A classic view of a canal in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands. Its city center is fascinating, due to the very characteristic architecture of the houses and the presence of an enormous number of canals. It is no coincidence that it is an Unesco World Heritage Site. Tourist love Amsterdam also for the important museums like the Rijkmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Hermitage Amsterdam, and the nightlife, with the red-light district and the many cannabis coffee shops.
Tipically, 3 or 4 days are the perfect amount of time to enjoy the beauty of the “city of canals”. Keep another half day to visit the amazing tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens.
The best time to visit Amsterdam is right before or directly after the summertime high tourist season. The ideal choice of time to visit Amsterdam is between April and May or September and November.
How to best experience Amsterdam?
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Most popular city pass for visiting Amsterdam
I amsterdam City Card
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Go City Amsterdam Pass
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GVB Amsterdam: Public Transport by Tram, Bus, and Metro
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The Amsterdam Pass
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Top things to do & see in Amsterdam
Select the following sights and activities to discover best tickets and tours available in Amsterdam.
The city of Amsterdam
| Country | Netherlands |
| Region | Amsterdam Metropolitan Area |
| Time in Amsterdam |
UTC+1 (CET) Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Language spoken |
Dutch English |
| Currency | Euro (€, EUR) |
| Religion |
Christianity (28% of the population in 2015) Islam (7.1% of the population in 2015) |
| Airports |
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is less than 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal station |
Amsterdam is colloquially referred to as the “Venice of the North“, due to the large number of canals. Having risen on water, and therefore inextricably linked to it, its merchants over the centuries brought silks from Japan, porcelain from China, tea from Ceylon, coffe and cocoa into it. And with the new goods, new people also arrived – Jews, Huguenots, Indonesians – and new words, ways of life and products made their way.
Amsterdam is also a place of inconspicuous beauty. While it does not boast any universally famous building, it has views that have nothing to envy to Paris, London and even Venice. The overall view of water, bell towers, streets, trees and even windows, bridges, bricks, roofs and sky is absolutely fascinating.
Where is Amsterdam?
Amsterdam is the most populous city and capital of the Netherlands. It is located in the Western Netherlands. Amsterdam has more than 100 km of canals, most of which are navigable by boat. The city’s three main canals are the Prinsengracht, Herengracht and Keizersgracht.
When was Amsterdam founded?
Amsterdam was founded in the 13th century as a fishing village independent from Count Floris the fifth. It developed round a dam in the Amstel river at the end of the 12th century. The name was dated 27 October 1275 in the concession of Floris V, Count of Holland. During the 15th century, Amsterdam became the granary of the northern low countries and the most trading city in Holland. According to the legend, on 12 March 1345, the miracle of Amsterdam occured and Amsterdam became an important pilgrimage town. The town grew considerably thanks to the pilgrims.
Amsterdam and its gazzellingheid
Gazzellingheid is a Dutch word and it is an untranslatable or almost untranslatable word. It is a concept and it can be described as a state of cosiness and togetherness, a shared sense of joy of spending time together with friends. It is about feeling good together with others but also on your own. In Amsterdam, tolerance is truly a way of life and its inhabitants don’t just preach it but live it.
“Going Dutch”: what does it mean?
In reality the expression is not really about the Dutch but rather the German. The whole should go up to an initiative suggested by The Baltimore American, in 1873, in which to eradicate the bad habit of drinking too much, even beyond the limits of one’s finances, it proposed to do as the Dutch – that is, the Germans – who were known for never getting into debt, and for making it a point of honor not to drink more than they could affort. Everyone drinks what he pays and everyone pay a portion of the total. It is a variant of what would have been “paid to the Roman”, or to the Dutch, or in short to the German.
The Amsterdam canals
From the 15th to the 17th century, with an engineering masterpiece, the elegant network of waterways was dug around the city center, taking shape around the three main canals (Prinsengracht, Herengracht and Keizersgracht) which followed the shape of the ancient walls.
The need to expand the inhabited area beyond the narrow medieval borders clashed with the marshy nature of the land and the canals represented the ideal solution to solve the problem of drainage and transport together.
Thus, in the golden age of the colonies, the canals also became the way through which the goods, arriving at the port, were distributed to the merchants’ warehouses. Walking along the canals is one of the greatest pleasures, but navigating them by boat is even more fun; next to the Rokin, or in front of the station, is full of embarkations for boat trips.
Visit Amsterdam
Museums
While Amsterdam is said to be primarly a place to live outdoors, the city offers a collection of world-class art galleries. The most famous city museums are concentrated In the rich area of the Oud-Zuid and around the Museumplein and without them a trip is definitely incomplete.
Parks and gardens
In winter the weather is not the best, but in summer the entire population is outside. And on nice days, the Vondelpark in particular gets full. A few blocks from Leidseplein and the Rijksmuseum, designed in the English style with ponds, lakes and paths, the park was in the 1960s a famous meeting place for hippies from all over the world. In addition to relaxation, the park also offers theatrical and musical performances.