Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...there. My mother moved to Amsterdam when I was eight years old and I joined her three years later. After a year and a half, I decided that my education would be a lot better in England and moved back, spending most school holidays in Amsterdam. I feel like Amsterdam is partly my home and have spent enough time there as both a child and an adult to write a comprehensive review of the do's and don't of Amsterdam. I'm going to be honest because that's ...
...itself! The basics: Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland (The Netherlands or Holland is split up into provinces as England is split up into counties) Many people didn't know this, but Amsterdam is situated only an hours drive from the coast (albeit the north sea). The national language is Dutch, although in Holland the majority of people speak many languages including Flemish, German and English. ...

carminator 12.08.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...way (the review is about Amsterdam after all), suffice it to say that I will never be a sailor and that if I ever mention going on a boat trip again, you have my permission to shoot me! We were deposited opposite the central station and decided to head straight for the hotel to drop off our bags. A one-day ticket costs around 7 Euros and gives you unlimited travel on buses, underground and trams. Trams are an especially good way to travel because ...
...Walking around Amsterdam is a viable option and if you are just in the city for a couple of days you are unlikely to venture far out of the city. Do be careful with regards to crossing roads and the combination of cars, trams and cyclists can be quite confusing and trams do have a tendency to creep up quietly from behind! Our hotel, the Quentin England (Roemer Visscherstraat) was situated in a quiet mixed residential/hotel area near the Leidsplein ...

fizzytom 17.12.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

When you think of Amsterdam do you immediately conjure up an image of a hashish-filled hippie haven with hustlers lurking behind glass windows and sex shops everywhere? While this is, of course, all a reality, there is much more to Amsterdam. Often tourists jet into Amsterdam for a weekend, stay in the expensive hotels and canal boats in the noisy city centre, and leave with the impression that Amsterdam is only a Red Light District - although an ...
...and experience the city of Amsterdam and also easily explore other areas in the Netherlands. Amsterdam is the perfect base to explore other areas close by, which makes for a holiday with a lot of different things to do. Accommodation in the centre of Amsterdam is quite expensive, with parking an almost non-existant luxury, but you can find quality accommodation at affordable prices in the nearby suburbs. We stayed at Miek's B&B in a quaint street ...

bunny711 02.04.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

I've been to Amsterdam Airport more times than I can remember. Living in Cardiff, taking the KLM flight to Schiphol and changing was quicker than going all the way to London. But I'd never actually left the airport, I was always just there in transit. To be honest, I'd never felt any great pull to leave the airport and look around the city. I love culture but I'd never thought of Amsterdam as having lots of old churches and museums for me to look ...
...content! GETTING THERE: Amsterdam is a hub for connecting flights and therefore lots of UK airports fly there. I looked for a flight from Cardiff with KLM (to get my airmiles!) but it was over £100. I checked with Easyjet from Bristol and they only charged £70 return - that's better! The airlines and airports which fly there are too numerous to list but shop around and you can find good bargains. Remember that using KLM to connect from Amsterdam ...

tartlette83 08.04.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Amsterdam is an absolutely unique city. It is vibrant, a treasure trove of extraordinary artistic riches and a living history ov the last 900 years! As a quick break to celebrate our anniversary, my husband and I decided to head to Amsterdam. Neither of us had been before to tour and we were looking forward to a relaxing break from our busy lives. We took an early Monday morning flight with KLM. The flight was on time, smooth and quick. From the ...
...clean and got us to Amsterdam in 15 minutes. Once in Amsterdam we headed straight to the V V V. This is the Amsterdam Tourist Board. Here you will find free maps and leaflets on just about everything- including walks, canal tours, sights, exhibitions, transport and accomodation. The staff is multi-lingual (as is most of Amersterdam) and will give you advice, change money, arrange excursions, book tickets and hotels. We bought the "I AMsterdam" 72 ...

ukusa 29.03.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...them awake. I went to Amsterdam in 2000 on my honeymoon (so don’t expect graphic amounts of detail on the Red light district!) I went not fully expecting what I found there. From most people’s perspective Holland is a country fully of clog wearing, pot smoking, tulip loving and sex and windmill mad, arrogant Dutch-folk! And although part of this is true, I’ll explain why later, Amsterdam is very well cultured and beautiful, if not however a little ...
...There are brochures advertising ‘see Amsterdam in a day’, this would be an impossibility, unless by seeing they mean go via canal boat, don’t bother to get off and just look at the scenery. If that’s really what you want then the Museumboot is for you, it does a circuit of the better attractions of Amsterdam, with commentary. There are 6 stops on it’s schedule; Centraal station, Anne Frankhuis, museum kwartier, Bloemenmarkt, Waterlooplein and Nautisch ...

hunnibunni 17.12.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

Writing a review on Amsterdam hasn’t been easy for me when the city hits you like no tomorrow; the place really rocks! I hope this opinion gives some understanding of what the place feels like and the variety of scenery beyond the buzzing sounds and neon lights of Clubs there is a certain calmness and serene beauty to be found…. Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands; one of the smallest countries in Europe. It’s compact size ...
...break. I went to Amsterdam on a long weekend break in June 2001. Reaching Amsterdam on a Thursday night via a KLM flight gave ample time to enjoy the city’s many delights. I was fortunate to be staying with a friend working in the city so had no problems with finding hotels but accommodation is plentiful ranging from 5 Star to budget hotels and Youth hostels. Hotel prices start from as low as 90fl (~£28 a night) for a double room to more extravagent ...

Connoisseur_Haggler 01.10.2001 (04.10.2001) · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

My visit to Amsterdam was my first trip on my own, and although i found a cheap flight about a month beforehand, I almost couldn't find a hotel, because I left it too late and found the date of my flight approaching and a week before, I still didnt have an hotel! At the advice of others, I used the search engines on the web - each time I found something on the web, then emailed, it was already full. I asked each hotel reservation desk to recommend ...
...It is not that Amsterdam is any more dangerous than any city in the world, it is just good advice! The food is great - from indonesian to the best steak I have had in europe! and perhaps even Texas (sacriledge!). I especially enjoyed the Van Gogh museum -- a wonderful collection - he was so much younger than I thought. One note - you really have to WATCH OUT for bicycles - they will run you over in a heartbeat - quite disconcerting if you are on ...

Reynarda 23.11.2002 (26.11.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...to warrant the description. Amsterdam is indeed a very beautiful city, its intricate architechture and endless cobbled streets provide no end of picture-postcard scenery. Despite being the Netherlands capital city and the hub of that country's trade and industry, there are very few high-rise tower blocks in Amsterdam, with large factories and industrial premises being few and far between. In fact, the only tall buildings you're likely to see in the ...
...good to be true. Although Amsterdam does have a kind of 'Olde Worlde' charm, you shouldn't forget that this is still a European capital in the 21st Century, so a certain degree of hustle and bustle with a dash of grime, crime and slime, is inevitable. Those canals would instantly lose their appeal if you fell in one - the water is filthy, and when out walking you have to on constant lookout for dogshit - Amsterdam's pooper-scooper laws are somewhat ...

Howiemon 16.01.2002 (28.11.2002) · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...The flights to and from Amsterdam were, I'm amazed to say, a particularly pleasant experience. Despite it being a very short flight (40 mins there, 50 mins return), British Midland feed you sandwiches and drinks, all complementary. They have this clever way of offering everyone a choice of salmon, sausage or 'vegetarian'. This helped us, given that we couldn’t pre-book a veggie option. Normally, I find a lot of meat-eaters will still prefer non-meat ...
...our journeys to and from Amsterdam . . . The flights were of an exceptional standard. The train journey from the airport to Centraal Station in the heart of Amsterdam was easy (the sales rep spoke English if necessary, and smiled!), it was cheap (3 euros), speedy and we got a seat both times. The fare from Central London to Heathrow was £3.70; the service was delayed on the way there by 15 minutes; the ticket machines weren't working; the sales staff ...

faithbuck 17.06.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

I went to Amsterdam in February half-term with my mother - I'm 31, and she's 60. We're not interested in drugs, sex shops or loud nightclubs, so if you're interested in a review of those, then you may as well stop reading. All I can give is my perspective of a short stay in a city I loved, and reviews of some of the things we saw and did. Firstly, arrival in Schipol Airport: the airport seemed much less crowded and bewildering than Heathrow, but ...
...link to Central Station in Amsterdam seems very quick and easy. The centre of Amsterdam was laid out pre-1600, and the Singel canal was the boundary of the city. However, the growing population needed more space, and they dug three more canals in a horseshoe-shape around the centre. The Herengracht, which is where our hotel was situated, was the first of these, and was financed by wealthy merchants who built stunning houses along the length of the ...

Elanor 22.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

I went to Amsterdam last February for reading week. My friend Jesse and I took the overnight bus using www.gobycoach.com since we had started our planning too late and flying was a bit too expensive. However, when we got to Amsterdam, we went online and booked a return flight from Easyjet.com which was 100 Euros including taxes because we knew that we couldn't survive another horrible bus ride (read on for more info). If you plan in advance, you ...
...We were in Amsterdam from Saturday morning until Wednesday afternoon. ---The Go By Coach experience--- I think it would have been worth the extra money to fly both ways since the coach was a rather unpleasant experience. The coach departed from Victoria Station in London at 7:30 PM and arrived in Amsterdam at 7:30 AM. (There is a one hour time difference, so it was 'only' an 11-hour journey.) There were several obnoxious cigarette smokers on our ...

OKkaraoke 24.11.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...European tourist map . AMSTERDAM CENTRAL: Unlike Paris or Rome ,this city is tiny and not many attractions to put you in a dilemma as to which one to cover or leave out , or keep you on toes rushing from one part of the city to another.This city is spread out in circles ,with each circle somewhat demarcated by watery canals.The city center is horribly crowded( especially in peak summer season in August) ,crammed up and is totally chaotic.The main ...
...gonna love it. LANGUAGE: Amsterdam has to be the most friendly tourist destination and language is never a problem.Usually most of the hoardings,menu card , guided tours etc is usually traslated in English,Spanish,German and Italian.With a bit of English you should never be in problem,as most of the people speak very good english and it seemed Brits contribute to the large percentage of tourist population here. Amsterdam ,to sum up is one of its ...

Maverick_tips 05.09.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...(mid-week) in a 5 star Amsterdam hotel with flights from London Heathrow cost us just £145 each. I highly recommend Expedia for ease of booking and great service, as well as offering astounding value getaways to destinations all over the world; and if you want to organise your accommodation yourself, Expedia offers flights from less than £60 return including all taxes. We flew with bMi but many other operators fly to Amsterdam including easyjet and ...
...costing from £5 per person. Amsterdam is famous for its canals, lined by houseboats and streets of tall narrow houses, many dating back from the 17th century. One particular stretch of canal is lined by a vast flower market popular with tourists and locals alike where you can buy both fresh and artificial flowers and souvenirs to suit every budget – it’s definitely the place to go to buy something for your mum! Wherever you are in Amsterdam be very ...

tev_1 27.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)

...in the museum quarter of Amsterdam but the town itself is not all that big and I like that. That means that you can walk around to the different destination. The first thing we did was to walk around town to get a feeling of where we were. The guide book also included a map and thank god for that cause I think we would have been lost without it *grin*. Amsterdam is beautiful with the combination of canals and roads everywhere. And because of the ...
...I will remember best from Amsterdam is the sounds of the bells on the bikes and the bells ringing on the trams. People back home here don’t bike that much but in Amsterdam there were bikes everywhere. And I’m talking old bikes, new bikes, worn out bikes, self painted bikes and so on. But they all seemed to have a little bell on the steering wheel to be able to indicate to the pedestrians that they were coming :-) And they had lanes on most of the ...

gard 02.07.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Amsterdam (Netherlands)