With a small lump in my throat (which I am about to rinse away at the café Captain & Co , hoppa, your first tip!) I type this, because I am writing about my beloved Amsterdam, while I have just moved to Haarlem: it isn't easy!

Amsterdam East was my neighborhood for fifteen years, so forgive me if most of the (golden old) tips come from there. The New Deep in the Flevopark. The kind of place that you actually want to keep quiet for others. You get an instant holiday feeling on the chairs by the water. They serve beer, vino verde (yay!) and their own distilled gin. They have sausage and cheese and you don't have to complain about anything else. But believe me, once you sit there you have nothing left to wish for.

I always drove over the bridge for a fantastic cheese/drinks board Country market. Yes, it will cost you a rib, but they have the tastiest products. You can also have a nice lunch or dinner in the garden. Lunch time? A stroll through Javastraat is a must. Bee Gallicia you get the tastiest sandwiches. Or walk a little further to Tigres & Euphrates for an (excellent!) falafel sandwich.

Yes! I find this really very difficult. But okay, with the knife to my throat, and the certainty that I will soon be adding to this list:

Café Amsterdam is a classic and always good, with/for everyone. At JWO or Mokum sandwich on the Rozengracht we come at least once a week for a stick of filé American or a ball sandwich, and further down the street I like to go to Effendy lahmacun to fetch. On the Zeedijk is (the bar of) Trees a new favorite, and the love for it The Mark in hotel De Durgerdam is also huge. The same goes for Ceiling en Bistro de la Mer, both on Utrechtsestraat. The entire Caron family also has a place in my heart, and within this family, there is a place on the terrace of tanny a favorite date night scenario. Café Parlotte 100% for white wine and shells, Butter for the best vegetarian and brother Petit Péché also a real favorite! O! And you can find us very regularly Le French Café (in West) for the cold crevettes. Stacks en Slope7 should not be missed... And certainly not Barracuda either, just like Pompet in the Noorderpark and the Tros In the East... Okay, I'll stop. Oh no, just one more: sometimes I just feel like going all out. Dress up, put on heels, have a real night out. Best place for that: The Siren.

My favorite places in Amsterdam may not always (actually never...) be the newest places, but more the classics: I have to get to know them a bit first. Like Beer tasting room in the Wildeman: my favorite beer Jever on tap, lovely people, and just the right level of sweetness. In the same category: The Three Bottles, just behind the dam. The oldest tasting room in Amsterdam, where they also serve a very good meatball. Bee Café de Zon We also like to go to the Nieuwmarkt, a local pub slash lost-tourist spot. It's wonderful people watching here, and it doesn't get much flatter. Only cash, and bartenders who tap your head butt in genuine Amsterdam: great. Also a great place: The New Deep in the Flevopark. Rain or shineHere it always feels a bit like a holiday with the German beers on tap, special liqueurs and a view over the lake and the park. Serves on Thursday Mappa in the Nes pasta vongole (really a tip!) and Van Beeren, just off the Nieuwmarkt, has an idyllic courtyard, one of Amsterdam's best kept secrets! Oh, and it Monument in the Jordaan: it is always full of regulars, there are boiled eggs on the bar, sand on the floor and an old, brown interior from the past.

In terms of restaurants, I'm the type who stands at the front of the line to try out everything new that Amsterdam has to offer. That's why my favorite changes with the season. But if I had to choose a favorite, it would be the new classic The Clapper. Something simpler that I keep coming back to is Raleigh & Ramsay. Here you load an amount of your choice onto a card and tap the wines in coolers along the walls: two sips, half a glass or a whole glass. Great concept if you ask me.

Grams has the best croissants and pastries. Please note the opening hours, they are a bit crazy. For sandwiches I am a regular customer at the Osdorper: dirt cheap and simple but delicious. You can put together your entire sandwich here, but my standard is a warm jalapeño grilled sausage sandwich with honey mustard sauce.

I prefer to visit everything that is new, because want to be the first? I like to do that at the nicest, newly opened places. So it may not surprise you that I made the list new restaurant in Amsterdam keeps track. Win-win, because I know better than anyone what is new, and therefore also what is fun. If I had to think about a favorite, it would be it Café Cress in Noord. A very nice place that is affordable, cozy and has good food. Oh, and also a big tip? Fetevis, maybe not quite in Amsterdam anymore, but man man, what a good thing. To be honest: I'm always up for a good cocktail, for example with rum from Don Papa, who currently have a great pop-up in Scheveningen. Read more here weekend tips.

My presence morning coffee I score Lot 61, who recently opened a second business at Amsterdam Central Station. Perfect for taking coffee to the office. Speaking of starting the day nicely: a good mood is guaranteed, because there is no shortage of colors in this shop. If I have a lovely free Saturday, I can be found at the IJ (with my cappuccino to go Naturally). For the best vintage bargains, the best old-fashioned cameras, or just enjoy a stroll. Always a good idea to start your weekend.