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If you have a few hour layover in Amsterdam, and you don’t want to spend your time lounge hopping (not that there is anything wrong with that) and it is a nice day then a fun choice to burn some time is visiting the Panorama Terrace on top of the airport.
It is a little bit hard to find. If you have just exited customs / baggage claim or arrived via the train (and come upstairs) or via taxi or bus just look for Departures 1-2 and then the elevators or stairs.
If you are taking an elevator, or lift, look for number 4 just to the right. You should see the sign for ‘Offices central & south”.
Then, once off the lift or at the top of the stairs, look right for yet one more escalator to get to the top.
You will see signs pointing you forward past a number of restaurants.
And then finally to the left you will see the exit onto the Panorama Terrace
Do take note of the open times. From the last Sunday in March to the first Saturday in October it is open from 9AM to 9PM while the rest of the year it closes at 5PM.
It is always fun to walk out of any door and see a full sized (albeit, regional) jet – that is, a Fokker City Hopper jet that you can enter and walk around in as well as get a close view of the cockpit.
Just to your right when you enter is a outside bar / restaurant should you wish to enjoy a bite as you take in a warm day of plane spotting. What could be more fun, I ask you! 😉
The deck is massive and the airport has not taken any liberties calling it a “Panorama” as it really is huge.
And now the reason you are there – that is, to view lots of jets. As big as a 737 looks, it sure is tiny next to all these wide body jets!
On the one side, lots of Skyteam jets to take in.
And on the other side a few more “tails” you may not see as much at your hometown airport.
There are also sight seeing telescopes you can try out for a small fee. Or, just leisurely take your time watching airplanes soar into the sky. For me, this just never gets old!
Other things to keep in mind. While this is free entertainment it does take a little bit of time to get here. Also, you will have to clear security again when you are done and that also can take either a little while or a LONG time to clear so bank enough time so your viewing does not cause you to get to watch your jet depart rather than being inside it! 😉
Have you had a chance to visit the Panorama terrace in Amsterdam? Was it a nice sunny day like my visit and did you enjoy geeking out over all the jets? Let me know in the comments below. – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
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Was at AMS last Sunday when you were posting, what a beautiful airport as well as the day outside. How about that taxi out to 36L! Took longer than my flight to FRA, almost missed my connection. But I didn’t know about the terrace, now I do!
I was there in April. Going back next year and will definitely check it out!