Amsterdam information

One of the most visited cities in Europe, Amsterdam offers visitors a range of diverse and fascinating attractions which keep tourists flocking back for more.
Amsterdam is a remarkable mixture - a capital without a government (the latter is 40 minutes down the road in The Hague); a city of canals and houseboats where the bicycle is king; a mecca of art, where the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh collection vie with the red light district as prime tourist attractions; prim plant­filled suburban homes contrasting with city centre sex shops and gay bars; a gourmet's delight, with anything from traditional raw herring to an Indonesian rijsttafel on the menu.

Amsterdam – a popular tourist city

Along with London, Paris and Rome, Amsterdam is one of Europe's most popular tourist cities thanks certainly, to the warm-hearted welcome its inhabitants extend to foreigners but, above all, to the picturesque Golden Age look of the town's central canal area.
This area is a unique l7th Century museum, often called the Venice of the North. Row upon row of gabled houses lean crazily against one another along a network of tree-lined canals. Vistas of venerable churches stretch beyond white wooden drawbridges, narrow cobbled streets and myriads of barges.

And this is the way City Hall likes it. The Golden Age character is preserved by statute. At last count, 7,000 buildings were classified as protected monuments. Complete 17th century residential areas are renovated, rather than replaced with office blocks. No excuses there's even an official yard where surplus old doors and window frames can be purchased, to replace wood wormed or irreparable originals.

A negative side to the city has been growing; for sure a severe housing shortage has created a whole population of squatters. The tolerant city's violence has greatly increased. The drug problem has reached heady proportions, and graffiti has been scrawled all over Amsterdam's once clean and tidy walls, which is a familiar problem with most of today´s major cities. Amsterdam will take it all in its stride, and find solutions, reasonable and equitable, like it always has.

The history of Amsterdam

Frisians and other primitive tribes are scattered throughout the region. Franks, Saxons and war like Germanic tribes invaded the area in the 5th Century A.D, largely eclipsing the tenuous Christian influence of the Roman Empire. As they died out, the Netherlands developed into a loose amalgam of small states ruled variously by counts, dukes and bishops. One group, the Water Landers built a settlement on a sandbank where the River Amstel flows into the sea. They constructed a dam to prevent flooding. The settlement became known as Amstelre Damme.

In 1275, Count Floris V granted privileges to the local citizenry. It is from this date that Amsterdammers traditionally count the founding of their city. After a miracle occured, Amsterdam became a place of pllgrimage for Christians of the middle Ages. Commerce increased.

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, introduced the Inquisition to the Netherlands realms in the 1520s. His heir, Philip II of Spain, pursued his father's anti Reformation policy in order to retain his temporal power.
The struggle for independence began in earnest, with Prince William (dubbed the Silent) of the House of Orange leading the Dutch rebellion. In 1579, the Treaty of Utrecht between the seven Protestant provinces north of the Rhine estranged the southern provinces. The split later lead to the separate existence of the Netherlands and Belgium. During the 17th century, The Dutch Golden Age flowered in the Netherlands.

Merchants, scientists, artists and craftsmen thrived In the Renaissance atmosphere. The Dutch East Indies Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagme ) expanded into a powerful commercial monopoly establishing trading posts throughout the Far East, Africa and Australia. The Treaties of The Hague and of Westphalia in 1648 (marking the end of the Thirty Years War in Europe) gained more territory for the Dutch. The independent state of the Netherlands, almost as it stands today, is internationally recognized.

Dutch fortunes in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Dutch fortunes declined as French and British influences began to increase. Napoleon's armies overran the United Provinces in 1795 and the Netherlands were annexed by France. Independence came in the early 19th century, as Napoleon's fortunes began to turn. Prince William of Orange was proclaimed king. New houses, museums and schools were built and Canals were improved.

Land was reclaimed from the tidal Zuyder Zee area in a mammoth project that transformed it into a freshwater lake enclosed by a 19 mile-long dike.Germany invaded Holland in 1940 and five years of bitter resistance and hardship followed. Queen Wilhelmina, exiled in London, broadcasted messages to her people, bolstering their valiant will to survive as an independent nation.

Post-war developments included a highly advanced welfare system and vigorous support for the European Economic Community. Despite the unemployment problem, as in neighbouring countries, the Dutch economy continues to flourish.

Things to do in Amsterdam

The one-hour canal tour is a must. It's the best introduction to the city and shows you Amsterdam in a nutshell - historic and charming, pragmatic and business like and always with a touch of liberalism that borders on the bizarre.

Singel, the inner canal, was once the city's fortified boundary. Look out for No.7, a real oddity,and the narrowest house in Amsterdam. It's only as wide as its front door and is jammed between two 17th-century buildings. Three bridges down, at the junction with Oude Leliestraat, note the iron-barred windows of a quaint old jail set into the bridge itself and just above water level. Approachable only by water, it's said to have been used to keep drunks quiet overnight.

From the Singel, the town spread outwards in the early 1600s to Herengracht. This was the No. I canal on which to live during the city's Golden Age. The wealthiest merchants vied with each other to build the widest homes, the most elaborate gables, and the most impressive front entrance steps. The patrician houses are still here in all their glory, though most are now too big for private residence and are occupied by banks and offices.

Keizersgracht was named after Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, whose realm also included the Netherlands. The houses on this canal are not quite so grand as on Heren gracht, but still charming and solidly middle-class .
Prinsengracht, the last main canal of the horse-shoe, is much more down-to-earth, with smaller homes and many warehouses still in their original condition. The ubiquitous Amsterdam hoisting beam is still in daily use by the warehouse men as they haul goods from the cobbled street below up past a vertical succession of gaping wooden doorways.
Looking around you from your canal boat seat, you'll see a kaleidoscopic jumble of houseboats like nothing else on earth. The 2,000 plus house­boats range from luxury living to hippy rafts, from a cats' home to a floating pottery.

Only about half are actually licensed to moor.
Because the central part of Amsterdam is relatively compact, it's also easy to visit on foot. A good idea is to split the centre into four sections and cover one at a time.

Discover the city of Amsterdam

South-West Section Leidseplein (plein square) is the site of the old city gate on the road to Leiden. Today, the gate, the markets and the carriages have gone, and in their place is a multitude of restaurants and sandwich shops, outdoor cafes and cinemas, discotheques, nightclubs and bars.
The North West side of the square is dominated by the Stadsschouwburg (Municipal Theatre) with its pillared entrance. Built in 1894 to replace an earlier edifice which had burnt down, it now houses the Dutch Public Theatre, National Opera and National Ballet.

The American Hotel, virtually next door to the theatre, is something of a city tradition. A building full of character, begun in 1880, it has a magnificent Jugendstil restaurant, protected by the authorities as an architectural monument. This has become a meeting place for artists, writers, students and anyone who likes to chat and to be seen. Dutch­born Mata Hari, the legendary World War I spy, held her wedding reception at the American in 1894.

Vondel Park is only 200 yards (182 m.) away, to the south-west. This "lung" for the densely built city centre is named after Holland's foremost poet, the 17th century Joost van den Vondel. Its 120 acres (49 hectares) include lawns, lakes and flower displays.
Nearby Museumplein, a broad grassy square wild with crocuses and daffodils in spring is bordered by three major museums and the city's main concert hall. Looking down the square from its rightful place at the top is the palace-like Rijks museum, designed by Petrus Cuypers and opened in 1885, home of one of the world's great art collections.

Whether your interests extend to porcelain, Asiatic or Muslim art, Dutch history, 18th-century glassware or 17th century dolls' houses, the Rijksmuseum has something for you. Highlight is, of course, the European art section, and Dutch painting in particular.

Make your way back to the top of Leidsestraat along the Singel Canal to see the floating flower market (drijvende bloe menmarkt). Here for more than 200 years Amsterdammers have stepped aboard the gently swaying, floating shop boats moored at the canal side to buy the profusion of plants and flowers that you'll see in the windows of their homes, all around.
The Munttoren (Mint Tower) overlooks this colourful 17th Century scene and adds an extra touch of gaiety by chiming out an old Dutch tune every half hour. The tower was originally a medieval gate in the fortified wall of the Singel canal.

A few hundred yards north of the floating flower market is the Begijnhof (Beguine Cur), a charming haven of quiet in the heart of the busy city. Inside is a neat quadrangle of lawn surrounded by perfect 17th and 18th century alms, houses, two small churches and a 15th century wooden house.
English Pilgrim Fathers who fled to Holland before joining the Mayflower prayed regularly in the Beguine Court church dating originally from 1392 and known since 1607 as the Scottish Presbyterian Church. Opposite is the Catholic Church which nuns were allowed to install in two of the almshouses during the Calvinist domination of Amsterdam in the 17th Century.

Leaving the Beguine Court by the rear gate, you will arrive at the vast Amsterdam Hlstorisch Museum (Amsterdam Historical Museum), newly restored after serving as an orphanage for almost 400 years. Its many rooms and galleries tell the city s fascinating story from 1275 to 1945, with exhibits relics from prehistoric remains and the city's original charter to audio-visual slide shows on land reclamation.
Dam Square (called, simply, Dam in Dutch) is the city's heart and raison d´etre, a no frills area always throbbing with life. Exactly here the river Amstel was dammed some time before 1275.

The area has now become a sought after area for artists and designers, a trendy quarter that has blossomed with a number of new and fascinating small shops, boutiques and restaurants alongside the area's traditional "brown bars". Over 800 of its 8,000 houses are protected monuments.
The Ronde Lutherse Kerk (Round Lutheran Church) is located on the Singel canal. Its 146-foot (44m) copper dome has dominated the old herring-packers' quarter here since 1671. The church was rebuilt after being gutted by fire in 1822, and in 1830 a handsome organ was installed.
Over the next century, however, congregations dwindled to such an extent that in 1935 the church was deconsecrated and for a while was used as a warehouse.

At Nieuwendijk 16, is the Nederlands Centrum voor Ambachten (Holland Art and Craft Centre), where you can watch local craftsmen make cheese, cut diamonds and chisel wooden clogs.

The centre of Amsterdam

Railway stations are rarely tourist sites, but Amsterdam's central station, dominating the Damrak boulevard Vista, merits a moment of admiration as both a considerable engineering feat and a fine 19th-century neo-Gothic monument. It was built by Petrus Cuypers, architect also of the Rijksmuseum, on three artificial islands.
At the waterfront opposite the station is the NZH (Noord-Zuid Hollands) Koffiehuis, a protected monument, newly restored, housing the VVV tourist office and a restaurant.

Just a few yards down Damrak from the station, the stock-exchange building, the Beurs, desIgned by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, has always attracted controversy. It was one of Berlage's ultra-modern masterpieces when first un­veiled to the world in 1903.

The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is the city's biggest and oldest church, and it was consecrated around 1300. It is the burial place of Rembrandt's wife, Saskia. Though a wealth of decoration and statuary was disposed of by 17th-Century Calvinists as "Catholic pomp", there remains a lot of Gothic stone carving to be admired both inside and outside, as well as a stained glass window commemorating the Peace of Westphalia which, with the Peace of The Hague, brought an end to the 80 years' Spanish war in 1648.

Museum Amstelkring, otherwise known as Ons Lieve Heer Op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic church), at Oudezljds Voorburgwal 40, is the only one of Amsterdam's 60 once clandestine Catholic churches of the Calvinist era left in its original condition. Tucked away up a series of steep stairs and winding corridors, it contains numerous relics of interest from the 18th Century.

The 1482 Schreierstoren is across the small Chinese quarter of the lower Zeedijk. Henry Hudson left from here to discover Manhattan in 1609, and a plaque hailing the event is one of many on the tower.
Within sight of Schreiers Toren lies the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum (Netherland's Maritime Museum), appropriately blessed with a panoramic view of the harbour, and housed in vast old Admiralty supply buildings caller’s Lands Zeemagazijn. It's full of model ships, charts, instruments and all the fascinating paraphernalia of sailing.

The old Montelbaanstoren (Montelbaan Tower) on the Oude Schans Canal, is said to be the city's best-proportioned tower. It was built as part of the 15th-Century defences and bristled with cannons on its then flat roof. In 1606, the architect Hendrick de Keyser added the present l43-foot (43m) spire, with clock and bells, in the same neo-classical style of his other towers.

The Waag (Weigh House) stands like a medieval, seven­turreted castle on Nieuwmarkt Square. It was built in 1488 as a city gate, but was little used as such. It then had a varied career as weigh house, fire station, guild house and museum. The Jewish Historical Museum is now housed in the Waag.
The nearby Zuiderkerk (South Church) has recently been the scene of much building activity. Constructed in the early 17th century, it was much admired by Christopher Wren and is said to be the prototype for many of his London steeples.

The Rembrandthuis (Rembrandt's House) at Joden breestraat 4-6, red shuttered and three storeys high, is a 1606 brick building with a typical Amsterdam step gable. It was the home of Holland's greatest painter from 1639 to his bankruptcy 20 years later.

The South-East region of Amsterdam

The Portugees Israelitische Synagoge (Portuguese Synagogue) was built in 1675 by the city's large community of Sephardic Jews, descendants of refugees from Spain and Portugal in the late 16th century. It's said to have been patterned on the plan of King Solomon's temple.
On Jonas Daniel Meijer Square in front of the synagogue is the Dockworker Statue by Mari Andriessen. Revered by Amsterdam Jew and Gentile alike, this rough figure of a man in working clothes commemorates the events of February 1941, when Amsterdam's dockworkers staged a 24-hour strike in protest against the deportation of Jews.

The cheery, impudent stall­holders of Amsterdam's flea market in Valkenburgerstraat will happily sell you anything, from a fur coat to a twisted piece of lead piping, a fine old wind-up gramophone to a cheap modern lock.

Overlooking Waterlooplein is the Mozes en Alironkerk (Moses and Aaron Church), an 1840 Catholic church. It has an imposing classical facade with a pillared entrance surmounted by a statue of Christ, and twin towers at each end of the balustraded roof. Two gables tones of "Moyses" and "Aaron" from an earlier church on this site are set into the wall.

The River Amstel, from which Amsterdam takes its name, is only a minute's walk away, and the best river view in town is from the Blauwbrug (Blue Bridge). Built in the 1880s, and named after a former blue-painted wooden drawbridge on the site, it is a copy of the Pont Alexandre in Paris, richly ornamented with golden crowns and ships' prows.
Some consider it the city's most beautiful bridge, but look down-river to see its immediate rival, the white wooden drawbridge with nine graceful arches, the Magere Brug, or "Skinny Bridge", as it can be colloquially translated. This is unique and totally Amsterdam-a bottle neck for the single file traffic but a delight for every photographer.

Rembrandtsplein (Rembrandt Square) and the adjoining Thorbeckeplein are Amsterdam's scaled-down version of Times Square, New York, or Leicester. Square, London. Covered with advertising, cinemas, restaurants, bars and nightclub sIgns, they form a brash fun area offering everything from strip-shows to a cup of coffee at one of the many outdoor cafes.
A view of 14 bridges makes a tranquil finale to this active, four-section tour of town. From the far end of Thorbeckeplein, look down ReguIiersgracht to see six of them in a row. To the left down Herengracht are six more, and to the right another two. It´s a particularly memorable vIew in summer after dark, when all the bridges are lit.

What to eat in Amsterdam

Even the dish of mixed fruit in syrup, rudjak manis, will be spicy hot. All in all, what with the crisp, puffy shrimp bread, sour cucumber, cut up chicken, the nuts, the fried banana-not forgetting the skewers of cubed meat with peanut sauce called sateh - the rice table is an unforgettable eating experience.

Dutch specialities include pea soup (erwtensoep); red kidney bean soup (bruine bonensoep); potato and vegetable hash (stamppot) with fat Dutch sausage (worst). Fresh sea fish and vegetables are also plentiful in Amsterdam.

The Dutch are not great dessert-eaters, but that's no reason for you to follow suit. Dutch apple tart (appeltaart) is usually available, with its filling of apples, sultanas and cinnamon. So is fresh fruit. And if you like a spicy-cool dessert, try the typical Dutch gember met slagroom (lumps of fresh ginger with cream).

Second to coffee, beer (pits) is the national drink. Dutch brandy (vieux) is half the price of cognac and milder. Jenever is a juniper-flavoured drink along the lines of English gin.

The claim is made that Amsterdam offers more variety in food and restaurants than any other European city. Pride of place goes to Indonesian cuisine, well ahead of the native Dutch in popularity.
There are up to 32 items in a rijst afel (literally, rice-table). Tackle the feast this way: put a mound of rice in the centre of your plate, and build around it with spoonfuls from your dishes of ban ketjap (pork in soya sauce), daging bronkos (roast meat in coconut-milk sauce), sambal.

Shopping in Amsterdam

Amsterdam shopping is done in any of hundreds of small shops scattered through the central area. Best buys include: Antiques - Plenty of antique shops, especially in the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, contain bargains. But be aware that up to 50 per cent of the goods may come from Britain or France.

Cigars - renowned throughout the world for their aroma.
Diamonds - a girl's best friend, are all over town. The city has a well-deserved reputation for their cutting and polishing.
Dutch gin, Jenever-a special taste; made from juniper berries is less fiery than English gin.

Pottery-Delft and Makkum pottery; delicate and distinctively different.
Souvenirs include speciality tea, spices, bottles, candles, bamboo basketwork; and dozens of colourful keepsakes to take home.

Amsterdam is a wonderful city to visit and look around. Whether you are in Amsterdam for a long weekend or a two week holiday, you will find plenty of reasonably priced accommodation, small hotels and apartments to rent. Attractions in Amsterdam are wide and varied, and there is plenty to see and do for all ages. Most budget airlines fly to Amsterdam from major airports in the UK, and you can pre-book a hire car before you travel to save time and money when you arrive.