Hot take 🔥 Why I'd now choose Amsterdam over Paris, if I had to only pick one
My mom and I traveled to Paris and Amsterdam earlier this month (April 2026). Going into this trip, if you would have asked me which city I liked more, I would have answered you, emphatically, Paris. Without a doubt. I've been extremely fortunate to spend time in both cities prior to this trip. But now, after spending time in both cities again, I have to say, if I had to pick one, my vote would be for Amsterdam. And here's why.
How I like to travel
Now that I've been traveling internationally for over ten years, with stamps in my passport from Italy many times, Japan many times, the Maldives many times, as well as Paris and Amsterdam, I think I've finally figured out how I like to travel.
I like a very balanced trip. I like to walk in the morning to coffee and pastries, feeling the sun and the crisp air on my face. I like a long lunch and even longer dinner. I like a casual visit to a museum, not a structured one with regimented timeframes. I like to stroll. I like to wander. I like to shop. I LOVE to eat. I like to take my time and feel part of a city, not as an observer.
So, with my credentials and criteria in mind, here's my perspective on why, if I had to choose between Paris and Amsterdam, it would be Amsterdam.
Paris will always be magical
Like I said, before this recent spring trip, Paris was one of my absolute favorite cities, and it still very much is. No matter how many times you visit Paris, it is always magical. I've visited Paris in all seasons except fall, having taken trips in winter, summer, and now spring. And let me tell you, regardless of the season, Paris is always a good choice.
I love how easy the metro is to navigate, helping me get from the République neighborhood (which sits at the intersection of the 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements), where I like to stay, to my favorite cheese shop across town, Barthélémy. I love the vibe of Paris; people seem like they move with purpose, but at the same time, they linger for hours at cafes, eating, drinking, talking, and just taking in life. Not rushing. Not worried. I thoroughly believe that Paris invented taking pleasure in every aspect of life. And of course, I can't help but say it, the fashion is just too good. Shopping in Paris is unmatched.
That being said, if I had to choose between Paris and Amsterdam, I would now choose Amsterdam.
But the food? Amsterdam wins.
In Amsterdam, I didn't spend my mornings walking in the crisp, sunny air to the best pastries and baguette of my life, but I did, overall, enjoy the food in Amsterdam more.
In Paris we ate at The Butcher of Paris, Mokonuts, Boulangerie Utopie, Dumbo Marais, Joséphine Chez Dumonet, Maison, and Septime, but of those, the only places I keep thinking about are Utopie and Dumbo. This isn't to say that Mokonuts, Maison, and Septime aren't memorable; they were stunning, stunning meals, but I can't stop thinking about the buttery pastries at Utopie, the best baguette of my life also from there, and the insanely delicious smashburger from Dumbo.
In Amsterdam, we ate at De Kas, Fromagerie Abraham Kef, Gitane, Massimo Gelato, Kafenion, Bakers & Roasters, and Rijsel, and I can honestly say that there's something at each of those places that I can't stop thinking about that washes over me in the in-between moments. I think about the exquisite goat cheese at Kef, the steak with brown butter at Gitane, the light consistency of the gelato at Massimo, the perfectly balanced iced vanilla latte at Kafenion, the boozy milkshake from Bakers & Roasters, and the chicken from Rijsel. And I did not forget De Kas, hands down one of my favorite restaurants in the world. From the first bite to the last, the experience is extraordinary.
Food is obviously incredibly important to me. I learned how to take pleasure in it from Paris, but can't stop thinking about it from Amsterdam.
Amsterdam and the art of tolerance
But it's more than just the food for me with Amsterdam. If Paris is the inventor of pleasure, then Amsterdam is the inventor of tolerance. What do I mean by this? I say this because of Amsterdam's deeply pragmatic relationship with personal freedom, rather than moralizing, the city has historically chosen to regulate. This philosophy even has a name: gedoogbeleid, a Dutch policy of deliberate non-prosecution that essentially says "we won't pretend this doesn't exist, so let's manage it wisely." It's the thinking behind Amsterdam's approach to cannabis, sex work, and LGBTQ+ rights, a conscious, mercantile practicality that stretches back centuries.
In Amsterdam, we witnessed this tolerance when visiting the Dutch Resistance Museum, learning about the ways the Dutch resisted Hitler's occupation of the Netherlands. We learned about how a small group of Dutch people helped hide Anne Frank and her family when visiting the Anne Frank House. We learned about the ways in which the Dutch are socially tolerant during a walking tour of the city, and experienced it firsthand when I was never made to feel bad for speaking English, but welcomed with smiles. A very small example, but it did indeed made me feel very welcomed.
This isn't to say that Paris isn't tolerant, it absolutely is, but Amsterdam's tolerance feels more structural, more deliberate. It's baked into the legal and civic framework in a way that makes it feel less like an attitude and more like a commitment.
A city that met me where I travel
While Paris does fashion, architecture, and pleasure better than anywhere on earth, for me Amsterdam won because it met me where I actually travel. The canals make every walk feel like a discovery rather than a commute. The city feels more like a village than a city. And I found myself actually relaxing into Amsterdam rather than feeling nervous about not speaking the language, or on edge trying to fit in and move at the same pace as everyone else.
If you asked me to choose the more iconic city, I'd say Paris without blinking. But if you asked me where I'd rather spend a week wandering, eating, and feeling genuinely at ease, my answer has quietly, and a little unexpectedly, shifted. Amsterdam. Go for the canals, stay for the brown butter steak at Gitane and the chicken at Rijsel, and leave with a slightly revised understanding of what tolerance can actually look like when a city builds it into its bones.