Chris's lovely apartment made for an excellent base during our five days in Amsterdam. The location was ideal for getting to the city’s museums, cutsey shopping streets, cosy cafes and public transport hubs (hard to beat the single bus to the airport just a couple of streets away).

Chris left helpful suggestions for places to eat, shop and hire bikes, as well as a fridge stocked with breakfast provisions and other goodies. Bonus points for the genuinely comfy bed, funky furniture, sunny rooftop and quirky/humorous art on the walls.

This place is one of those rare Airbnb finds that has enough character to hint at the host’s personality, yet sufficient space and orderliness that the guest can comfortably make it their own – which is what we did to such an extent that we left behind a phone charger. We cursed our holiday brains but Chris was untroubled and generously offered to post it to us.

All up: highly recommended. Just know that houses in this city are tall and narrow, so stair climbing is part of the deal.

And if you do go, wander down to the nearby Harvest and Company for your morning caffeine fix and soak up the vibe – it’s oh-so-hipster. Or maybe that’s just Amsterdam.