Amsterdam Holidays
Amsterdam is a city in the Netherlands with
impressive architecture, lovely canals that crisscross the city, great shopping,
and friendly people who nearly all speak English well. There is something for
every traveler’s taste here, whether you prefer culture and history, serious
partying, or just the relaxing charm of an old European city. Amsterdam has over
a million inhabitants in the urban area, and is located in the Province of
North-Holland. Although Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, the seat of
government is The Hague, and the provincial capital is Haarlem.
The
‘Amsterdam’ that most people know is the city centre, the semicircle with
Central Station at its apex. It corresponds to the old city, as it was around
1850. Five major concentric canals ring the old city; the Singel, the
Herengracht, the Keizersgracht, the Prinsengracht, and the Singelgracht (not to
be confused with the Singel!), which runs alongside the roads Nassaukade,
Stadhouderskade, and Mauritskade and marks the location of the former city moat
and fortifications. Almost everything outside this line was built after 1870.
The semicircle is on the south side of the IJ, which is called a river, but is
more exactly an estuary. Going east from central station, the railway passes the
artificial islands of the redeveloped Eastern Docklands. North of the IJ is
mainly housing, although a major dockland redevelopment has started there too.
The river Amstel flows into the city from the south. Originally, it
flowed along the line Rokin-Damrak. The dam in the Amstel, which gives the city
its name, was located under the present Bijenkorf department store. The original
settlement was on the right bank of the Amstel, on the present Warmoesstraat: it
is therefore the oldest street in the city. The city has expanded in all
directions, except to the north of the ring motorway. The region there,
Waterland, is a protected rural landscape of open fields and small villages.
The radius of the semicircle is about 2 km. All major tourist
destinations, and most hotels, are located inside it or just outside it. As a
result, much of Amsterdam is never visited by tourists: at least 90% of the
population lives outside this area. Most economic activity in Amsterdam — the
offices of the service sector, and the port — is located on or outside the ring
motorway, which is four to five kilometers from the centre.
Many people
choose to visit during their Amsterdam holidays:
Amsterdam because of its reputation for tolerance, although part of this
reputation is attributable to cultural misunderstandings. Prostitution is
legalized and licensed in the Netherlands, and in Amsterdam it is very visible
(window prostitution), and there are large numbers of prostitutes. The sale,
possession, and consumption of small quantities of cannabis, while illegal, is
condoned by authorities (the policy of gedogen). This does not mean that you can
get away with anything in Amsterdam. In any case, public attitudes and official
policy have hardened in recent years. For more on coffee shops and drugs, see
below in Stay safe.
Depending on your viewpoint some people will
consider Amsterdam an unwholesome city whereas other people will find their
relaxed attitudes refreshing. Amsterdam is not generally seen as a family
destination, but if you avoid the red light district, it is no more
objectionable for children than any large city.
Nearly everyone in
Amsterdam, young or old, seems to speak excellent English.
When
To Visit:
Amsterdam is a large city and a major tourist
destination, so you can visit it all year round. However, in winter the days are
short (8 hours daylight around Christmas), and the weather may be too cold to
walk around the city comfortably, let alone cycle. Some things are seasonal: the
bulb fields flower only in the spring, and Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag) is always
on 30 April, unless that is a Sunday. Queen Beatrix was in fact born on 31
January, but since January is too cold, the celebrations are held on the
birthday of her mother Juliana. The color of Queen’s Day is orange, symbolizing
national pride in the royal House of Orange-Nassau.
Where to
stay
The best way to stay in Amsterdam is a short stay apartment. It
offers more space, privacy and lower costs per guest when compared with a stay
in a hotel in
Amsterdam. Amsterdam apartments are available for short term and long term.
Most of the rental companies have a minimum stay of 3 days. One of the larger
and best rated Amsterdam apartment rental companies is Short Stay Group. The
have high ratings at Flipkey.com and offer great Amsterdam
apartments that can be booked online.
Churches:
There are five main churches in the historic centre. The oldest is the
Oude Kerk (1306) on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, in the red-light district. It was
followed by the Nieuwe Kerk (15th century) on the Dam. The late-medieval city
also had smaller chapels such as the Sint Olofskapel (circa 1440) on Zeedijk,
and convent chapels such as the Agnietenkapel on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal 231
(originally 1470), now the University of Amsterdam museum. Around 1600, three
new Protestant churches were built:
Zuiderkerk (1603) at Zuiderkerkhof,
now an information centre on housing and planning. Noorderkerk (1620/230) at
Noordermarkt on the Prinsengracht. Westerkerk (1620/31) on Westermarkt is the
largest of the three. The church is open (free) for visitors from Monday to
Friday, 11.00 -15.00, from April to September. You can also climb the tower,
only with guide, every half-hour, € 6. In good weather you can see all of
Amsterdam, and as far as the coast. Later churches included the Oosterkerk
(1669) in the eastern islands, and the heavily restored Lutheran Church on the
Singel (1671), now used by a hotel as a conference centre. Catholic churches
were long forbidden, and only built again in the 19th-century: the most
prominent is the Neo-Baroque Church of St. Nicholas (1887) opposite Central
Station.
The most prominent synagogue is the Portugese-Israelite
Synagogue (1675) at Mr. Visserplein, in an austere Classicist style.
Also, try and investigate on some of the “hidden churches” found in
Amsterdam, mainly Catholic churches that remained in activity following the
Reformation.
Get around
On foot and bike:
Amsterdam’s centre is fairly small, and almost abnormally flat, so you
can easily get to most tourist destinations on foot – from the train station,
within a half an hour.
A pleasant way to cover a lot of ground is to
rent a bicycle. There are approximately three-quarters of a million people
living in Amsterdam and they own about 600,000 bicycles. The city is very, very
bike-friendly, and there are separate bike lanes on most major streets. In the
city centre, however, there is often not enough space for a bike lane, so cars
and cyclists share narrow streets. Cyclists have the right of way. If you are
not used to that, be very careful, and also watch out for other cyclists. Avoid
getting your tire in the tram rails; it’s a nasty fall. Always cross tram rails
at an angle. There are bike rental shops at stations, and several others in and
around the city centre. Bikes cost about € 9 to € 20 per day.
A good map
for cycling (routes, repairs, rentals + also public transport) is Amsterdam op
de fiets (a Cito-plan). When preparing a route, there’s a digital bicycle
route-planner for Amsterdam, see Routecraft.com Routecraft.com
Make sure
to get a good lock, and to use it. Amsterdam has one of the highest bicycle
theft rates in the world, see the Netherlands page. Note also that if buying a
bike, prices that seem too good to be true are stolen bikes. Any bike offered
for sale to passers-by, on the street, is certainly stolen. There’s an old
Amsterdam joke; if to a large group of bicycles going by, you yell out, “Hey,
that’s my bike!” about five people will jump off “their” bikes and start
running.
MacBike Bicycle Rental. Perhaps the most ubiquitous bicycle
rental agency in Amsterdam, their bicycles are painted red with a MacBike sign
on the front, everyone will know you’re visiting. The bicycles are reliable, and
in very good condition. Several locations around the city centre for assistance
or repairs. Online bicycle reservations at their website. Orangebike, Rentals
& Tours. Their bikes are not so obvious coloured, more discrete ,reliable
and sturdy. Even the typical Dutch Grandmother bikes are available at
Orangebike. Every day you could go on the 3 hour historical city tour and
discover the hidden treasures by bike for 19.50 euro only. Online reservations
on their website. The bicycle is ideal for exploring the surrounding
countryside. Within half an hour you’re out of town. Go North, take the ferry
accross the IJ to Waterland. Or go South, into the Amsterdamse Bos (a giant
park), or follow the river Amstel where Rembrandt worked. You can also take your
bike on the metro (with a reduced fare ticket, see gvb.nl, public transport) to
end of line Gaasperplas, and cycle along rivers and windmills to old fortified
towns like Weesp , Muiden and Naarden.
Amsterdam travel guide
Enjoy
you Amsterdam holidays even more using all the great tips about amsterdam
provided by the Amsterdam Travel Guide
