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.