Amsterdam Travel Guide, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, a seaport and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of the country. It is located on 160 man-made canals that together are 75 km long with 90 islands, that are connected by around 1,000 bridges. The canals are a definite attraction for visitors.

In Amsterdam you can find the largest historical city in Europe and thousands of historic sites, great museums and tolerant attitudes.

A vibrant, cosmopolitan city, Amsterdam has been an important center of European cultural life since the 17th century, some of Amsterdam’s world-famous cultural institutions include the National Academy of Art and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, the Van Gogh Museum with about 800 works by 19th-century painter Vincent van Gogh and the Amsterdam home of Rembrandt.

Amsterdam is full of color in both landscape and places of interest. You can explore all these in different ways: see the city through the eyes of a local! Volunteers of the Gilde Amsterdam introduce you to the city they know so well and are so proud of.

Another way of discovering the magnificent narrow streets is a cruise along the canals. You can enjoy such a cruise throughout the year. You can have standard canal cruises for about an hour to longer cruises. Cruises in the evening are among the favorite.

If you want a local's perspective on the city, hire a bike as fast as you can and do what Amsterdammers do, they are avid cyclists! You will be amazed by the 400km of bike paths in a city where cars and pedestrians are less important that bikes.

If you want to get the most of your visit you’d better check the weather forecast first and choose well the season as from October to March the weather is bad, with a lot of rain and watr covering the streets. Spring is not much better, but the presence of flowers makes things a bit beter. If you decide to visit the city in January you’ll be part of something amazing. if the canals freeze during winter, you will be able to see a skating marathon in January.

Amsterdam is among the best places to hang out mixing old and new with beautiful old buildings dating the 17th-century; old bicycles thriving on the roads next to expensive cars while traditional beer perfectly goes along with other newer types.

The city did not lose its Dutch charm despite the fact that it became a major tourist hub. The typical houses and canals are still the same as they were years ago so the city has the look of a village that grew into a megalopolis.

Amsterdam's real strengths are its directional fashion and homewares store but it’s also renowned for its flowers, Delftware and diamonds.The city developed into one of the world's most important diamond centers, many famous diamonds being cut and polished in Amsterdam. For example, the "Cullinan", the largest diamond ever found.

Amsterdam’s importance is multivalent as it is both the economic and spiritual capital of the people who are among the most tolerant in the world.

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• Amsterdam,The Netherlands
  review by adam posted more then 30 days ago
  The Netherlands is by far one of Europes most gripping country. It has a rich history and I visited Amsterdam for a week. I can tell you that the city is not only pure charm and excitment, but it is also out of common and it's too unique unlike many other European cities. The best way to...
• Quick facts about Amsterdam
  review by cipristb posted more then 30 days ago
  Amsterdam is one of the two capitals of the Netherlands, being the official capital of the Netherlands. It is assumed that the year in which the Netherlands has received the city rights (from the Bishop of Utrecht Guy Avesnes) is 1306. The XIV th century is the century in wich Amsterdam was...
• What to see in Hague
  review by cipristb posted more then 30 days ago
  Hague is the capital of South Holland, here is the government seat of the Netherlands. The importance of the city began to grow in the XIV th century when they were transferred here the Supreme Judicial Courts of the Provinces of Holland and Zeeland. At the end of the XVI century the royal court...

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Read our members' travel tips about Amsterdam

• Randy Roy Redlight Tours
  travel tip by Belinda posted more then 30 days ago
  Amsterdam's Red Light District is an attraction to everyone who visits the city. Though it might prove more fun for the male party, women have also much fun during the 1 and a half hour walk. At least I had! :) The guide was...
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  travel tip by itachan posted more then 30 days ago
  We chose the countryside bike tour because we were staying downtown Amsterdam and we could explore the city and its attractions in our own time, but we couldn't have gotten to the countryside. So we met our guide at the departure...
• Taxi service in Amsterdam
  travel tip by rene posted more then 30 days ago
  Many visitors arriving at Schiphol Airport might get a bad first impression of the country, because of unfriendly taxi drivers that might also overcharge. I use taxis a lot when I travel to and from the airport and I can give you this...

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