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, not just an oasis for tourists, those who like ‘a smoke’ and men in search of extra-marital sex.
In the canals beneath the
stag parties and
working girls, 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
cracks are starting to appear and immigration 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.
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Related Amsterdam Content
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
Related Netherlands Content
The Columbus World Travel Guide has been published for 26 years and is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.
Word Travels is a comprehensive travel guide covering hundreds of cities and holiday resorts in more than 125 countries.
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