Travel: Europe

Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Friday, November 29, 2013

Frommer's Favorite Experiences

Cruising the Canals: Hop aboard a glass-topped tour boat for a cruise on Amsterdam's storied canals. From this vantage point, you get the best possible view of all those gabled Golden Age merchants' houses. Ignore anyone who tells you it's a tourist trap -- it is a tourist trap, but it got that way by being justifiably popular.

Biking the City: To pass for an authentic Amsterdammer, pick up a bicycle so ancient, rusted, and worn that no self-respecting thief would waste a second of his time trying to steal it (ah, but he will, so make sure you have an adequate lock). Then charge into the ruckus of trams, cars, buses, and other bikes. Better yet, rent a bicycle that's in decent condition -- and go carefully.

Riding a Canal Bike: Lifelong Amsterdammers -- and even expats who ought to know better but aim to pass as natives -- scoff long and loud at this. Let them. Pedal yourself through the water for an hour or two on your own private pedalo. Go at your own speed to view the canals in style (not much style, I'll admit).

Skating the Canals: When the canals freeze in winter (sadly, it's happening less and less) you'll find few locals who'll argue against the proposition that God is a Dutchman. Giving Amsterdammers the chance to go around on ice is one of the few ways to pry them off their bicycles. Strap on a pair of long-bladed Noren skates (long-distance/long-bladed skates) and join in.

Walking on the Wild Side: Stroll through the district know as De Wallen (The Walls) to examine the quaint 16th- and 17th-century canal architecture, peruse second-hand bookstores, and observe inhabitants as they walk their dogs, ride their bikes to the shops, and take the kids to school. Oh, and since this is the Red Light District, you're bound to see certain minimally attired women watching the world go by through red-tinted windows.

Hunting for Antiques: Five hundred and more years of Amsterdam history, including a guaranteed piece of the city's 17th-century Golden Age, is on offer in the Spiegelgracht antiques quarter. And all you need to acquire it is a fistful of euros or some flexible plastic.

Shopping for a Steal at a Street Market: You'll have to get up pretty early and be pretty slick to hoodwink a Dutch street trader and score a genuine kill at the Waterlooplein flea market or the Albert Cuyp street market. But bargains do occasionally appear at both, and glimpsing local color is guaranteed.

Whiffing a "Coffeeshop": It's true -- smoking marijuana is officially tolerated in Amsterdam's "marijuana smoking coffeeshops." These aren't your neighborhood cafes, and they're not for everyone, but they're an established part of Amsterdam's alternative tradition. You'll be able to buy and smoke marijuana inside, and no law-enforcement agency will hassle you.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Best Dining Bets

Pop a Herring: Amsterdam folk like their herring fresh and raw from a neighborhood fish stall. The best in a fishy business is Stubbe's Haring, Haarlemmersluis, at Singel (tel. 020/623-3212). Eat your fish in the approved Dutch manner -- whole, holding the fish by its tail, with your face to that wide Holland sky. Amsterdammers prefer theirs chopped, on a bed of raw onions and pickles/gherkins.

Eat on the Water: I can't say you'll never eat better than on a Dinner Cruise. But you'll have the music, the candlelight, the canals, and, if you're lucky, the moon over the water. Variations on this theme are cooked up by most of the canal tour-boat lines.

Feast in the Park: Tucked away behind the trees of Vondelpark, Vertigo, Vondelpark 3 (tel. 020/612-3021) lends a touch of the country to a convivial venue that's backed up by some fine food.

Try a Rijsttafel: Dutch settlers in the East Indies created the banquet-style "rice table." Comprising from 10 to 30 little dishes, some as fiery as rocket propellant, rijsttafel is a great introduction to Indonesian cuisine.

Live the Americain Dream: Join Amsterdammers for coffee and gâteau in the stunning Art Nouveau and Art Deco ambience of the Eden Amsterdam American Hotel's Café Americain, Leidsekade 97 (tel. 020/556-3000). You'll be pleased to learn that the service has improved in the half century since a Dutch writer described the waiters as "unemployed knife throwers."

Get Thee to the Waterfont: Amsterdam is rediscovering its old harbor zone along the IJ channel. Experience lively harbor views and fine Continental cuisine at Wilhelmina-Dok, Nordwal 1 (tel. 020/632-3701). So on the waterfront is this breezy eatery that a wayward canal barge once plowed right into it -- how's that for local color!

Best for Opulence: Royalty eats at La Rive, in the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam Hotel, Professor Tulpplein 1 (tel. 020/520-3264), as do business magnates, opera divas, and even ordinary folks with well-padded pocketbooks. It's highly opulent, the location is great, and the food is outstanding.

Best Value: It breaks my heart to write this, because I know it will only make it harder to find a seat at De Prins, Prinsengracht 124 (tel. 020/624-9382). But duty calls. When you eat in this handsome, friendly, cozy, warm -- in a Dutch word, gezellig -- brown cafe-restaurant, you'll wonder why you paid twice as much for food half as good in that other place last night.

Best Grand Cafe: A New York Times reviewer went so far as to call Café Luxembourg, Spuistraat 24 (tel. 020/620-6264), "one of the world's great cafes." But Luxembourg is great on an Amsterdam scale. That is to say, it's cozy and kind of intimate, with little, if any, of the pretension that would normally go along with world-class status.

Best Traditional Dutch: It sounds contradictory to say that D'Vijff Vlieghen ("The Five Flies"), Spuistraat 294-302 (tel. 020/530-4060), is touristy and still traditionally Dutch, yet somehow it manages to be both.

Best Mexican: Rose's Cantina, Reguliersdwarsstraat 38-40 (tel. 020/625-9797), is more a popular institution than truly great eatery, though the food can be quite good. There will likely be a wait for a table, during which Rose's deploys its secret weapon -- marvelous margaritas.

Best Vegetarian: Bolhoed, Prinsengracht 60-62 (tel. 020/626-1803), takes this title for its joie de vivre, romantic atmosphere, and excellent, imaginative vegetarian cuisine.

Best Sandwich: The only problem with Sal Meijer, Scheldestraat 45 (tel. 020/673-1313), is that it's a bit removed from the action. They deliver, but their delicious authentic kosher sandwiches are well worth a tram ride.

Best Indonesian: Every Amsterdammer has his or her own favorite place for that "traditional" Dutch dinner treat: Indonesian food. With so many Indonesian restaurants in the city, it's hard to pick just one. Still, Kantjil & de Tijger, Spuistraat 291-293 (tel. 020/620-0994), has a restrained, refined character and consistently good food.

Best Brunch: At Café Luxembourg, Spuistraat 24 (tel. 020/620-6264), you can read international newspapers while drinking coffee that actually tastes like coffee and munching your way through an extensive range of breakfast plates, sandwiches, and snacks.

Best Business Lunch: If it's a casual affair, many Amsterdam businesspeople will be perfectly happy with a snack from a seafood stall, but if you aim to impress, try the Excelsior, in the Hotel de l'Europe, Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-8 (tel. 020/531-1705). The cuisine perfectly complements the elegant surroundings.

Best Kids' Spot: For small diners with big appetites, there can be no better experience than the Kinderkookkafé, Vondelpark 6B (tel. 020/625-3257), where kids (carefully supervised) get to cook their own meals.

Best Late-Night Dinner: You can't help feeling a little sorry for the staff at De Knijp, Van Baerlestraat 134 (tel. 020/671-4248), when you saunter in around midnight. They've been going hard for hours, but are ready, willing, and just about able to do it one more time.

Best Hotel Bets

Best Value: Taking all factors into account -- price, location, facilities, hospitality, Dutchness, and that indefinable element that makes a stay memorable -- the Estheréa, Singel 303-309 (tel. 020/624-5146), is the best value in town.

Best for Tradition: Die Port van Cleve, Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 176-180 (tel. 020/714-2000), is one of Amsterdam's oldest hotels, but has entirely modernized rooms, so you can celebrate the 17th century in 21st-century comfort.

Best for Families: The Amstel Botel, NDSM-Werf 3 (tel. 020/626-4247). It's hard to beat a floating hotel that you reach by boat. Among its neighbors are a retired Soviet attack sub, a Greenpeace warrior of the seas, and the "Pancake Boat."

Best for Business Travelers: The NH Barbizon Palace, Prins Hendrikkade 59-72 (tel. 020/556-4564), is modern, luxurious, stylish, efficient, and has an excellent location -- opposite Centraal Station -- and a full range of business facilities.

Best Unknown Hotel: This accolade goes to Seven Bridges, Reguliersgracht 31 (tel. 020/623-1329), for its combination of location, decor, personal service, enthusiastic owners, and general all-round quality.

Best Budget Hotel: Many cheap hotels in Amsterdam leave a lot to be desired. Not so the Museumzicht, Jan Luijkenstraat 22 (tel. 020/671-2954), a plain, clean, and friendly hotel at a superb location across from the Rijksmuseum.

The Best Luxury Hotels

Eden Amsterdam American, Leidsekade 97 (tel. 020/556-3000): This hotel boasts the best location in town -- it's on Leidseplein, Amsterdam's liveliest square, and is close to theaters, cinemas, and a casino. Location aside, this is a fine hotel, and its Art Deco-style Café Americain is a city institution.

Hotel de l'Europe, Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-8 (tel. 020/531-1777): Modernization has brought the once slightly tired-looking Belle Époque grande dame on the Amstel River bang up to date, thereby affording the visitors who patronize the rival InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam Hotel an alternative drop-off point for their moneybags.

Pulitzer, Prinsengracht 315-331 (tel. 020/523-5235): No fewer than 25 old canal houses on Prinsengracht were converted to create this hotel, which would ordinarily be considered a serious loss, except that the Pulitzer is a real prizewinner.

Sofitel Amsterdam The Grand, Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197 (tel. 020/555-3111): The Grand really is rather grand, both inside and out; it once served as the seat of the Amsterdam Admiralty and the city council, among other official municipal functions since the 15th century. Now it guards its virtue along a tranquil canal edging the Red Light District.

The Best Mid-Range Hotels

Agora, Singel 462 (tel. 020/627-2200): Those canal-house hotels that don't hit you over the head with opulence more than make up for it with the personal touch. This paragon of the type feels like a canalside home.

Ambassade, Herengracht 341 (tel. 020/555-0222): Here, in 10 neighboring canal houses just off the Golden Bend (for centuries the city's most fashionable district), you'll feel like you're in the home of a rich 17th-century merchant. Most of the spacious, individually styled rooms have large windows overlooking the canal.

Arena, 's-Gravesandestraat 51 (tel. 020/850-2410): What this unusual place has, in spades, is an action-oriented and informal temperament that's typical of Amsterdam -- the kind of shared outlook that attracts many to this city in the first place. Arena combines this unpretentious bustle with genuine style and a judicious level of comfort.

De Filosoof, Anna van den Vondelstraat 6 (tel. 020/683-3013): Few -- if any -- hotels have an operating philosophy as distinctive as this one, which takes its inspiration from the great thinkers of the past. And this is no shameless sophistry disguising a grim underlying truth. In this case, idealism has produced a more-than-acceptable reality.

Seven Bridges, Reguliersgracht 31 (tel. 020/623-1329): In some hotels, you realize the owners aren't just running a business, but doing what they love. This is that kind of place. It's obvious that all the furniture, fixtures, and fittings have been selected with loving care, and guests receive the same conscientious attention.

The Best Museums

Anne Frankhuis: The clear and haunting words of a young Jewish girl trying to survive and grow in unimaginable circumstances have moved millions since her diary was first published in the aftermath of World War II. It's a melancholy but unforgettable experience to spend a reflective moment in Anne Frank's stark hide-out from Nazi terror.

Rijksmuseum: The State Museum houses some of Holland's most important artworks: Rembrandt's world-famous The Night Watch, four of Vermeer's miniatures, and numerous pieces by Frans Hals. In all, this is one of the world's most impressive Old Masters collections.

Van Gogh Museum: The world's largest collection of Vincent's works is housed here -- some 200 paintings and 500 drawings -- ranging from Sunflowers to earless self-portraits. Here, you can trace this great, tragic painter's artistic development and psychological decline.

The Best Outdoor Pursuits

Cross Bridges over Untroubled Waters: Amsterdam has more bridges, and more canals, than Venice -- a city Italians have proudly dubbed "the Amsterdam of the South." Find out what humbles Italians, by crossing as many of Amsterdam's 1,200-plus bridges as you can; the views are unparalleled.

Tiptoe through the Tulips: Join 4 centuries of Dutch tradition by going overboard for a flower of Persian and Turkish origin that's become synonymous with Holland. In spring, you'll find them everywhere. Sharp promotion (and a seed of truth) says the best place to pick up a bunch is at the Flower Market on Singel.

Beach about Zandvoort: Come rain, hail, or shine (and often enough, all three on the same day), Amsterdammers ride the rails for a short hop out to its brassy -- but not classy -- coastal resort. The bracing North Sea air serves to blow away all that marijuana smoke.

Best Free Things to Do

Sail the IJ Ferry: The short free ferryboat ride across the IJ channel between Centraal Station and Amsterdam-Noord (North) is a great micro-cruise that affords fine harbor views.

View Golden Age Paintings: Usually it costs a bundle to see paintings from the Old Masters period of Dutch art. A free exception is the multiple images of Civic Guards (Militia) companies hanging in the Schuttersgalerij of the Amsterdams Historisch Museum.

Visit the Begijnhof: Even though admission is free, there's a price to pay for stepping into the cloistered community that for centuries has been a residence for women of "sound character." You need to be tolerably quiet and comport yourself with dignity -- or you'll get tossed out by the guards.

Visit the Flower Market: The vast array of flowers and potted plants in their "floating" home on the Singel canal comprises the city's largest and most colorful plant assortment. However, purchasing the flowers is not free.

Take in a Lunchtime Rehearsal Concert: If you can live with the occasional duff note and a program that doesn't always follow the script, treat your ears to classical music from 12:30 to 1pm at the Muziektheater (Tues) and the Concertgebouw (Wed), every week from October to June.

Stroll through Vondelpark: Its 48 hectares (120 acres) of trees, ponds, flower beds, and picnic grounds comprise the city's green lung -- even if the fresh air is often spiked with marijuana smoke. In summer, concerts and all kinds of open-air activities take place.

The Best Neighborhoods

De Wallen: Just below the low-life sin section of "The Walls" -- that is, the Red Light District -- is a contrast: This delightful southern district of Old Amsterdam encompasses tranquil canals lined with handsome 16th-century houses and the University of Amsterdam's bustling campus.

Het IJ: Day by day, Amsterdam's future unfolds before your eyes along the narrow channel on which the city's old port zone east and west of Centraal Station stood. A whirl of gargantuan redevelopment projects and modern architecture is transforming the waterway.

Jordaan: Bounded by Brouwersgracht, Singelgracht, Prinsengracht, and Leidsestraat, this former artisan neighborhood has become gentrified. With its own small canals, street markets, and an array of minor attractions, it's a great place for random wandering.

Introduction

Whether you go for storybook canals or laid-back coffeehouses, the Flower Market's springtime blooms or the Van Gogh Museum's sunflowers, Amsterdam will -- in its inimitable style -- captivate you. Friendly, open-minded and easygoing, the Amsterdammers flaunt their quirky creativity in Jordaan's boutiques and welcome all-comers like long-lost friends in canalside cafés. This is the city of Golden Age art and picturesque canals, legal reefers and red lights, grand merchants' houses and a million bicycle bells. Just remember to always stop and smell the roses like the locals -- or should that be tulips?

Things to Do

Perfect your laid-back Amsterdam look cycling through the flowery Vondelpark, where Amsterdammers gather for picnics and open-air concerts. For close-up views of Golden Age merchants' houses, cruise Amsterdam's storied canals. The Rijksmuseum is a rambling attic of Old Master paintings from Vermeer miniatures to Rembrandt's colossal The Night Watch. The curvy Van Gogh Museum houses the world's largest Van Gogh collection, including Sunflowers and earless self-portraits. Spend a reflective moment in Anne Frank's House.

Shopping

Mornings are the time for markets, with Amsterdammers finding flea market bargains at Waterlooplein, and bunches of vibrant tulips and potted plants at the canalside Flower Market. Pedal along the waterways to Jordaan's alternative shops and tiny galleries, or the quaint Negen Straatjes' designer boutiques, jewelers and cafés. Global designers line posh PC Hooftstraat, while crowded Kalverstraat has all the high-street names. For Delft Blue ceramics, visit the Jorrit Heinen shop on Prinsengracht.

Nightlife and Entertainment

As Amsterdam's bridges and canals twinkle with thousands of lights, follow the locals to Jordaan's nicotine-stained cafés for an ice-cold jenever (gin) and possibly a friendly singalong. The liberal lives on in Amsterdam, where prostitutes flaunt their wares behind glass in the Red Light District and snug coffeeshops fill with chatter and (legal) marijuana smoke. Dress up for pulsating clubs in Rembrandtplein, low-key cocktails in De Pijp's stylish bars and classical music at the grand Concertgebouw.

Restaurants and Dining

The sociable, worldly Amsterdammers love eating out and traveling with their taste buds. In lively Leidseplein choose from Italian trattorias, Argentinean steakhouses and Indonesian restaurants serving spicy rijsttafel, a feast of aromatic little dishes. Nieuwmarkt dishes up value-priced Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai, while multicultural De Pijp is the place for tapas and modern fusion. In Jordaan, fashionable restaurants sit alongside relaxed eetcafés (bistros) where locals meet for a beer and a uitsmijter (open ham and egg sandwich).

Planning a Trip

Amsterdam is a city built on a human scale. Few tall buildings mar the sky's clarity, and most of the populace walks or rides bicycles. The oldest part of town recalls the city's 17th-century Gouden Eeuw (Golden Age), a period when it was the hub of a vast trading network and colonial empire. It was then that wealthy merchants constructed gabled residences along neatly laid canals.

A delicious irony is that these placid old structures now host brothels, smoke shops, and some extravagant nightlife. The city's inhabitants, proud of their pragmatic, live-and-let-live attitude, have decided to control what they cannot effectively outlaw. They permit licensed prostitution in the Red Light District -- as much a tourist attraction as the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh Museum -- and the sale of hashish and marijuana in designated "coffeeshops."

But don't think most Amsterdammers drift around town trailing clouds of marijuana smoke. They're too busy zipping around on bikes, in-line skating through Vondelpark, sunning on their porches, browsing arrays of ethnic dishes, or watching the parade of street life from a sidewalk cafe. A new generation of entrepreneurs has revitalized old neighborhoods like the Jordaan, turning some of its distinctive houses into offbeat stores, bustling cafes, hotels, and restaurants. Along the waterfront, old harbor installations have either been put to bold new uses, or swept away entirely in favor of cutting-edge architecture.

The city will quickly capture you in its spell. At night, many of the more than 1,200 bridges spanning 160 canals are lined with tiny lights, giving them a fairy-tale appearance. Some mornings, the cityscape emerges from a slowly dispersing mist to reveal its enchanting form. Amsterdam doesn't merely have style; it has substance too (and not merely substance abuse). Besides the many canals and bridges, antiquarian bookstores, brown cafes (the Dutch equivalent of neighborhood bars), gin-sampling houses, and chic cafes and nightclubs, it offers up treasures such as the Jewish Historical Museum, the Rembrandt House Museum, and the modern-art Stedelijk Museum. Perhaps its greatest asset, though, is its inhabitants. Many speak English fluently and virtually all are friendly to visitors. Plop yourself down amid the nicotine-stained walls of a brown cafe to enjoy a beer or a jenever (Dutch gin), and you'll quickly find yourself chatting with an amiable local.

Much of Amsterdam's pleasure arises from just being in it, so toss out any "miles and miles to go before I sleep" mindset. Between dips into artistic and historic treasures, take time to simply absorb the freewheeling spirit of this vibrant city.

Amsterdam isn't hard to get to grips with even if you arrive there cold (in the preparedness sense). The local tourist organization, VVV Amsterdam, prides itself on being able to answer any conceivable travel question any conceivable traveler might have, excepting only those who are illegal or of doubtful moral worth. The city is foreign, of course, but not impossibly so; many Dutch speak English.

To really put your best foot forward, you'll want to know how much the essentials will cost; how you're going to get there; what documents, clothing, and other travel necessities you should bring; and when you should go to best take advantage of special events. This guide provides the information you need to plan your trip before leaving home.

In Depth

Prosperity, in the shape of everything from crass commercialism to genteel gentrification, has settled like a North Sea mist around Amsterdam's graceful cityscape of 17th-century canals and canalside houses. Yet "free thinking" and "anything goes" still maintain their place: They're the catchphrases by which Amsterdam lives its collective life. And all this free living is fueled by a robust Dutch economy, not by the combustion of semi-legal exotic plants.

City government has worked hard to transform Amsterdam from a hippie haven to a cosmopolitan business and cultural center -- and it seems to be succeeding.

A side effect of the city's concern with economics and image is that youthful backpackers who don't wash much, stay in cheap hostels, and think smoking hash is the high point of the city's cultural life aren't as welcome as they once were. But when they come back with a paycheck that allows them to stay at an upscale hotel, buy tickets for the Concertgebouw and the Muziektheater, eat in a Japanese restaurant, and splash out on a diamond or two, well, that's another story. Still, all is far from lost for the bohemian souls: If they want, they can smoke hash all the livelong day. And anyone can partake in Amsterdam's culture, history, and scenic cityscape, without stretching credit card limits.

So step aboard for a cruise through highlights from 800 years of history in this city of canals; a working knowledge of Amsterdam's history will add dimension to your visit. Then, go below the surface to fathom why the Dutch capital's lifestyle provokes heated debate in other countries, and to permit some of the impassioned artists and architects who helped to make Amsterdam worth visiting to take a bow from their places in the corridors of time.

Below Sea Level -- Amsterdam lies up to 5.5m (18 ft.) below mean sea level. The city's solid, timeless buildings stand, and its 760,000 inhabitants live, where waves should by all rights be lapping. If the sea-dikes should ever go down, most of the city would vanish beneath the waves. Vondelpark would become a lake, the Metro would be truly drowned, and the trams would float away. If you happened to be standing on top of Oude Kerk's tower, however, you wouldn't even get your feet wet. Don't get too worried. The dikes are built to repel almost everything the North Sea can throw at them. Only a 1-in-10,000-years super storm could take them down (famous last words?). And because of climate-change concerns, the government plans to raise that safety margin to 1 in 100,000 years.

What's in a Name? -- "Dutch" is a medieval misnomer on the part of the English, who couldn't distinguish between the people of the Netherlands and Germany. To describe the former, they corrupted Deutsch (which, in German, means "German") to "Dutch." Another misnomer is "Holland," which actually refers only to the old Holland province (today's Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland provinces), not to the whole country. The Dutch call their country Nederland (Low Country), their language Nederlands, and themselves Nederlanders. But they recognize that "Dutch" and "Holland" are popular internationally, and being a practical people they use these terms.

Blue Days

Only a few remain of the more than 30 potteries in Delft that in the 17th century worked overtime to meet the newly affluent Dutch's clamoring demand for Chinese-style vases, urns, wall tiles, and knickknacks. Originally, pottery made in Delft was white, to imitate tin-glazed products from Italy and Spain. During the 16th century, superior-quality Chinese porcelain, decorated in blue, was imported to Holland. Delftware factories refined their products accordingly, using a white tin glaze to cover the red clay, then decorating it in blue. This Delft Blue became famous the world over; it was less expensive than Chinese porcelain, and skillfully made. Polychrome decorations were also used, on both white and black backgrounds.

Say It With Flowers

Holland has long had a close relationship with flowers, and it's not merely that the tulip fields south of Haarlem are a springtime blaze of color that attracts worldwide admirers. Flowers have deeper roots in this land of flat, green polders. Amsterdam's floating flower market is only the best-known example of a sales network that makes a flower store a vital service in Dutch towns and villages.

Maybe because so many people live side by side in such a small, well-ordered country, flowers provide a breath of fresh air, a touch of the natural world when much of the environment is artificial. A Dutch house without flowers would be like Edam without the cheese. Gardens, balconies, rooftop terraces, window boxes, and vases, are all pressed into service. Additionally, no visit to a dinner party would be complete without an accompanying bunch of flowers for the host. And Dutch men don't share the macho hang-up of some nationalities at being seen carrying flowers in public.

Side Trips

Amsterdam is the brightest star in a galaxy of cities and towns that together form what the Dutch call the Randstad (Rim City), a budding megalopolis that stretches from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and contains two-thirds of the country's 16 million inhabitants.

Both Noord-Holland (North Holland) province, to which Amsterdam belongs, and neighboring Zuid-Holland (South Holland) province afford a variety of options for a day outside the city. It won't be a day in the outback, exactly, but you don't have to go far from Amsterdam to see the flat in the polder (the Dutch word for land reclaimed from water) landscape, with its tulips, windmills, rivers, and dikes, where Rembrandt strolled, sketchbook in hand. You can climb tall towers, visit cheese markets and multifarious museums, ride a steam train, tour the world's largest harbor, and see giant locks and tiny canals.

On your first day of touring, I suggest you travel from Amsterdam to Haarlem, and maybe squeeze into the same day a visit to the North Sea coast at nearby Zandvoort, which has a fine beach and a casino. On your second day of touring, head to Hoorn on the IJsselmeer. If you're driving, take in Volendam and Marken along the way. From Hoorn, continue along the lakeshore to Enkhuizen and the Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dike).

With more time, you can alternate days spent in Amsterdam with visits to, for instance, the Bulb Fields and Keukenhof Gardens when it's tulip time; Zaanse Schans for its windmills; Leiden for the Pilgrim Fathers; Delft for Holland's historical royal city; The Hague for the government seat and home-base for the royal family; and Rotterdam for Europe's largest and the world's second-busiest port (after Shanghai).

Getting There -- Travel times from Amsterdam by public transportation to the places covered in this section are short. Rotterdam, the most distant destination, is just 40 minutes away by Fyra high-speed train. NS (Netherlands Railways) (tel. 0900/9292; www.ns.nl) trains run frequently throughout the day from Amsterdam Centraal Station and other stations around the city to many, but not all, destinations. A bus service, by Connexxion (tel. 0900/266-6399; www.connexxion.nl) and Arriva (tel. 0900/202-2022; www.arriva.nl), covers the places the rails don't reach. In addition, chapter and verse on getting around in the Netherlands is available from a single, all-knowing source: OV (tel. 0900/9292; www.9292ov.nl).

Hot Jets -- How about a jetfoil ride to the seacoast? Fast Flying Ferry (tel. 0900/266-6399; www.fff.nl) runs a scheduled service on the Noordzeekanaal between Amsterdam and Velsen-Zuid. At the nearby seaport of IJmuiden (connected with the Velsen-Zuid jetfoil dock by frequent bus service), you can view the three great locks of the North Sea Canal, and visit the fish auctions at Halkade 4, held Monday to Friday from 7 to 11am. Jetfoils depart from a dock behind Amsterdam Centraal Station, Monday to Friday every half-hour from 7am to 10pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 6:30pm; the ride takes 30 minutes. Round-trip tickets are 9.40€ at peak times and 8€ at off-peak times for adults, 6.20€ for seniors and children ages 4 to 11, and free for children 3 and under.

The IJsselmeer

Some of Holland's most popular places -- Hoorn, Edam, and Marken among them -- lie along this great lake's western shore. Painterly light washes through clouds, and luminous mists seem to merge water and sky. Cyclists test both speed and endurance, zipping round the 400km (250-mile) circumference in bright Lycra blurs, or plodding along on the lonesome dike-top. The IJsselmeer (pronounced Eye-sselmeer) hosts fleets of traditional Dutch boter and skûtsje sailing ships, fishing smacks, modern sailboats, powerboats, and canoes. Its waters are an important feeding ground for migrating and resident birds.

By The Side Of The Zuiderzee -- Only in Holland could you say, "This used to be a sea." The IJsselmeer actually was once a sea, until the Dutch decided they didn't want it to be one anymore -- it was always threatening to flood Amsterdam and other towns and villages along its low-lying coastline.

For centuries, the Dutch have been protecting themselves from encroaching seas and snatching more land to accommodate their expanding population. One of their most formidable opponents was the Zuiderzee (Southern Sea), an incursion of the North Sea that washed over Frisian dunes to flood vast inland areas between A.D. 200 and 300. Over the centuries, the Zuiderzee continued to expand, and in the 1200s, a series of storms drove its waters far inland.

Despite the sea's reputation as a graveyard of ships, the sleepy, picturesque villages that today line the IJsselmeer's shores presented quite a different picture when their harbors were alive with great ships that sailed for the Dutch West and East India Companies. North Sea fishermen added to the maritime traffic as they returned to Zuiderzee home ports, and Amsterdam flourished as ships from around the world sailed to its front door.

Still, as early as the 1600s, there was talk of driving back the sea and reclaiming the land it covered. Parliament got around to authorizing the project in 1918, and in the 1920s, work was begun. In 1932, in an unparalleled engineering feat, the North Sea was sealed off, from Noord-Holland to Friesland, by the 30km (19-mile) Afsluitdijk (Enclosing Dike), and the saltwater Zuiderzee became, in time, the freshwater IJsselmeer lake.

By Bicycle To Hoorn -- For a great day trip from Amsterdam, go by bike along the IJsselmeer shore to Hoorn, and return by train (with your bike). (Do this on a halfway decent bike, not a decrepit old Amsterdam bike.) Riding along between the polders and the lake is a perfect Dutch experience -- but you need to be ready for some vigorous pedaling. You can't get lost if you stay on the road that runs along the IJsselmeer and keep the lake to your immediate right.

Board the IJ ferry at the pier behind Centraal Station and cross to Amsterdam North. Take Durgerdammerdijk, a road leading east alongside the IJsselmeer shore to Durgerdam, a lakeside village huddled below water level behind a protective dike, with its roofs sticking up over the top. Ride either next to the houses and the polders or up on the dike-top path, immersed in wind, rain, and shine -- and with fine lake views.

Beyond Uitdam, either go left on the lakeside road through Monnickendam to Volendam, or right on the causeway to Marken. The first option cuts overall distance because Marken is a dead end and you need to come back across the causeway again. But in summer, you can take the Marken Express passenger boat . One way or the other, you'll arrive in Volendam.

Go inland a short way along a canal that runs from the lakeside dike to Edam, famed for its cheese. Cross over the canal on the bridge at Damplein in Edam's center, and go back along the far bank to regain the IJsselmeer shore. Up ahead is a straight run north to Hoorn through the pastoral villages of Warder, Etersheim, Schardam, and Scharwoude.

After exploring Hoorn -- or flopping down exhausted in a cafe -- follow the green-painted signs pointing the way to the station for the train ride back to Amsterdam.

Organized Tours

A convincing case could be made for the proposition that "disorganized tours" -- making it up as you go along -- are a better way of getting to the inner core of the Amsterdam experience. But there's no lack of choice or ingenuity among off-the-peg offerings.

Canal-Boat Cruise

Amsterdam's 17th-century Golden Age becomes a vivid reality as you glide through the waterways that were largely responsible for those years of prosperity. You view the canal houses from canal level, just as they were meant to be seen. This is also the best way to see Amsterdam's large and busy harbor. Yes, you have to smile inanely for your boarding picture and sit through a thumbnail-sketch history in several different languages. No matter. The canals are Amsterdam's best starting point. Amsterdammers might scoff as they watch fleets of glass-topped boats prowling around, but secretly, they're proud of everything you will see. "I live here," you can almost hear them thinking. "All this belongs to me."

A typical canal tour-boat itinerary includes Centraal Station, the Haarlemmersluis floodgates (used in the nightly canal flushings), the Cat Boat (a houseboat with a permanent population of some 100 wayward felines), and the city's narrowest building, as well as one of the largest houses still in private hands. You'll also see the official residence of the burgemeester (mayor), at Herengracht 502, on the "Golden Bend" (traditionally the best address in the city), many picturesque bridges, including the famous Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge) over the Amstel, and the harbor. While on the canal-boat tour, take note of attractions you'd like to see up close later.

Trips last about an hour and depart at regular intervals from rondvaart (excursion) piers in key locations around town. The majority of launches are docked along Damrak and Prins Hendrikkade near Centraal Station, on Rokin near Muntplein, and at Leidseplein. Tours leave every 15 to 30 minutes during summer (9am-9pm), and every 45 to 60 minutes in winter (10am-5pm). Prices vary from company to company, but a basic 1-hour tour is around 10€ to 13€ for adults, 5€ to 7€ for children ages 4 to 12, and free for children 3 and under.

The canal tour-boat lines are Amsterdam Canal Cruises (tel. 020/626-5636; www.amsterdamcanalcruises.nl); Canal Company (tel. 0900/333-4442; www.canal.nl); Holland International (tel. 020/625-3035; www.hir.nl); Gray Line (tel. 020/623-4208; www.graylineamsterdam.com); Rederij Boekel (tel. 020/612-9905; www.rederijkooij.nl); Rederij Hof van Holland (tel. 020/623-7122; www.rederijkooij.nl); Rederij Lovers (tel. 020/530-5412; www.lovers.nl); Reederij P. Kooij (tel. 020/623-3810; www.rederijkooij.nl); Rederij Plas (tel. 020/624-5606; www.rederijplas.nl); and Blue Boat Company (tel. 020/679-1370; www.blueboat.nl).

Some lines offer specialized tours and services. These include the Hop On Hop Off Museum Line and the Canal Bus, the Artis Zoo Express (which plies a regular furrow between Centraal Station and the Artis Zoo), cruises amid the Eastern Islands' modern architecture, Red Light District cruises, dinner cruises, jazz cruises, candlelight cruises with wine and cheese, night cruises, and more.

Water Bikes

A water bike is a boat you pedal with your feet. These craft seat two or four people and are rentable from Canal Bike (tel. 0900/333-4442; www.canal.nl). Amsterdammers look down their tolerant noses at water bikes. On the other hand, tourists love the things. No prizes for guessing who has more fun. Your water bike, also known as a pedalo, comes with a detailed map. It's great fun in sunny weather, and still doable when it rains; boats can be covered with a rain shield. But they don't go very fast and it can get tiring. In summer, rent a water bike for evening rambles, when the canals are illuminated and your bike is kitted out with its own Chinese lantern.

Moorings are on Prinsengracht, beside the Anne Frankhuis (tram: 13, 14, or 17); on Singelgracht, a few steps from Leidseplein (tram: 1, 2, 5, 7, or 10) and next to the Rijksmuseum (tram: 7 or 10); and on Keizersgracht at Leidsestraat (tram: 1, 2, or 5). You can rent a water bike at one mooring and leave it at another. The canals get busy with tour boats and other small vessels, so proceed carefully, particularly when going under bridges. Bikes can be rented daily from 10am to 10pm in summer, and to 7pm during other seasons. The cost is 8€ per person hourly for one or two people and 7€ per person hourly for three or four people. You need to leave a deposit of 50€.

Biking On The Water -- A suggested tour by water bike: Start at the Canal Bike mooring on Prinsengracht (at Westermarkt). Pedal south along Prinsengracht, past Lauriergracht, Looiersgracht, and Passeerdersgracht, perhaps diverting into one or more of these quiet side canals if you fancy a closer look at their leafy linings. At Leidsegracht, go straight ahead under the Leidsestraat bridge until you come to Spiegelgracht, where you turn right. Continue to the end, then turn left under the bridge into Lijnbaansgracht.

Turn right at the first corner into a narrow connecting canal that merges with Singelgracht in front of the Rijksmuseum. Go right along this canal, which is bordered by overhanging trees and the back gardens of waterside villas. You pass the Holland Casino Amsterdam, Leidseplein, and the American Hotel.

Keep going, past the Bellevue Theater, and then turn right into Leidsegracht, which brings you back to Prinsengracht and the long home stretch back to Westermarkt.

By Vintage Boat

Using antique IJ passenger ferryboats from 1927, the Historic Ferry (tel. 0900/423-1100; www.museum-ijveren-amsterdam.nl) takes a 2-hour trip through the eastern harbor and along the IJ channel, with stops at several places where you can disembark (and pick up a later boat if you want). The ferry departs from dock 14 behind Centraal Station. It operates Easter to October, on Sundays and some other days, with departures at 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm. Tickets are 5€ for adults, 3€ children ages 4 to 11, and free for children 3 and under. On Saturday, there's a longer cruise (1 1/2 hr. each way) to Fort Pampus, and one that's 2 hours each way to allow time to tour this old coastal fortification on the IJsselmeer.

By Bicycle

You'll look pretty conspicuous taking one of the guided tours offered by Yellow Bike, Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, off Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal (tel. 020/620-6940; www.yellowbike.nl; tram: 1, 2, 5, 13, or 17). Why? Because you'll be cycling on a yellow bike along with a dozen other people also on yellow bikes. But you get a close encounter with Amsterdam or its nearby countryside. There are multiple tour options, with the shortest (2 hr.) costing 19€.

Mike's Bike Tours, Kerkstraat 123 (tel. 020/622-7970; www.mikesbiketoursamsterdam.com), offers tours of 2 1/2-3 hours around the canals in town, plus a ride outside the city to see windmills, a cheese farm, and a clog factory. The cost is 18€ for adults, and 16€ for seniors and students; there's a reduction of 5€ if you bring your own bike. March to November, meet daily at 4pm near the reflecting pool behind the Rijksmuseum (tram: 2 or 5); December to February, you need to book in advance (minimum three people).

By Bus

A quick bus tour is a good way to get going on sightseeing in a strange city, and though a boat tour on Amsterdam's canals is a pertinent alternative, you might want to get your bearings on land as well. A basic 2 1/2-hour bus tour is around 20€; on most tours, children ages 4 to 13 are charged half-fare, and children 3 and under go free. Itineraries vary from line to line, but a typical one might include the Royal Palace, the Mint Tower, the flower market, the old Jewish Quarter, the Waterlooplein flea market, the Museum Quarter, the Jordaan, the Westerkerk, the harbor, the Red Light District, a windmill, a visit to a diamond factory, and shopping and entertainment areas. Good sightseeing lines are Keytours, Paulus Potterstraat 8 (tel. 020/305-5333; www.keytours.nl), and Lindbergh, Damrak 26 (tel. 020/622-2766; www.lindbergh.nl).

These and other lines provide a variety of half-day and full-day tours into surrounding areas, particularly between April and October, and special excursions at tulip time and at the height of the summer season. Rates vary by company and tour, but typical half-day tours begin around 22€; full-day tours cost around 48€; children ages 4 to 13 are generally charged half-fare, and children 3 and under go free.

On Foot

Though you could see most of Amsterdam's important sights in one long walking tour, it's best to break the city into shorter walks. Luckily, the VVV Amsterdam tourist office has done that for you. For 3€, buy a brochure outlining one of three walking tours: City Center, Jewish Amsterdam, and the Jordaan. A fourth brochure, which costs 1€, covers the Pijp district.

Many companies offer specialized walking tours. Let's Go (tel. 036/545-0080; www.letsgo-amsterdam.com) offers a range of 90-minute guided walks that cost around 15€ per head..

By Horse & Carriage

These romantic, kid-friendly vehicles run by Karos (tel. 020/691-3478; www.karos.nl) depart from just outside the Royal Palace on the Dam for traipses through the Old City, along the canals, and into the Jordaan. Tours operate April to October, daily from 11am to 6pm (to 7pm in July-Aug), and on a limited schedule in winter. Rides are 35€ for 20 minutes, 45€ for 30 minutes, and 65€ for 45 minutes.

Diamond Tours

Visitors to Amsterdam during the 1950s and 1960s, when the diamond business was booming, were able to go to Amsterdam's diamond-cutting factories and take tours through their workrooms. Now you'll be lucky to see one lone polisher working at a small wheel set up in the back of a jewelry store or in the lobby of a factory building. Never mind, you still can get an idea of how a diamond is cut and polished. You need no special directions or instructions to find this sightseeing activity; signs all over town direct you to diamond-cutting demonstrations.

Amsterdam's major diamond factories and showrooms are Amsterdam Diamond Center, Rokin 1, just off the Dam (tel. 020/624-5787; www.amsterdamdiamondcenter.nl; tram: 4, 9, 14, 16, 24, or 25), Coster Diamonds, Paulus Potterstraat 2-8, near the Rijksmuseum (tel. 020/676-2222; www.costerdiamonds.com; tram: 2 or 5), and Gassan Diamonds, Nieuwe Uilenburgerstraat 173-175 (tel. 020/622-5333; www.gassandiamonds.com; Metro: Waterlooplein).

Walking Tours

The best way to discover Amsterdam is on foot. The first tour takes you to the essential cultural and architectural sights along the city's 17th-century Golden Age canals. Tours 2, 3, and 4 focus, respectively, on the Old Center, the Jordaan district, and the city's fast developing Waterfront along the channel known as Het IJ.

Our fifth tour is no leisurely stroll, but a taste of that quintessential Amsterdam experience: Cycling. Bicycles are a key part of the mechanism that makes Holland tick, and no trip to Amsterdam is complete without some time in the saddle. This tour pedals you out from the Center, along the Amstel River, to breathe fresh country air at the old riverside village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel.

Part of Amsterdam's enchantment comes from making your own discoveries. On each of my proposed itineraries, you'll come across points of interest I haven't written up for lack of space. It could be an unusually shaped gable, an offbeat boutique, a gaily painted bike, a sunken canal boat, whatever. And here's something to keep your eyes open for: Before house numbers were introduced on canal houses during Napoleon's occupation, engraved gable stones indicating the resident's trade or profession served for identification purposes; you'll still see many of these today.

In Search of gezelligheid

When in Amsterdam, do as the Dutch do: Look for someplace gezellig, and treasure it if you find it.

So what is gezellig, or gezelligheid (the state of being gezellig)?

Ah . . . it's a simple idea, yet one that underlines everyday life. Indeed, it's one of those imprecise, enigmatic, and finally untranslatable-in-a-single-word concepts for a mood and attitude that you'll recognize right away when you find it, and then you'll say with quiet satisfaction, "This looks gezellig."

So what is it then?

The special something that makes a place comfortable, congenial, cozy, familiar, friendly, intimate, memorable, tolerant, warm, and welcoming. Dutch, in short. You find it in abundance in brown cafes, in candlelit restaurants where the atmosphere is unforced and there's a view of a softly illuminated canal, in a Dutch home where you're made to feel like one of the family, even on a packed-to-bursting tram where everyone is in good humor and sees the funny side of the situation.

The great thing about gezelligheid is that it's free. Box some up and take it home with you.

Active Pursuits

Should a steady diet of Indonesian rijsttafels, brown-cafe beers and jenevers, and exotic smokes in "coffeeshops" begin to take its toll, don't despair. Amsterdam has ways of making you work up some healthy sweat -- or at least of watching other people sweat.

Bicycling

South of the city is Amsterdamse Bos, where you can rent bikes (tel. 020/644-5473; www.amsterdamsebos.nl; bus: 166, 170, or 172) for touring the woodland's paths. Of course, you can always do as Amsterdammers do and explore all those city bridges and canals by bicycle.

Bowling

If you find you just have to knock down a few pins, head to Knijn Bowling, Scheldeplein 3 (tel. 020/664-2211; www.knijnbowling.nl; tram: 12 or 25).

Fishing

Anglers should try the Bosbaan artificial lake (it's actually an Olympic rowing course) in Amsterdamse Bos, south of the city. You can get a license from AHV, Beethovenstraat 178 (tel. 020/626-4988; www.ahv.nl; tram: 5), open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 1pm, and Friday from 1 to 5pm.

Fitness Centers

If you don't want to neglect your exercise routine, there are many available centers. Good ones belong to the minichain Splash (www.splashhealthclubs.nl), with branches at Looiersgracht 26-30 (tel. 020/624-8404; tram: 7, 10, or 17) and Lijnbaansgracht 241 (tel. 020/422-0280; tram: 7 or 10).

Golf

There are public golf courses in or near Amsterdam at 9-hole Golfbaan Sloten, Sloterweg 1045 (tel. 020/614-2402; www.golfbaansloten.nl; bus: 145); 18-hole Waterlandse Golf Club, Buikslotermeerdijk 141 (tel. 020/636-1010; www.waterlandsegolfclub.nl; bus: 31, 33, or 38); and Golfbaan Spaarnwoude, Het Hoge Land 2, Spaarnwoude (tel. 020/538-5599; www.golfbaanspaarnwoude.nl; bus: 82). Call ahead for greens fees and tee times.

Horseback Riding

From the comfort of its upper-floor cafe, watch horses being put through their paces in a sawdust-strewn arena at the regal De Hollandsche Manege, Vondelstraat 140 (tel. 020/618-0942; www.dehollandschemanege.nl; tram: 1). Opened in 1882, this fusion of plaster, marble, and gilded mirrors was designed by Concertgebouw architect Adolf Leonard van Gendt and inspired by Vienna's Spanish Riding School. In addition to being a spectator, you can ride. Trot along to edge-of-town Hippisch Centrum Sonnenburgh, Nieuwe Kalfjeslaan 25 (tel. 020/643-1342; bus: 142, 166, 170, 171, or 172); or to nearby Manege Nieuw Amstelland, Jan Tooropplantsoen 17 (tel. 020/643-2468; www.nieuwamstelland.nl; bus: 142, 166, 170, 171, or 172).

Ice-Skating

All those Dutch paintings of people skating and sledding -- not to mention the story of Hans Brinker and his silver skates -- will surely get you thinking about skating on Amsterdam's ponds and canals. However, doing this won't be easy unless you're willing to shell out for a new pair of skates, since very few places rent them. One that does is Jaap Eden IJsbanen, Radioweg 64 (tel. 0900/724-2287; www.jaapeden.nl; tram: 9), from November to February, and they even allow you to take skates out of their marvelous outdoor rink, which is popular in wintertime. Unless you're highly competent, watch out for the long lines of speed skaters practicing for the next Eleven Cities Race in Friesland.

Blades on Ice -- In winter, when the temperature drops low enough for long enough, Amsterdam's canals become sparkling highways through the city. Skating to the strains of classical music is a memorable experience. Little kiosks are set up on the ice to dispense heart-warming liqueurs. Go cautiously when skating under bridges, where the ice is usually thinner, and don't go anywhere the Dutch don't. Few sounds generate more adrenaline than a sudden crackling of ice below, but the Dutch seem to know instinctively if it's just the natural rhythm of things or time to light the afterburners and be gone.

In-Line Skating

De Vondeltuin Rent A Skate has a rent shop for in-line skates in Vondelpark, at the Amstelveenseweg entrance (tel. 06/2157-2885; www.skatedokter.nl; tram: 2).

Get Your Skates On -- Strap on in-line skates for the regular Friday Night Skate (www.fridaynightskate.com). In summer, this attracts thousands of skaters. It begins at 8pm from the Vondelpark and takes a 15-km (9-mile) route through the city.

Jogging

The two main jogging areas are Vondelpark in the Center and Amsterdamse Bos on the city's southern edge. You can also run along the Amstel River. If you choose to run along the canals, as many do, watch out for uneven cobbles, loose paving stones, and dog poop.

Sailing & Boating

Sailboats, kayaks, and canoes can be rented on the Sloterplas Lake from Watersportcentrum De Duikelaar, Noordzijde 41 (tel. 020/613-8855; www.deduikelaar.nl; tram: 7, 13, or 14). From March 15 to October 15, you can go to the Loosdrecht lakes, southeast of Amsterdam, to rent sailing equipment from Ottenhome, Zuwe 20, Kortenhoef (tel. 035/582-3331; www.ottenhome.nl; bus: 106 from Weesp). Canoes can be rented in Amsterdamse Bos , south of the city, for use in the park lakes only.

Snooker & Pool

Locals guzzle beer and get snookered at carambole, a devilishly complicated game played on pool tables without pockets. Billiards-type games are an obsession among the brown-cafe contingent; it's as easy to pick up a game as a flea. Try your hand at carambole, and delve deep into billiards, snooker, and pool at the Pool Centrum Boven 't IJ, Buikslotermeerplein 145 (tel. 020/634-1792; www.boventij.com; bus: 30, 36, 37, 38, or 46), across the IJ waterway in Amsterdam-Noord. Sharps bring their own cues and call ahead to reserve a table. For pickup games, you'd better be good. It's open daily from 10am to 1am (Fri-Sat until 3am).

Squash

Squash courts and far more are at chic Squash City, Ketelmakerstraat 6 (tel. 020/626-7883; www.squashcity.nl; bus: 18, 21, or 22), west of Centraal Station.

Swimming

Amsterdam's state-of-the-art swimming facility is centrally located Het Marnix, Marnixplein 1 (tel. 020/524-6000; www.hetmarnix.nl; tram: 3 or 10). It has two heated pools along with a fitness center and spa, and a cafe-restaurant. The Zuiderbad, Hobbemastraat 26 (tel. 020/252-1390; tram: 2 or 5), a handsome, refurbished place dating from 1911 near the Rijksmuseum, sets time aside for those who like to swim in their birthday suits. De Mirandabad, De Mirandalaan 9 (tel. 020/546-4444; tram: 25), in Amsterdam-Zuid features an indoor pool with wave machines, slides, and other amusements, and an outdoor pool that's open May to September. Other decent public pools are the Floraparkbad, Sneeuwbalweg 5 (tel. 020/636-8121; bus: 38), in Amsterdam-Noord, and the Sloterparkbad, President Allendelaan 3 (tel. 020/506-3506; tram: 7 or 14), in Amsterdam-West. In 2010 and for the first time in the Netherlands, a floating pool opened in Amsterdam. Currently moored by the Karte Ouderkerkerdijk, it will remain open during summertimes until autumn 2013.

Tennis

Find indoor courts at Frans Otten Stadion, IJsbaanpad 43 (tel. 020/662-8767; www.fransottenstadion.nl; tram: 16), close to the Olympic Stadium. For indoor and outdoor courts, try Sportcentrum Amstelpark, Koenenkade 8, Amsterdamse Bos (tel. 020/301-0700; www.amstelpark.nl; bus: 166, 170, 171, or 172), which has 36 courts.

Wellness Activities

The Body Tuning Clinic, Jan Luijkenstraat 40 (tel. 020/662-0909; www.bodytuningclinic.nl; tram: 2 or 5), will take excellent care of the outer you. At Sauna Deco, Herengracht 115 (tel. 020/623-8215; www.saunadeco.nl; tram: 1, 2, 5, 13, or 17), in Dutch style, you sweat together in mixed facilities. Soothe away a hard day's stress at Koan Float, Herengracht 321 (tel. 020/555-0333; www.koanfloat.nl; tram: 1, 2, or 5), while floating in warm saline water in a soundproof fiberglass capsule with light switches, ambient music, and a two-way intercom.

Spectator Sports

Baseball

Honk if you like baseball (the game is called honkbal in Holland). The Amsterdam Pirates (www.amsterdampirates.nl) may not be the greatest practitioners of the art, but they have their moments, as you can see at the Sportpark Ookmeer, Herman Bonpad 5 (tel. 020/616-2151; bus: 19 or 192).

Basketball

ABC Amsterdam (www.amsterdambasketball.nl) play their home games at Sporthallen Zuid, Burgerweeshuispad 54 (tel. 020/423-1818; tram: 16 or 24), close to the Olympic Stadium.

Ice Hockey

The Dutch are known for their skill on ice, as local hotshots the Amstel Tijgers (www.amsteltijgerspro.nl) demonstrate at the Jaap Edenhal, Radioweg 64 (tel. 020/694-9652; www.jaapeden.nl; tram: 9).

Soccer

Soccer (known as football in Europe, and voetbal in Dutch) is absolutely the biggest game in Holland. Ajax Amsterdam is invariably the best team in the land, and often is among the best in Europe. Ajax plays home matches at a fabulous modern stadium with a retractable roof, the Amsterdam ArenA, ArenA Boulevard 1, Amsterdam Zuidoost (tel. 020/311-1444; www.amsterdamarena.nl; Metro: Strandvliet/ArenA). There's even an on-site Ajax Museum.

Suggested Itineraries

When in Amsterdam, having a strategy can take you only so far. This is a hang-loose city, and objectives-based planning works against the city's very nature. Yet having no strategy leaves you to the whims and vagaries of chance, and there's no guarantee that all your surprises will be pleasant ones. What's useful is a general plan for allocating your time while leaving time for serendipity to work its magic.

Maps

Customize your trip planning experience by plotting selected points of interest using our interactive map of Amsterdam.
Plan your trip around all of Amsterdam, or focus in on specific Amsterdam neighborhood maps if you prefer.

Interactive Map

Guidebook Maps

Walking Tour: Jewish Amsterdam

Bike Tour: Along the Amstel River

Side Trips: The Randstad

Amsterdam Orientation

Suggested Amsterdam Itineraries - Day 1

Suggested Amsterdam Itineraries - Day 2

Suggested Amsterdam Itineraries - Day 3

Amsterdam Neighborhoods

Central Amsterdam Accommodations

Museumplein Area & Amsterdam South Accommodations

Central Amsterdam Dining

Museumplein Area & Amsterdam South Dining

Central Amsterdam Attractions

Museumplein Area & Amsterdam South Attractions

Amsterdam East Attractions

Walking Tour: The Golden Age Canals

Walking Tour: The Old Center

Walking Tour: The Jordaan

Hotels

Icon_star : About our rating system

	Price	Name	Neighborhood
		Acacia	In the Jordaan
		Acro	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Agora	Along the Canal Belt
		Ambassade	Along the Canal Belt
		Amstel Botel	Waterfront
		Amsterdam Wiechmann	Along the Canal Belt
		Apollofirst-Hampshire Classic	In Amsterdam South
		Arena	In Amsterdam East
		Atlas	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Avenue Hotel	The Old Center
		Best Western Dam Square Inn	The Old Center
		Bicycle Hotel Amsterdam	In Amsterdam South
		Bilderberg Garden Hotel	In Amsterdam South
		Bilderberg Hotel Jan Luyken	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Bridge Hotel	In Amsterdam East
		Budget Hotel Clemens Amsterdam	The Old Center
		citizenM Amsterdam City	In Amsterdam South
		Crowne Plaza Amsterdam City Centre	The Old Center
		De Filosoof	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Die Port van Cleve	The Old Center
		Dikker & Thijs Fenice	Along the Canal Belt
		Eden Amsterdam American	Around Leidseplein
		Eden Hotel Amsterdam	Around Rembrandtplein
		Estheréa	Along the Canal Belt
		Etap	Near the Airport
		Fusion Suites	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Hegra	Along the Canal Belt
		Hoksbergen	Along the Canal Belt
		Hotel Amsterdam-De Roode Leeuw	The Old Center
		Hotel de l'Europe	The Old Center
		Hotel Pulitzer	Along the Canal Belt
		Ibis Amsterdam Airport	Near the Airport
		InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam	In Amsterdam East
		Keizershof	Along the Canal Belt
		Lloyd Hotel	Waterfront
		Mercure Amsterdam Arthur Frommer	Along the Canal Belt
		Museumzicht	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		NH Barbizon Palace	Waterfront
		NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky	The Old Center
		NH Schiller Hotel	Around Rembrandtplein
		Orfeo	Around Leidseplein
		Owl Hotel	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam	Waterfront
		Piet Hein	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Prinsenhof	Along the Canal Belt
		Radisson Blu	The Old Center
		Rembrandt Classic	Along the Canal Belt
		Renaissance Amsterdam	The Old Center
		Rho Hotel	In the Center
		Seven Bridges	Along the Canal Belt
		Sheraton Amsterdam Airport	Near the Airport
		Singel Hotel	Along the Canal Belt
		Sint Nicolaas	In the Center
		Sofitel Amsterdam The Grand	The Old Center
		Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		The Dylan Amsterdam	Along the Canal Belt
		The Toren	Along the Canal Belt
		Toro	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Van de Kasteelen	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Van Onna	In the Jordaan
		Vondel	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark
		Winston	The Old Center
		Zandbergen	Around Museumplein & Vondelpark

	0 stars	Frommer's Recommended
	1 stars	Frommer's Highly Recommended
	2 stars	Frommer's Very Highly Recommended
	3 stars	Frommer's Exceptional