete without having eaten some of Holland’s most famous cuisine ”pancakes and poffertjes”. Amsterdam has a few pancake hotspots and one of the definite hotspots is ”Boerderij Meerzicht” (farm Meerzicht). Located in the Amsterdamse Bos, you can enjoy a pancake, poffertjes or a nice lunch while being surrounded by deer’s, peacocks, goats, chickens and a wonderful view over the meadow.

These are just some of the many spots and activities in the Amsterdamse Bos, to name a few of the others: Spa Zuiver, the largest spa in the Amsterdam region. The Museumtram, one of Holland’s most historical, still operational tramlines. The ”geitenboerderij en doolhof” (the goatfarm and maze). The Scottish Highlanders, a unique animal that found it’s habitat in the Amsterdamse Bos, funny fact is that there are more Scottish highlanders living in the Netherlands then there are living in Scotland. The public swimming pools for family fun. The Dachau monument, made in memory of the Dutch victims of the Dachau concentration camp an many more.

With tracks and paths stretching all the way from Amsterdam into Amstelveen, onto Schiphol Airport and Aalsmeer, our sporty readers won’t be disappointed. You can go running, rent bikes, go horseback-riding, play tennis and play all sorts of outdoor activities. If you’re more of a spectator then you will be happy to know that the forest will be the playground for a few of the larger international sport events such as ”the International Lacrosse Championship 2012”.

As of last year the Amsterdamse Bos also houses some of the larger summer festivals and this year they will be hosting ”A Day at the Park”. Lovely to go to if you are in for a bit of dancing.

For all our guests staying in Htel Serviced Apartments it might be good to know that the main entrance is just a short walk from Htel Serviced Apartments Amsterdam and a 15 minute drive from Htel Serviced Apartments Amstelveen.

Now a blog such as this one is much to small to tell you about all the things the forest has to offer, so if you have the chance to sniff up the sun in the coming months, the Amsterdamse Bos is a great place to do so. Our Htel Serviced Apartments reception will be happy to give you more information and you can also visit the Amsterdamse Bos it’s website at: Amsterdamse Bos

We hope that you will have a chance to visit the Amsterdams Bos – and will enjoy it just as much as we do!

With kind regards,

Judith Huizing.