There is plenty to see and experience in Amsterdam and surrounding areas.  There is, of course, an incredible amount of things to see and do in Amsterdam itself such as museums, historical sites, including the Anne Frank house, the Vondelpark, etc. Just keep in mind that tickets for some of the attractions need to be booked well in advance, sometimes even months in advance!

The weekend of the conference also hosts the SAIL Amsterdam 2025 festival, a free-to-attend event with all kinds of sailing ships on show for four days. SAIL Amsterdam is from 20-24 August. There are several canal tours available, which do need to be booked in advance.

The tourist information in Amsterdam is called “I Amsterdam” (www.iamsterdam.com).  On their website you can find a lot of up-to-date information. Another site that lists various options in and outside Amsterdam is https://www.introducingamsterdam.com/activities/ . Consider, for example, a workshop to make your own syrup waffles! Under “Daytrips and guided tours” on this site, you will also find some of the daytrips described below.

The possibilities to have a great time in Amsterdam are endless, you don’t have to leave the capital of the Netherlands for that purpose. But there is also plenty to do outside Amsterdam. Without wanting to be exhaustive, here are a few options.

For lovers of Dutch nature, there is the possibility of visiting a beach. Zandvoort is close to Amsterdam and easily accessible by train (https://visitzandvoort.nl/). If you want to discover a more unique part of the Netherlands, a day trip to one of the Waddeneilanden is a nice experience, Texel lends itself best to this from Amsterdam (https://www.texel.net/en/).  

Another beautiful nature area is National Park de Hoge Veluwe, where you can combine culture with hiking or cycling. It is well suited for a day trip from Amsterdam. More information can be found at: https://veluwe.nl .

Another national park that is very worthwhile is De Biesbosch. You can explore this area by bike or by boat. More information can be found at https://np-debiesbosch.nl/english-information/.

If you like a boat trip but not necessarily in a nature area, a day in Giethoorn is also a unique experience. It is a lovely little town with authentic houses. It tends to be very busy in the summer months, though. It is also a bit further from Amsterdam, about 120 kilometres. For more information about Giethoorn visit: https://giethoorntourism.com/.

Cities much larger than Giethoorn but smaller than Amsterdam are Haarlem or Leiden. Both are easily reached by train from Amsterdam. In Haarlem, a city walk is more than worthwhile or a visit to the Teylers Museum. You can see everything about Haarlem at https://www.visithaarlem.com/en/. The same is true of Leiden, where you can take a stroll through the city or visit the Naturalis museum (https://www.visitleiden.nl/en ). Both cities are also known for their pleasant catering establishments. 

Alkmaar is another nice city north of Amsterdam. For example, Alkmaar is known for its cheese market, held every Friday (https://www.kaasmarkt.nl/en-gb/visit-the-cheese-market/when-does-the-cheesemarket-take-place). If you stay a bit longer in the Netherlands, it might be nice to have seen this once.

You can view the Netherlands in miniature at Madurodam. For example, there is a miniature version of the city of Amsterdam and also of the royal palaces. Nowadays, it is also an attraction park and therefore expected to be very busy in August. Madurodam is located in The Hague, easily accessible from Amsterdam. More info: https://www.madurodam.nl/en.

For those looking for a taste of Old Dutch culture, a visit to the windmills at Zaanse Schans is worth considering (https://www.zaanseschans.com/). Or a visit to Volendam, the old fishing village where the old traditional costumes can still be admired: https://www.introducingamsterdam.com/volendam A little further from Amsterdam, in Enkhuizen you will find the Zuiderzee Museum (https://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl/) where you can go back in time to how life was in an old Dutch fishing village. 

In summary: after a conference weekend in Amsterdam, there are many different and exciting ways to explore the Netherlands!