Guided offbeat tours of Amsterdam by a passionate local private guide, who’s educational background is international tourism management. Local out of the box tour creator, organizer and sporty guide on foot, bike, footbike (scooter) and inline skates for small private groups.
Join that private tour guide on a surprising unusual tour in Amsterdam. Go for that local style. And head with your city guide for the unexpected, for hidden gems and also for some highlights in the capital of the Netherlands.
Unusual city tours in tempting Amsterdam and active countryside excursions above the capital.
This Amsterdam private guide web page gives you insight into the ways you can take advantage of my specialties, experience, (off-the-beaten-path side) preferences and qualities in the tempting dutch capital and in it’s surroundings: North-Holland.
I invite you to enjoy these rather unusual tours. Examples: a football tour around Johan Cruyff, an inline skate tour passing by hidden gems, discovering Amsterdam North by footbike…
Lex van Buuren, local private tour guide from tempting Amsterdam (and its countryside)
recent customer reviews Amsterdam private tours
Lex and the City with free publicity in well-known media with offbeat private guided tours.
In Summer 2024 Lex has been guiding around UK-based I Paper in the eastern part of Amsterdam.
Check out the article:
Even an article in the Sunday Times. With our offbeat Amsterdam scooter tours. < < <Lex and the City scooting experiences, the only Amsterdam experience present in Sunday Times Magazine: “Six of the best unusual city tours“. 1. The traveltext about this unusual Lex and the City tour
2. The whole article (paid)
(The Lex and the City private footbike / scooter tours still take place by the way; also in French yes.) Lex and the City is tourism professional in other parts of the Netherlands as well: on our Eleven Cities inline skate-tour The Washington Post published an A3-article:
Our former “inline adventure” with our skate brand Skate-A-Round in Barcelona was covered by the Guardian. (In 2006 already.)
Sign up for the Lex and the City Facebook page for updates.
French-speaking guide Amsterdam on TF1 8 O’clock news with an interview. August 2020:
Private tours Amsterdam: 5 specialties.
Five things that distinguish me and the tours in the capital of the Netherlands: The Lexperience top-5
- French speaking guide Amsterdam (I speak 4 languages very well by the way: English, German and Dutch as obviously well.)
- Customized experiences (f-Lex) Also for people with disabilities in a wheelchair. High-end but with out of the box style guiding.
- Unusual Amsterdam experiences: off the beaten track. Like exploring strongly developing Eastern Islands (with a maritime angle). New tour in 2024!
- Active and sustainable (green) tours. (And sporty; if you prefer that.)
- Private off the beaten track excursions above Amsterdam, such as a tulip bike tour, biking to Zaanse Schans and a Texel tour on wheels.
Page en français | Deutsche Seite | Nederlandse pagina
Private bike tours: 5 Amsterdam biking (L) experiences for groups
Private city bike-tours and off the beaten path experiences above Amsterdam as well.
- Amsterdam highlights bike trip.
- Custom bike tour.
- Unusual private bike tour (Example: East Amsterdam. Like cycling Amstelkwartier together with (the first signs of) Bajeskwartier. And also the North of Amsterdam) including quite some hidden gems of Amsterdam
- The “surprise me” bike-tour
- All you can bike Amsterdam tour: 32 km and just in the city! :D
Lex and the City private bike-guides speaking French, German, English and/or Dutch Press the picture with the windmill for our dedicated “Private bike tours Amsterdam” page.
Off the beaten track bike excursions above Amsterdam
We can take you on a bike day trip to Waterland, Marken, Broek and Monnickendam. Starting at a bike shop near yourhotel. Me as a private tour guide for one day. Appr. 55K of biking. Relaxed pace.
New page about the private tulip excursion by bike above Amsterdam; one hour by train from the capital. North-Holland North. This is the unknown and largest (yes!) bulb & flower area of the Netherlands above Amsterdam. It is cheaper and more relaxed.
Or a unusual private guided bike excursion to the Zaanse Schans. Enrich your Lexperience by enjoying the area between Amsterdam and the Zaanse Schans by bike.
3rd private bike tour option above Amsterdam: daytrip Texel island, starting by car, minivan or train in Amsterdam. Other countryside Lex and the City bike day trips, like Waterland-East, to Zandvoort beach and along river Amstel. Lex and the City: the local who goes left where others go right.
Guiding in Amsterdam during international events.
(Like SAIL 2025)
- Amsterdam 750th anniversary; yes!
- Sport events, like the World Padel Tour
- Floriade: we’ve offered a private excursion by bike (or skate, or scooter / footbike) to the Floriade 2022 in Almere, starting in Amsterdam. Great dutch experience filled with nice bike paths, lake views, cows; the rural theme.
- SAIL Amsterdam 2025 is a great opportunity to enjoy an unusual private tour with Lex and the City. We have been specialized in sailing, are actually focused on the area where SAIL Amsterdam takes place and we can guide you during SAIL-2025 on the boat, bike, during a walking tour, on the scooter and even on inline skates.
Experience Amsterdam with exclusive and customized tours. (Like an incentive)
Customized experiences built within exclusive tours in Amsterdam. Explore the capital of the Netherlands with Lex and the City. Press on the picture to learn more about the opportunity to shape your incentive.
Private boat tour | Example of a guided company event starting from the windmill on the edge of East Amsterdam
Press on the picture for an impression and group review of this tailor-made sailing experience in Amsterdam on the canals and the rivers IJ and Amstel for EY. (It was for 65 persons, with 3 boats.)
Amsterdam private walking tour along highlights
(L)example: Historical private walk in old Amsterdam for small business groups
Or:
What moment to meetup with your private guide AMS?
I would propose as early as possible during you stay, as you can use the inspiration of the tour to make plans for afterwards without me. After breakfast is a good time by the way.
Adding local value to third parties like DMC’s, tour operators, agencies and hotels.
I would like to guide even more tours in Amsterdam in the upcoming months. :) For example, unusual group tours in French. Because of my history as a private guide, tourism student and guide in France, the French-speaking market is my language specialization here in Amsterdam.
Except for individuals and groups I have indirect customers. That can also be a Dutch company that has foreign colleagues coming over. Or an event agency. Of course also a DMC. Maybe a bicycle tour provider. Or a tour for the guests of a hotel. Guides for a tour operator. A colleague guide can also look for an enthusiastic guide because his or her group is too large for themselves.
In addition to tourist groups, I also like company outings, staff outings or a tour for a school or university. (And I have a lot of private tour guide experience in the city. ) The role of tour manager suits me too. Are you a travel agency? Question about your customer: is it their 1st time visit? (I try to find out if I should focus more on the highlights or more on the unusual Amsterdam.)
In the following paragraphs you will read about my motivation and passion, 25 years of experience in Amsterdam and Paris and the international tourism courses that I have completed and completed in France, England and the Netherlands.
To tour operators, DMC’s, event agencies and bike shops, asking me for a group tour, I ask:
- Is it a highlights tour or a specialised one? (A certain theme?) (Historical town tours I do not perform on Friday-, Saturday- en Sunday afternoon anymore nowadays . Too busy as far as I am concerned.)
- Private tour? (Or for individuals together?)
- What kind of group is it?
- How large is the group? I guide max. 8 people.
- Would you like us to give you our best advice regarding hidden gem restaurants in Amsterdam?
- You want my tariff or do you have a fixed reward?
So I just would like to be approached for the kind of tours who are my thing. This you can easily get out of this page.
Experience as an organizer in Amsterdam | International training in tourism | 4 languages | International tour guiding
In addition to English, I speak French, German and Dutch. I have my international tourism management diplomas in both the Netherlands (NHTV Breda) and then also in England and France . (DESS Tourisme Bac + 5, at the Université de Savoie in Chambéry.)
Experience? Yes, Lexperience in my case. For the past 25 years, I have regularly been both a private tour guide and (often sporty) international guide. “Lexperiences” ahead as a tourist guide and tour leader in Cahors, Canet Plage, Mimizan, Nice, Saint-Jean de Luz and Paris. I have accompanied hundreds of different tours in Paris and in Amsterdam. (Lex has been living in both towns.)
I have been guiding in Amsterdam since 2005. International Tour groups. In Paris I have guided and told stories on the street since 1998. On inline skates, bike and walking. In the city of lights I have hired boats on the river Seine for mainly company events & teambuilding outings.
For French local tourism companies, Lexposure, the online marketing part of Lex and the City, also has (online) storyteller services as well: SEO copywriting and social media creation in Dutch.
French-speaking private guide who started in Paris and now provides local tours in Amsterdam: 1st specialty
Review of a French family and a photo with a smile; February 2019:
This photo on Rembrandtplein was taken during a private guided tour in French by Lex. He is 2nd from the left in the photo. Otherwise, click on the photo to see who is on Rembrandt’s head. ;)
This French family from Limoges sent Lex the photo by MMS afterwards. Accompanied by the short review below of the guided tour that started at their 5* Pestana Hotel in the Pijp and ended at the Waag on the Nieuwmarkt. (As well a place where Rembrandt played a role in history.)
Now for the review text that was attached to the picture MMS : Avec nos remerciements pour cette agréable visite. Bonne journée. Famille Mxxxx. Finally: local private guide Amsterdam Lex was asked for this tour by Amsterdam Odyssey, specialist in tailor-made high end tours in Amsterdam and partner of various five-star hotels .
Amsterdam East: an area specialty as organizer of city tours
Great starting point for getting to know the unexplored as well.
My 2nd specialty, if you like my 2nd USP, in addition to the French language, are private guided tours of East Amsterdam. Lex van Buuren is a local; he lives in Amsterdam East. Google also knows that, because Lex and the City is very easy to find concerning search terms with “Amsterdam East” included.
Go for the 1 hour offbeat private walk (or bike tour) in Amsterdam East, intended for the busy business traveler who has limited time. The tailor made “Oost”experience starts from your hotel or restaurant. East Amsterdam is a typical part of Amsterdam for an offbeat tour for private groups or individuals. Lex and the City, organizer of private city tours in Amsterdam, has been located here for a long time already.
Starting in East Amsterdam is great for a unusual Amsterdam private boat tour as well. We have nice route of 2 hours passing by a lot of highlights with your group. (Or we make one tailor made) I think the new terrace at Kop van Oost is very cool for the start of private boat trip. (Next to our only city windmill; Molen de Gooyer.)
We have been sitting there lately with a group of Internations expats for which I have organized a tour as well. (Chk the picture; me on the right.)
The storyteller of Amsterdam-East is telling stories on the web as well; as a content creator for local companies like hotels en restaurants, being their storyteller by bringing the good news around their place.
The 3rd Unique Selling Point: corporate footbiking / scooter private tours for companies and business people.
The big child with the international tourism management diploma and great love for moving in the city is fond about footbiking. And this private tour guide has now shared that passion with many people on the streets in Amsterdam. (Even with known ones.). It fits very well within the Lex and the City company mission. The page about footbiking | scooting in Amsterdam being a private corporate activity Amsterdam. This incentive tour page even contains a Youtube clip of the “business seduction footbike tour”.
The 4th USP: Private tour guide Amsterdam and mobile 80’s and early 90’s “in the mix” | During boat tours
During a company event on a private boat in and around Amsterdam I have discovered the need for a combination of a DJ with lounge music before and during dinner and dance music music after. While telling small entertaining stories about Amsterdam in-between. Read more about this unusual “in the mix role” (guide + DJ on the water) on the Lex and the City guided private boat Amsterdam page with customized tours. (To be found by pressing the picture with the group on the boat.)⇓
USP bonus track: french-speaking private skating instructor Amsterdam
(The 6th USP for outings in Mokum is, by the way, is a Private inline skating lesson in Amsterdam . It does not fit completely within the format of this page, so we count it halfway. Together 5,5 specialties in the field of guides and tours in Amsterdam. )
Sporty Amsterdam Bachelorette | Hen Party with that out of the box local private tour guide.
Rates for 2024 for unusual & highlights tours in surprising Amsterdam.
These are the rates for guiding, creating and molding the customized private tour / outing in Amsterdam. They are excluding other costs like rentals and drinks.
Discounts are possible on the rates mentioned. Provided there is a good reason for it.
- The price for custom creation, organization and for that local multilingual guide is € 275,- including 21% VAT, for 1-10 people. For max. 3 hours. This includes thinking along with you, exchanging local knowledge about Amsterdam before your departure and experience (Lexperience). An additional hour is EUR 60,-.
- Discounts are possible on the rates mentioned. Provided there is a good reason for it. For example: For small parties, we give a discount if possible. (Tip: think ant-cyclical.)
- We keep a maximum of 10 people per tour group; sometimes more. (Reason: safety, comfort and service) Multiple groups next to each other are possible.
- These rates are excluding materials like a bike (€ 14,50 for 2-3 hours at a bike shop) and excluding meals and drinks a.s.o..)
- The (“L“) exclusive option, Customized memorable experiences and small scale exclusive tours in Amsterdam for the corporate market is treated differently. In this case we add custom recommendations before the day itself of any kind, no additional charge for any labor-intensive work and making reservations for tourism services. The passion of your experienced, private and local Lex and the City guide is included for a whole day of about 9 hours. € 685,- excluding VAT. Services except for our own (as mentioned here), like sights, restaurants, museums, bike rental, private boat and drinks do not include our price.
- General conditions for the Lex and the City local private tours Amsterdam
We speak German, French and Dutch as well.
Call or E-mail that local private tour guide for an Amsterdam Lexperience:
+31655337726 | lexperiences@lexandthecity.nl
Volunteer during heritage day | Open Monuments weekend Amsterdam
A great way of (Le)xpanding my knowledge and network regarding the unknown Amsterdam, is being volunteer during the heritage days. (Open Monuments weekend) It takes place once a year. I have been guide volunteer at the following historic sites:
- Amsterdam School heritage “De Dageraad”, de Pijp. From there we (my colleague Bob Maas and me) have guided bike & footbike tours for kids and their parents in the area. (Including the Diamond quarter)
- Lloyd history tours in the Eastern Docklands (2 years)
- French-speaking guide Amsterdam at Windmill “De Otter” (check the picture here, Sep2020)
As a result of these volunteer activities in Amsterdam, I was offered the opportunity by the organization to participate in the following enriching heritage activities:
- A lecture on the history of brewing beer in Amsterdam. It took place in the former church “De Duif”, Prinsengracht.
- Another lecture, a year later at the same spot on the canal, on excavations in the town center;
- Guided tour with colleagues in the former “Scheepvaarthuis”. (The current Amrath Hotel)
- Lecture about the history of sports in Amsterdam. In the great venue “Vondelkerk”.
- reconnaissance of the Food center. (with the maire)
Contact with local private tour company Lex and the City: online and offline (tea time?)
I’d love to discuss the outing and the route over a cup of tea with you in your office or in a public place. I gladly offer that to you als an extra, in my case Lextra, service.
We can also discuss outings with more local guides Amsterdam; I have a network of quality people. These city guides also have a good experience and will make it an interesting time during your private walking tour, guided boat trip, private guided bike tour Amsterdam or footbike tour in “Mokum”. (= nickname of AMS)
I even have a small network of French-speaking tour guides. +31655337726 | lexperiences@lexandthecity.nl
Private walking tours focusing on the highlights are possible as well. Hotels in the oldest part of town are perfectly located for Rembrandt theme kind of highlights. The Rembrandt House, Hotel de Doelen and de Waag are then sort of around your hotel and team up to a 1st theme already. A 1/2 day private walking tour is possible as well.
Development of new unusual bike tour concepts for Lex and the City: the 9 garden villages within Amsterdam. (In the North):
Guided tour in Amsterdam North (“Noord”)
Direct customers for private tours: the groups (or individuals) themselves
- People who speak French, English, German or Dutch
- Companies
- Families
- VIP’s
- Media
- Friend groups
- Bachelor parties
Large tour groups for Amsterdam: our standing point and policy
Taking a lot of persons to a restaurant or nightclub (and join them) by 1 person is no problem. However for tours in the street with let’s say 40 persons at the same time, you’d need 5 local AMS guides.(5 groups from 8) The good news about that is, that you are then able to offer them different themes. For example, depending on their experience with Amsterdam. Or depending on what kind of means of transportation they’d like. (bike, footbike, skate, walking.)
Ten qualities of Lex and the City private tours in Amsterdam and North Holland
- Unusual private city tours with small groups throughout Amsterdam (including the North)
- 4-language local private guide Amsterdam with extra attention to receptive tours in French; (Lex has guided in Paris; he even started there. He also has a French university tourism management degree; earned in Chambéry.)
- It’s in his name: he’s f-lex. He lives in the neighbourhood, he is a local, and can be there if he has the time.
- First specialist in the field of guided offbeat walks in Amsterdam East.
- Local guide with a lot of experience in the field of guiding on wheels.
- scooter/footbike. (Walking tours as well.) Working from a sustainable, green angle.
- Extensive knowledge about other parts of the Netherlands as well. Especially the area above Amsterdam: North Holland. tulips bulb fields, Texel island, Zaanse Schans. The outcome: off the beaten track tours in the countryside.
- DJ and private guide during customized private boat tours in and around Amsterdam. (Yes, both; “in the mix”.)
- Event guide: Guide Amsterdam Light Festival and with private tours during SAIL 2025.
- Consciously looking for the hidden gems with your group and/or friends / family. (Without forgetting the highlights of our capital.)
We are (F)lexy and we know it. ;)
All Lex and the City Amsterdam services and experiences in English on one page.
Local French-speaking tour guide Lex and the City with offbeat walks, tailor-made private boat tours, inline skating adventures, corporate scooter tracks and unusual bike tours in Amsterdam.
The things I am not-, do not- and cannot do- as a local Amsterdam tour guide
Well, what can I say? First I tell what I am & do in Amsterdam:
I am a rather active & sporty local tour guide focusing on the unusual Amsterdam, who loves to take small groups of people on bike & footbike & skate & walking tours. (above Amsterdam as well.)
(Plse continue beneath the Lex and the City p-Oost card 2024) ⇓
All the things I am not-, do not- and cannot do- as a tour guide:
Tour manager for groups? I am not. I miss organizational skills while being in the streets with a group of people. Moreover being with a group for a whole day (or several full days) is too long for me. (As a result I surround myself with people who compensate for weak points within me.)
By the way, being tour manager the whole day (or more days) for 1-2 people is OK. :)
Middelburg and Veere? I lived and worked there for 20 months but could not guide there.
Arnhem? Kroller-Muller Museum & Park? I like it pretty much, but guiding? No, not me.
Rotterdam? Keukenhof? I am probably that one guide who is NOT guiding there… (However I do know the Mini-Keukenhof in Anna Paulowna! Maybe in the future…I love the bulbs area above Schagen…my thing.)
Large groups not split up into smaller ones? Too large for me.
Spanish? Tengo qué aprender español.
Volendam? Nice, but not my thing as a guide at least. (The exception: passing by while touring on the bike or inline skates.)
The good local guiding news for you: while (L)expanding, I always have local guides on my list, recommended by someone else, or knowing them myself (very well). Yes, also for those so-called “unexpected areas” in Amsterdam. ;)
