The people of this historic city are remarkably friendly and extrovert, genuinely interested in meeting people from abroad, and love to talk, talk, and talk some more. Lively cafe life is another symptom of Dutch conviviality. Cafes cover a broad range of haunts varying from tiny watering holes to grand cafes and very trendy designer bars. The cafes are open all day, serving beer and jenever (Dutch gin), coffee and soft drinks as well as hearty snacks and broodjes (sandwiches).
A good part of the city is a living museum of chocolate-box, gabled, 17th century houses, whose elegant facades are perfectly balanced by their shifting reflections in the smooth water of the canals. Houses are often narrow because when they were built taxes were levied according to the size of their canal frontage. The finest houses are confined to the area around the three most famous canals : Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizer’sgrachts. The best way to appreciate them is to take a canal trip : looking up at them from the water, the houses look the same as they did centuries ago.
Shopping is easy in Amsterdam - the main shopping areas are near to each other, the transport is reliable and relatively inexpensive, and most shop assistants are well versed in English (as well as French, German and Dutch). Being a compact city Amsterdam is a consummate place for walkers and pedestrians and cyclists enjoy precedence over cars and lorries. It’s easy to flit from shop to shop. Good buys include Delft China, Dutch Hopjes sweets, salted herrings in jars, farm-house cheese and liquers. Inexpensive goodies to take back home include cheese knives, chocolate pastilles and yummy orange chocolate sticks.
At the last count there were seven diamond factories in Amsterdam and they all extend a warm welcome to tourists. You can visit without any intention of buying a gem or two, although you will certainly be encouraged to look and try on the finished products. It is also fascinating to watch stones being cut and polished, and the chances are that you will be given an insight into what just makes a million dollar gem, and how the precious stones are cut.
The painters from whom the city provided such a source of inspiration are very well represented in the local museums and art galleries. Not to be missed is the splendid Rijksmuseum (Stadhouderskode 42) which was especially built in 1810 to house the national collection of Rembrandts, Van Dykes, Vermeers, Hals, and Van Goghs. Set back facing the Singel canal it is a very impressive building and besides paintings it houses a magnificient collection of Delft China, Dutch furniture, silver porcelain, glass and pewter. The Vincent van Gogh Museum (Potterstraat 7) is a striking modern glass building where there is the world’s largest collection of his works, from early, gentle still-lifes to his final, frenzied landscapes. Look out from the masterpieces like ’’The Sunflowers’’ and ’’The Potato Eaters’’.
If you have in interest in Rembrandt you should pay a visit to the Rembrandt house on Jodenbreestraat near the Waterlooplein. This is where the great man lived during his happiest years with his wife Saskia. There is a large collection of his drawings and etchings, and it is a nice prelude to seeing his paintings in the Rijksmuseum. A good Modern art collection is to be found at the Stedelijk Museum (Potterstraat 13), and there are often special exhibitions covering anything from graphic art to pop art held here. The Museum houses works by the likes of Matisse, Picasso Monet, Chagall and Piet Modrian.
A popular occupation in the Dutch city is browsing through the many markets - it seem it is passion with Amsterdammers. This is a good way to observe the people, buying their groceries along the Cuylpstraat on Saturday morning and haggling over the price of cheese and herrings. The simply breathtaking displays of flowers are a treat for the eyes. The flea market on the Waterlooplein is a great hunting ground for the likes of Vintage clothing old books, maps and Indonesian art and curious, and there are also a number of interesting antique shops selling solid looking furniture, copper, pewter and glass ware.
The street markets are the place to buy a set of clogs - the very colorful wooden shoes that were once the footwear of the Dutch peasants. They make very attractive ornaments and a very a good reminder of Old Amsterdam.
If you are in need of a break from the sights and require a workout you can always join the joggers in the verdant Vondelpark.
Amsterdam is a cosmopolitan place : you only have to look at people around you to see the rich colonial and trading history of the Dutch. In the Golden Age of the 17th century, seamen of the powerful Dutch East India Company set up trading bases in South East Asia, from where they bought silks and spices. Then they made settlements in America, discovered Australia and New Zealand, colonised Ceylon, parts of Brazil and the Carribean. Today, scores of North Americans and, more recently, Japanese, have set up shop in Amsterdam, lured by the reassuring presence of each other and comforted by the fact that the Dutch are highly proficient linguists. Almost everyone speaks excellent English and many also speak French, German and other European languages.
The nightlife of Amsterdam is well known. There are plenty of cosy cafes and bars, infamous nightclubs in the red light district and hundreds of restaurants to choose from. The emphasis tends to be on wholesome food and hearty portions so sophisticated palates may not be that enchanted by true Dutch cuisine. Well worth trying, however, is rijstafel, a grand assortment of small, fragrant and spicy dishes served with rice, a culinary legacy from Indonesia.
There is a plenty of choice of food for those on a low budget. Sandwiches and snacks from street stalls and cafes are often very inviting, especially the broodjes, large bread rolls with varied and generous fillings. Poffertjes, small pancakes with a topping of icing sugar, are also something special. It is also great fun to browse around the cheese markets, and it is easy to buy fresh and convenience foods from the supermarkets and small grocery stores.
Amsterdam is an enchanting, convivial, and compact place, and whatever time of the year you choose to go, there is always something special to be seen. There are open-air concerts, street clowns, a lively cafe life, the famous Easter performances of Bach in the Concertgebouw, or the Sinterklaas parades in November.
Accommodations are plentiful and range from old and elegant small guest houses along the canals to five-star hotels such as the Amstel Inter-Continental. If you are keen to be in the thick of shopping and nightlife near Leidseplein then the Amsterdam Marriott or the four-star American Hotel would be a good choice.
Amsterdam is a small city in a small country, so it is very easy to get out and see the countryside. Popular excursions are to the Keukenhof bulbfields and the Verenidge Bloemenveilingen, the Aalsmeer flowers auction, which is only ten minutes drive away from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport. These trips will demonstrate the Dutch are still the greatest flower growers of them all. Attractive villages within an easy drive from the city include Broek-in-Waterland, a canalside village with a small clog factory and Edam, famous for its cheeses, Marken and Volendam, are other popular tourist haunts.
Going further afield there is Haarlem, which has a well-preserved historic centre with some very picturesque buildings, one of which houses the Frans Hals Museum, and Delft, the famous producer of porcelain is another delightful old town with pretty canal-side houses.