Destinations : Netherlands : Amsterdam

About Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The city has a population of 747,290, comprises the northern part of the Randstad, the 6th-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of around 6.7 million. Its name is derived from Amstel dam, indicative of the city's origin: a dam on the river Amstel.

The city is the financial and cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, are based in the city. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, part of Euronext, is located in the city centre .

Sites to visit

Amsterdam has more monuments than any other city in the world. There are almost 7000 national monuments in the city. You will find 144 large monuments, including civic buildings and churches. The rest are mostly houses and houses containing a shop.
Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, its red-light district and its many cannabis coffee shops, draw 4.2 million tourists annually.

Amsterdam has 165 canals, 1281 bridges, 70 cruise boats, 8 wooden drawbridges, 2500 houseboats. There is a better way of discovering the magnificent narrow streets, namely a cruise along the canals. You can enjoy such a cruise throughout the year. The possibilities range from standard canal cruises lasting one hour through to cruises of four hours including dinner. Or how about a relaxed barbecue on the water together with friends and family? Anything is possible on Amsterdam's canals.

Boats become very important in Amsterdam. We suggest to board the museum boat. This boat visits all the famous museums in Amsterdam. Yet the museum boat can also drop you off at the Kalverstraat or the Magna Plaza. The Canal Bus (Have you ever seen a bus on water?) provides a regular service between important museums, shopping districts and attractions. However, you can also cycle on the water using a Canal Bike. With these Canal Bikes you can venture out on your own and discover Amsterdam whilst keeping fit.

Amsterdam is well known for her diamond merchants. Did you know that diamonds are classified by their four Cs: color, clarity, carat and cut? You will learn this and much more during a visit to one of the leading diamond merchants. You can also visit one of the breweries and see for yourself how the beer is made.

Amsterdam has another spectacular attraction! 'Living Tomorrow' is the house and office of the future. The Amsterdam architectural firm UN Studio designed this eye-catching building. Living Tomorrow is located on the Arena Boulevard in Amsterdam South East.

An experience for kids: There has been a dollhouse performance on Dam Square for more than 100 years. You can experience exciting and lively adventures together with Punch and Judy. The Royal Palace on Dam Square provides a lovely background for the performances. The dolls speak Dutch only. The shows are on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from May to October.

Shopping

Amsterdam is the city of antiques, books, diamonds, and curiosities. It is a true design shoppers’ delight. Holland’s capital city is a treasure-trove for interior design items and trendy office supplies, stunning bathroom furniture and second-hand 1950s accessories.
RLD also boasts a string of unusual shops and pubs, so be sure to visit.

In general, shop-opening hours are 1-6pm on Mondays and 9/10am-6pm Tuesday to Friday. Most have late night shopping on Thursday until 9pm, and close earlier on Saturdays, at 5pm. Some supermarkets, like Albert Heijn stay open until 8 or 10 pm. On Sundays, you can shop in the city center, Kalverstraat, Damrak, Leidsestraat, and near the Noorderkerk.

Remember the splendid Dutch flowers: At the end of the Kalverstraat on the Muntplein, you will find all sorts of tulips, narcissus and other bulbs and flowers on the Flowermarket. The bulbs are ready for export, so you can enjoy them at home too.

Eating and Drinking:

And restaurants? Try the stylish Mediterranean kitchen, the French brasserie or head down to Chinatown. The Red Light District is arguably one of the few places where you can get authentic and really tasty Chinese food. Over the years, Chinatown has gone from strength to strength and today, booming businesses are spilling over into the Nieuwmarkt area. Of course, Chinatown in itself is a bit misleading as there are also dozens of Indonesian, Malaysian and Thai restaurants and cafés scattered along the beautiful canals. Here you can find a buzzing complex of Far East/Asian restaurants, shops, salons, apothecaries, markets and martial art schools.

By Night

In the evening you can experience special candlelight cruises. You then cruise through the lighted center of Amsterdam. Canal cruises are also ideal for a company party with a difference.

Amsterdam prides itself, and rightly so, on its wholly liberal and tolerant attitude, embracing the fact that people may be into prostitution, soft drugs and pornography, so enjoy the honesty of it all as you won’t find it anywhere else. Here are in fact three Red Light Districts in Amsterdam: the main area is in the Walletjes area (between Centraal Station and Nieuwenmarkt), and the other two, in Singel (between Raadhuistraat and Centraal Station) and de Pijp (behind the Rijksmuseum).

As the evening falls, Amsterdam starts to sparkle, especially on the nice spring and summer days. Amsterdam famous Red Light District, an old quarter of town near the big church called Ouderkerk (Old Church), not far from the Dam square, is invaded by groups of tourists. They come here to observe working girls exhibiting their charms in the brightly lit windows. This is also an area of many nightclubs, small restaurants and cafes. A big city square, Leidseplein with its theaters, cinemas, cafes, nearby casino and clubs is also a very busy place at night. Another always crowded square - Rembrandtplein, with its clubs and nearby cinemas and the old quarter of Jordan with its cafes and restaurants are also popular.

Climate

Amsterdam enjoys a temperate climate. Winter temperatures are mild, seldom below 0°C. Frosts merely occur during spells of eastern or northeastern winds from the inner European continent, i.e., from Scandinavia, Russia, and even Siberia. Summers are warm but rarely hot. Days with measurable precipitation are common. Most of it pours as protracted drizzle or light rain, making cloudy and damp days common during the cooler months, October through March. Only the occasional Western storm may bring a lot of water at once, requiring all of it to be pumped out to higher grounds or to the seas around the city.

Hotels in Amsterdam

The Best Boutique and Design hotels in Amsterdam : Banks Mansion Hotel, The Toren,