Amsterdam in general

...review about. I recently visited Amsterdam in February 2005 on a mini cruise and compiled information to write this review. Take a map and remember where you visited as the streets look the same and you can find yourself walking in circles.

One of the main reasons why UK tourists visit Netherlands is because it is extremely close to home. People decide to stay in Amsterdam because of the wonderful sights and culture; the Dutch inhabitants ...
...for an active family holiday. Amsterdam is a fascinating city with a maze of canals and ancient merchant houses. The Netherlands is a low-lying country and half of its landmass is below sea level. The Western part is below sea level and is covered in clay and peat soils split with canals, rivers and parts of the sea. The Eastern part of The Netherlands is above sea level and is very flat.

==Entertainment==

Daytime Events
more

Many people like to invest in a short city break to go and relax from their daily working lives. Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands is a good example of a city break. This is what I'm going to write my review about. I recently visited Amsterdam in February 2005 on a mini cruise and compiled information to write this review. Take a map and remember where you visited as the streets look the same and you can find yourself walking in circles.

One of the main reasons why UK tourists visit Netherlands is because it is extremely close to home. People decide to stay in Amsterdam because of the wonderful sights and culture; the Dutch inhabitants are very friendly and love tourists when they try to speak Dutch, it shows that the tourists appreciate the language and culture and have bothered to learn it. It shows that UK tourists don't rely on the Dutch to learn and speak English.

Description of Amsterdam

Topography

Koninkrijk der Nederlanden, or The Kingdom of The Netherlands is the name of the country, which holds one of the most visited capital cities in the world. The official language of the Netherlands is Dutch, which is spoken throughout the country.
In the northern area of Friesland, however, a large percentage of the population speaks another Germanic language, Frisian, as its first language. Do not confuse this with Flemish which the Belgians speak.

With flat countryside ideal for those who enjoy cycling, The Netherlands is a compact country with a rich culture. The countryside is scattered with windmills and Tulip fields, and the coast lined with sand dunes and dykes. The river Amstel runs through Amsterdam. Its many beautiful towns and cities, and its lakes and canals, make The Netherlands the perfect choice for an active family holiday. Amsterdam is a fascinating city with a maze of canals and ancient merchant houses. The Netherlands is a low-lying country and half of its landmass is below sea level. The Western part is below sea level and is covered in clay and peat soils split with canals, rivers and parts of the sea. The Eastern part of The Netherlands is above sea level and is very flat.

Entertainment

Daytime Events

Towns and cities are very commonly known for short breaks, Amsterdam being one of the most well known.
Amsterdam is built around a vast network of canals with over one thousand bridges. This provides a very easy way to view the 17th century, narrow and tall fronted merchant houses, which are elaborately decorated by the traditional Dutch ornamented gables, and also provides a good daytime activity. You can get a sightseeing boat (De Rondvaartboot) that holds 30 people to view these houses.

Another fun and interesting way to view Amsterdam is by bicycle. You will see them across Amsterdam in their thousands and they can be hired at Mac Bike Cycle Hire. The bikes can be pre booked and picked up from many central locations. Escorted tours are also available in and around Amsterdam and can be booked locally. Bike insurance is included and it will cost you £5.50 for daily hire.

The City Coach Tour in Amsterdam lets tourists view the Royal Palace and the Skinny Bridge and also visit a windmill and a diamond factory on the river Amstel. The costs will be around £10 for a 2 ½ hour coach ride. The coaches are daily in summer at 10am and 2:30pm and winter at 2:30pm. Also during the day you can go and visit places for which the Netherlands is famous. Such as the 'coffee shops' that are allowed to sell soft drugs, its famous diamond trade where you can still see diamond cutters at work, its museums, theatres, art galleries and concert halls.
You can go shopping and buy souvenirs for family and friends.
Shops are open from 9am-6pm (Supermarkets 7pm), with the following exceptions:

* Closed all day on Sundays and Public Holidays
* Monday mornings
* Saturdays from 5pm

If you go to a gift shop you can buy clogs, ornamental windmills and tulips. These are a well know feature of the Dutch culture. Young women used to sell cheese (another well known feature of Netherlands) wearing clogs; some of these cheeses include Edamer (Edam cheese), Gouda, Beemster, Dorothea, Koopsen Kaas and Van Dijk Chevre.

Here are some other daytime events you can take part in:

Hire a bicycle

Take a 'Canal Bus' tour and admire the three famously elegant canals known as the 'Grachtengordel' - pretty bridges, 17th century gabled houses and relaxed waterside cafés.

Wander through the floating flower market on Singel known as the Bloemenmarkt.

See the famous Rembrandt and Van Gogh paintings in the Rijksmuseum and nearby Van Gogh Museum.

Visit Anne Frank's House, the hiding place of Anne Frank and her family during World War II.

Night Life

At night there is a variety of places to go for all-round entertainment.
If you are a clubber the nightclubs are open from 10pm-4am and are located in Rembrandtsplein - Leidseplein area. If you want a slightly more relaxed night out there are plenty of bars and clubs, also with live music. These are open the same hours as the nightclubs. For some of the more daring, younger people there is always a trip to the world famous 'Walletjes', the Red Light district. It is located in one of Amsterdam's old areas. The Red Light district is famous for its prostitutes that are legal and regulated; they work six-hour shifts, pay tax on their earnings and also receive frequent medical examinations. Walletjes attracts around ten thousand people a night; it is sleazy and seedy and should be avoided.

Most towns have late night shopping until 9pm on Thursdays, some on Fridays. Cirrus/Maestro cards and Delta cards are widely accepted, unlike credit cards. Access to most shops is easy for pedestrians and cyclists but less so for motorists - out of town shopping centres do not exist. Prices for tobacco are the same anywhere in the country.

Walking Tour of Dark Amsterdam

This is a guided tour through the Red Light District and you will visit an information centre (Drinks are included).

Food

If you decide to go for a meal in Amsterdam there are plenty of places to go. Snack bars or cafeterias are the closest thing the Netherlands has to a chip shop- and they are everywhere. They do chips (patat) and a wide range of deep fried meat delicacies. They stay open until midnight or beyond for eating in and take-away.

The Dutch prefer their chips with large quantities of sauce: Mayonnaise, curry ketchup, hot peanut sauce and chopped raw onions, or preferably all combined- 'patatje oorlog' If you ask for vinegar they will not understand what you mean. If you are lusting for a kebab, look for a 'shoarma' sign - 'shoarma' is usually served with garlic sauce.

Definitely worth a try are Chinese - Indonesian restaurants, excellent for savoury meat and vegetable dishes in very large quantities and unique to this country. Most other restaurants are more like their UK counterparts though cheaper and more imaginative- Dutch people want food that they cannot cook at home when they eat out!

The best time to eat is 7pm - 8pm; they stop serving usually by 9:30pm. You are only expected to tip in more upmarket restaurants.

Some restaurants to eat at in order of time of day are:
*Breakfast:
't Balkje, Kerkstraat 46-48

*Lunch:
't Tuinfeest, Gelderekade 109

*Evening:
Try Sushi bars

*Best Café:
Café Hoppe, Spui 18-20

Drink

You may get thirsty and decide to go for a drink so you can drop into a café, Cafés come in many varieties:
a 'bruin café' is dark, old-fashioned, smoky and cosy with a fairly unadventurous selection of affordable drinks and snacks.

A 'grand café' is larger, modern and more pretentious, with more upmarket prices and a wider choice of food.

In an "eetcafé" you can go for a good value and imaginative meal or just for a drink. In the summer they put tables and chairs outside, (tuintafel) and (tuinstoelen) allowing you to enjoy your drink while the world goes by (8pm-11: 30pm).

Beer is served with a two finger head and comes in tiny glasses, however half litre glasses can be ordered.

Most cafés close at 2am or 4am. Beer is produced and consumed in large quantities and many variations.
'Pils' is lager- the most common type and the lowest in alcohol content (5%). 'Whitbier' (Wheat beer) is the nation's favourite thirst quencher on a hot day. Other types each have a unique flavour, colour and name, and can approach wine in strength.

Bring your empty beer bottles back to the shop to receive your deposit back. All bottles for beer and soft drinks have a deposit payable on top of the vending price. This deposit is returned when the empty bottle is brought back to the shop.
All beers except some cheap lagers sold in glass bottles. Canned soft drinks are more generally available.

If you want a slightly stronger drink you can always choose some typically Dutch drinks as you sit outside a café and watch the time pass by in Amsterdam. Some of these drinks are; 'Jenever' was invented in the Netherlands, and other nations copied its name and recipe, e.g. Gin. Another Dutch invention is 'Advocaat' (Literally: Lawyer), made of fermented egg yolks and the only alcoholic drink that has to be eaten with a spoon. 'Vieux' is an artificial kind of brandy. 'Beerenburg' is a herby liqueur traditionally associated with sub-zero temperatures and ice-skating.

Man-Made Attractions

Amsterdam is the home of many famous attractions. The most popular of its attractions are the Art galleries and museums.

Stedelijk Museum (Municipal Museum)

Stedelijk Museum holds the modern art of this century. The museum has a collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photography, graphic design, applied arts, and new media that numbers 100,000 pieces. Some the artists' work held here are, Chagall, Cezanne, Picasso, Monet, Mondrian, and Malevich. Also in the collection are the American Pop artists Warhol, Johns, Oldenburg, and Liechtenstein; Abstract Expressionists de Kooning and Pollock; and contemporary German Expressionists Polke, Richter, and Baselitz. When not putting together exhibitions gathered from this collection, the staff makes large retrospectives or themed programs of the currently much admired. The windmill has been the symbol of the Dutch fight against the water. Polder mills have been built from the 15th century onwards in the north and west of the Netherlands because the water level in the polders could not be maintained by natural means. In the 17th century, mills just like these were also put into service to drain inland regions of water.
Examples of these include the Schermer, Beemster and Purmer mills. Mills were built not only for Dutch water management. Before that mills were already being put into service to meet the requirements of industry. A good example of this is the windmills in the Zaan district that were erected on the basis of the industry in the area at the time.

Van Gough Museum

A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist's developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection. The museum also holds an extensive offer of exhibitions on various subjects from 19th century art history. The Van Gogh Museum is within easy reach of the Museumplein in Amsterdam, between the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum.The museum entrance is at the Paulus Potterstraat 7. It can be reached by tram numbers 2 and 5 from the Central Station and by tram numbers 3 and 12 (crossroad Paulus Potterstraat-Van Baerlestraat). The museum is also accessible for disabled visitors. All floors can be reached via lift; wheelchairs and pushchairs are available free of charge.

Mill Museums

The Museum Mill (Museummolen) in Schermerhorn is an authentic water mill and dates from the 17th century. The mill is still in operation and, together with two other water mills forms a so-called molengang. A molengang is a series of several mills. They were used when the difference between water heights was so great that the height could not be overcome by one polder mill. Each mill raises the water one level higher. This system is also called a 'flight mill'.

At the Museum Mill, visitors can learn and see how the water was once pumped four metres up from the polder into the main drainage channel. Within the mill all sorts of information is provided about Holland's polder land and the part that the mills played in it. The floor is made of glass sheets so that the mill's machinery can be seen. In the loft there is an extensive collection of millwrights' tools. You can also pay a visit to the authentic 19th- century miller's house.

The Zaanse Schans is a reconstruction of a Zaans residential and working neighbourhood. In this open-air museum there are about twenty wooden houses, mills and storehouses from the 17th and 18th centuries. The entire site has nine mills including the "De Zoeker" oil mill of 1673 and the "De Kat" windmill of 1782. A tour boat leaves the Mosterdmolen mustard mill every hour for a trip past the mills and houses of the Zaanse Schans. Also, visitors can pay a visit to the bakery museum, the Netherlands Clock Museum (Museum van het Nederlandse Uurwerk), cloggers' and cheese-makers'.

Special Events

Cheese Market in Alkmaar

See the traditional cheese market with costumed cheese carriers and traditional craft demonstrations. Every Friday from 10am until noon, just half an hour from Amsterdam.

National Museum Weekend

Free entry to many of Amsterdam's museums, Apr 2005, throughout the city

Queen's Day

Parades, fireworks and celebrations, 30 Apr, throughout the city. Every town and village celebrates this event to mark the Queen's birthday. Thousands of visitors and locals dress in orange and enjoy the street parties, parades, fireworks and music.

Kunstrai International Art Fair

An International art fair drawing gallery owners and collectors from all over the world to buy artwork from contemporary artists.

Floating Day
Outdoor productions, last two weeks May, River Amstel

Liberation Day

5 May, throughout the city

National Biking Day

Locals take to the streets on their bikes, 11 May, throughout the city

National Windmill Day

Amsterdam's six working windmills are open to the public, 11 May, windmills are open so the public can see how they work and take part in local bread tasting. Blue flags are flown on participating windmills.

Keukenhof Spring Gardens

"Greatest flower show on Earth!" You will see 80 acres of winding paths, streams, fountains and most importantly, the wide range of flowers. 25th March - 20th May

Holland Festival

Music, dance and drama, Jun, various venues

Over Het IJ

Festival of experimental theatre, Jun, NDSM Shipyard, Neveritaweg

Canal Run

Race around the canals, 9 Jun, Prinsengracht and Vijzelgracht canals

Parade

Circus and fair, first two weeks Aug, Martin Luther King Park

Amsterdam Pride

Gay festival with a canal side parade, Aug, various venues

Christmas Day

25 Dec, throughout the city

New Year's Eve

Street party, 31 Dec, Dam Square

Accommodation

For accommodation there is a wide range of places you can choose to stay, such as, Hotels, Bed & Breakfast, Apartments and Guesthouses, Campsites and Youth Hostels. Prices may vary due to the rating of the accommodation. The most expensive would be a five star hotel, and the cheapest would be either a campsite or a youth hostel.

Here are a few examples of places to stay ranging from expensive to cheap and their prices:

*Expensive: £95+ a night

Grand Hotel - Krasnapolsky
Tram #4, #9, #16, #24 or #25 to Dam square. A huge mid-nineteenth-century building occupying an entire side of Dam Square, this is a luxuriously grand place to stay. If you can't afford the €227 or more a double room costs, scrape together enough to have a coffee in the fabulous Winter Garden, occupying a spectacular atrium space in the centre of the hotel.

Pulitzer
Tram numbers #13, #14 or #17 to Westermarkt. An entire row of seventeenth-century canal houses converted into a determinedly luxurious hotel that's often rated the best in Amsterdam. Subsidence over the centuries means that the inside of the hotel is a warren of steep stairs and crooked corridors, which only adds to its character. Individually decorated rooms are delightful and some have lift access; you're also spoilt for choice between canal views and windows overlooking the sumptuous internal courtyard.

*Medium: £56-£112 per night

Estherea
Tram #1, #2 or #5 to Spui. Chic, standard hotel converted from a row of canal houses; though they lack the personal touch, the rooms are all of a high quality.

Toren
This is a fine example of a seventeenth-century canal house which was once the home of a Dutch prime minister. En-suite rooms are comfortable and well furnished, and the hotel retains a good deal of grace.

*Cheap: £28-£56 per night

Armada
Large if slightly tatty rooms close by the River Amstel; at the low end of the price band.

Clemens
Is just one of the options on this hotel strip. Clean, neat and good value for money. This is one of the city's busiest streets, so ask for a room at the back.

Climate

Amsterdam's climate is mild but can change all year-round. January and February are the coldest months, with temperatures usually between 30 F/-1 C and 40F/4 C. Though often windy, it's rare for Amsterdam to get any snow or for the canals to freeze over. June-August is warm but rarely hot, temperatures don't often get much above 80 F/27 C and can get as cool as 50 F/10 C. The Netherlands is a damp country. Rain can arrive unexpectedly on what starts out to be a sunny day. For that reason, a raincoat and umbrella are often necessary. In summer, the humidity can be very harsh.

Transport

Coach
National Express coaches (National Express Eurolines) run a London to Amsterdam service and the prices are very cheap. You can travel straight from the heart of London to the heart of Amsterdam for just £12 each way (plus £3 booking fee). This way you don't have to pay for taxes and transfers between airports.

Rail
It is not possible to get a direct train from London or any other city in England to get to Amsterdam but you can get on a train to Dover (Channel Tunnel) then go on the Channel Express train as a foot passenger. When you arrive in France (Calais) you can then get a train up to Amsterdam. This route would work out expensive but it's ideal for people travelling light.

Plane
This is the easiest way to get to Amsterdam, as the planes are very regular. Some flights are direct and others are long haul flights picking up other passengers on the way with one of the stops being Amsterdam. The times of planes at Heathrow airport suggest that they could be for business people travelling in the morning and evenings regularly to get to and from work. Stanstead airport suggests that not many flights are available due to it being a long way from central London. The same suggestions go for Glasgow airport too. Basiq, KLM, Ryanair, Easyjet and VLM all provide flights to and from Amsterdam.
Some airports in The Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Groningen and Enschede. Some of the cheapest flights to Amsterdam cost around £75 from Gatwick to Amsterdam by Opodo.

Car
If you choose to go to Amsterdam by car it would take approximately 5 hours (6 if the traffic is busy and everything else goes well). You can take your own car and get the Eurostar to Brussels or you can go by ferry from Harwich (near London) to The Hook of Holland (just below The Hague) then drive up to Amsterdam. With Airline Network you can get car hire in Amsterdam as cheap as £9 per day. Car parking is cheap within the city limit and park and ride facilities are also available. Tickets that can be purchased are day & week parking tickets and tourist parking tickets. The fastest routes into Amsterdam are the 'S' routes.

Ferry
You can travel to Amsterdam by ferry fairly easily as there are several ports to depart from in the UK. You could go by Harwich, Kingston upon Hull or North Shields. And the principals that offer this service are Stena Line, P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways. Harwich takes you to Hoek van Holland (The Hook Of Holland), Kingston upon Hull takes you to Rotterdam and North Shields takes you to IJmuiden which is north Holland.
Internal Transport

Public transport includes trains, trams, buses, rented cars etc. Most of the local people in Amsterdam get around on pushbikes. You can rent the pushbikes, which are considered an ideal means to get around and there are even designated cycle routes for pushbikes to help make the roads a safer place for cyclists. Bike hire on average costs about €12 a day.

Some places to rent pushbikes are:

MacBike Fietsenmakerij & verhuur
Mr. Visserplein 2
1011 RD Amsterdam

Damstraat Rent A Bike
Damstraat 20
1012 Amsterdam

Bike City
Bloemgracht 70
1015 TL Amsterdam

Other internal forms of transport are canal ferries, often run by Canal - Bus. Day tickets can be bought for €16,-. Valid on all the lines until 12.00 in the afternoon the next day! Canal Bus Day Pass reduction: €11,- (Children from 4 up to 13 years, groups of minimum 10 people).The Canal Bus Day Pass also includes more than €133 worth of reductions at museums, tourist attractions and restaurants!

Trams are also one of the more popular ways of getting around Amsterdam and are very cheap too!

Buses and Trams
Amsterdam is separated into sections called zones for the tram and bus services. Starting from the inside zone 5700 is the first zone or one zone. One zone will cost you €1.60 or 2 strips on a standard strip card. Every zone away from the first will cost €0.80. For example; from 5700 to 5714, 5713 and so on would be an additional €0.80.

For zone 1 tickets cost €1.60 and for zone 2 €2.40. Prices are based on the number of zones travelled. One zone for an adult is €1.60. Each additional zone will cost €0.80 which is the same for both adults and children if you buy your ticket on the tram.

The only way to take advantage of cheap prices is if you have a pre-purchased tram ticket which comes in a strip (strippenkart) and you can buy these from a tram office, grocery stores or convenience stores and these are pink. Full priced adult cards are blue. If you buy a €5.90 strip you could get 7 ½ single zone trips which means you only pay €1.28 for one zone. You can also get the €18.30 strip card which gives you 21 ½ single zone trips making a single cost only €1.18.

What Form of Transport is the Best Option for Specific Types of Traveller?

Daytrip
The recommended form of transport for a daytrip would be an overnight ferry to Amsterdam. This is so that you can spend the whole day after the trip exploring the magnificent sights and atmosphere of Amsterdam.

Family Holiday
For a family holiday it would work out cheaper to drive and go by ferry. Not only do you see more of the Netherlands but you can get more involved with the cultures and road use.

Business Trip
For a business traveller the plane is the most likely option for travel. Business travellers don't usually think about the price of travel, but they think about getting to their destination on time so regularity is a key advantage of taking a plane to Amsterdam.

The sex and drugs industry attract younger people because they are more adventurous and outgoing and want fun while on holiday and try new things. They like to visit the Red Light District and the infamous coffee shops. The history, art, and museums attract older people or university students because they are interested in the Dutch masters like Rembrandt and the knowledge of the Dutch culture is very interesting. Amsterdam is also very popular for hen and stag nights because of the amazing nightlife and clubs. The Dutch are very well known for making club music.

(Please note that this information is copyrighted to its owner: Jenny Hallas (JennyRose)) 

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