We'll start off at Zentralstation, where most people arrive in "the dam." It's a bit murky and you don't want to hang around there long with a lot of dodgy types lingering about there. Once outside, you'll be greeted by a mass of people, busy road and trams flying about left right & centre. Amsterdam is located near the coast in the North West of Holland, it is served by Schipol Airport and a ferry port.
Getting There
Easyjet do some amazingly cheap deals to fly to Amsterdam, so its worth looking at their website, www.easyjet.com If you're feeling a bit flash with the cash, KLM & BA serve the city too from a number of UK locations.
On the ferry, this is an overnight job and frankly, with the advent of cheapo flights is a lesser alternative, only if you're biking or driving there is it worth taking a car.
In the Dam!
Amsterdam on first impressions, is a very busy & unique city & the 3 times I've been there, its always been cloudy!
The people are quite friendly and the transport around the city is good, with the trams frequent & quite cheap. Taxis are not too expensive either. For most Brits, a good thing about Amsterdam & Holland in general is that many Dutch people have a good command of English.
Food is akin to many capitals, with many McDonalds kicking about. A lot of steak restaurants & chineses are also present.
Accomadation
My main gripe with Amsterdam, there never seems to be enough hotels about and the cheaper ones for travellers are terrible (no formule 1's here!) Some make you stay 2-3 nights and charge the earth. I wouldn't recommend hostels at all, nasty communal places and you don't know who's sleeping next to you.
I would definitely recommend booking into a place before you get there, especially for the weekend. There are a number of decent places on the outskirts, we found a great motel towards Volendam, which was about 20 mins outside A'dam by bus, it's name escapes me though, soz :(
Cafe's
What a lot of people go to Amsterdam for. I was told many different stories about them and am still slightly confused. Some people said they had to be either smoking (dope) only, drinking only etc Well the ones we ended up in were mixed, which if you can handle it isn't a bad thing! You can buy a wide range of smokes and some places have it pre-rolled if, like me, you're hopeless at rolling. The Bulldog is worth a visit as it's almost a tourist attraction now, but its not that exciting and they don't sell beer.
There are loads of bars in Amsterdam, and some good ones too, mostly selling Heiniken & Amstel, for reasons which you may have figured out, I can't remember the names of any of the ones I went to ;D
Attractions
Loads to see & do. Anne Frank museum (Anne Frankhuis),a must if you've read the book. Visit the Museumplein to see the Rijks & Van Gogh Museum - very large & good if art is your thing, you could spend a day here. I'm not a great art fan but found the place interesting. There are loads of other museums too, which I haven't been to. The Heiniken brewery is fun, though its worth booking the day before you want to go as there is a limit to the amount of people that can go in. There are loads of canal tours, take your pick.
Along with the tourist attractions, cafes & canals, perhaps the most famous thing for which most people come to Amsterdam , is...........
Sex
Well, if this is your thing, then Amsterdam rivals Hamburg in the smut league. All the wierd & wonderful is available, but once you've seen one, you've seen them all. Amsterdam is a very open & liberal city so all things go on behind the closed doors.
Amsterdam is great for a long weekend. In summer it's packed and can get a bit much, I'd say 3-4 days is enough though. Not a place to go if you have kids
yep I agree, Amsterdam isn't as nice as other places I've been to in Holland but it's a good laugh for a few days, ta for the comments and ratings, s
bwanamdevu 10.08.2001 15:10
I love the Dutch and the Netherlands in general but don`t think that Amsterdam is good advert on the whole.It`s easy to stay a lot cheaper and better in somewhere like Leiden.The transport system is superb allowing you to travel into Amsterdam in about 30 mins or for that matter to Den Haag or Rotterdam ,very easily.
Paul
innocent 10.08.2001 14:17
Went once on a stag weekend... never again (nuff said). Great op, like the title too.
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Advantages: fantastic location, good breakfast, friendly and helpful staff, comfy bed, some character Disadvantages: rooms could be bigger, a bit shabby, breakfast not included
Advantages: Great location at Damrak square, inexpensive for a "5-star" hotel Disadvantages: Old-fashioned interieur & run-down furniture, no goodwill when complaining about bad room condition
Aug 10th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
