Hotel de l’Europe, Holland

Overview

Amsterdam is a city like Venice founded on and still today focused around water and waterways. However, unlike Venice, Holland's largest city is no mere museum piece. Amsterdam is a real, living and breathing metropolis.

In the canals, young Internet entrepreneurs strike deals across Europe from their houseboats and just outside the old core is the RAI, one of the continent's key conference and business hubs. As well as the chugging canal boats, the city's waterways also increasingly play home to massive cruise ships and cargo vessels from all over the world. Today, Amsterdam peddles tourists almost as slickly as it has peddled goods and services over the centuries.

The Dutch capital has clearly come a long way since it was founded, as legend has it, by two fishermen and a seasick dog. The story goes that the dog jumped ship to deposit the contents of his stomach and the two fishermen became the founders of Amsterdam. The reality might have been slightly more prosaic, with the River Amstel being dammed in the 13th century and spawning a settlement, which took the name of Aemstelledamme.

The lifeblood of Amsterdam has long been its aquatic locale, close as it is to the North Sea and built on myriad canals, which neatly divide the city into easily navigable districts and imbue it with a small town ambience. There seems to be a canal around every corner in Amsterdam - not too surprising, considering that the city is home to a staggering 165 of them (more than Venice).

Amsterdam is a haven for many nationalities, various sexualities and people of radically different political and religious persuasions, but laws have tightened in recent years as some of the city's eclectic communities have become more and more divided. There is still tolerance when it comes to man's vices, with practical solutions on how to deal with one of the world's oldest industries and the controlled use of soft drugs.

During the summer, the city comes together in Vondelpark, where locals and tourists alike relax in the balmy weather. Amsterdam statistically might be one of Europe's wettest capitals, but as soon as the clouds clear and the sun is allowed to shine, its inhabitants spill out onto the streets to sit in the numerous pavement cafés, take a cruise on a canal or even to partake in that most ubiquitous of Amsterdam pastimes, riding bicycles (the city has more than double the number of bikes as it has people).

Amsterdam's winters tend to be cold with plenty of rain but this seldom seems to deter the tourists, who flock to the city. Particularly cold winters also offer the unique chance for visitors to witness Amsterdammers skating across the picturesquely frozen canals. These days, with plenty of rail, bus and air connections to all over Europe and further afield, the Dutch capital is a year-round tourist destination as well as one of the world's key business hubs.

Tourist Information

Walking Tours
The Amsterdam Tourist Office (VVV) (tel: (020) 551 2525; website: http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/) publishes a number of brochures detailing informative and interesting walking tours of the city.

Bus Tours
The De Opstapper minibus is run by GVB (tel: 9292; website: http://www.gvb.nl/). The hop-on hop-off bus circles away from the Centraal Station and curves around Prinsengracht towards Waterlooplein and then back. It leaves every 10 minutes and, as there are no dedicated stops, passengers just tell the driver where they want to get off. Standard public transport strippenkaarten for one zone are valid, as are day cards, otherwise, tickets are available for purchase from the driver.

Boat Tours
Probably the best way to see Amsterdam is from one of the many canal tour boats available. There are a number of companies operating these tours. The hour-long itinerary varies little but the price and delivery of information does. Visitors should choose from The Best of Holland, Damrak 34 (tel: (020) 624 6340; website: http://www.asiacompass.nl/), Lindbergh, Damrak 26 (tel: (020) 622 2766; website: http://www.lindbergh.nl/) and Lovers, opposite Prins Hendrikkade 25-27 (tel: (020) 530 1090; website: http://www.lovers.nl/). The tours run throughout the year, at regular intervals during the day. Passengers can choose either to go once in a loop or use the boats as a hop-on hop-off way of getting around the main attractions. Other boat tours that combine the cruises with visits to various museums or take in the canals by night are also available.

Bicycle Tours
Yellow Bike, Nieuwezijds Kolk 29 (tel: (020) 620 6940; website: http://www.yellowbike.nl/), operates tours between April and November, including tours of the Vondelpark and the Jordaan district. Tours are conducted in Dutch or English but German, French, Spanish or Italian speaking guides can also be arranged on request. All tours depart from Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, which is a five-minute walk from the Centraal Station.