Gerrard Mike - Insight Guides: Explore Amsterdam

How To Use This E-Book

This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the worlds most exciting destinations.

Best Routes

The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destinations many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.

We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments options are shown in the Food and Drink box at the end of each tour.

Introduction

The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.

Directory

Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised AZ of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafs and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.

Getting around the e-book

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

Youll find hundreds of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.

2016 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Recommended Routes For...

Art Lovers

With three outstanding art museums (the Van Gogh, the Stedelijk and the Rijksmuseum), Amsterdams Museum Quarter ().

NBTC

Escaping the Crowds

Its easy to escape the city by taking a bike north along the coast ().

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Families

See the zoo and the Tropenmuseum Junior in the Zoo District ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

History Buffs

The Old Centre (.

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Music Lovers

Lovers of classical music should check the concerts on at the Concertgebouw ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Night Owls

The Leidseplein ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Rainy Days

When you have Amsterdams wonderful Museum Quarter ().

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Seaside fun

Head to The Hague (), both easily reached from Amsterdam.

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Explore Amsterdam

Amsterdam is one of the friendliest and most romantic cities in Europe. Its canals delight, its museums impress, yet its also an edgy city known for its liberal views. It is, in short, a city like no other.

Amsterdam grew out of nothing, turning from a tiny fishing village to the heart of the Dutch Empire. Its Dutch East Indian influences in particular are still evident, from grand buildings constructed during that era to a sizeable Indonesian population whose food is a tantalisingly spicy contrast to the more solid Dutch dishes.

Water is central to Amsterdams history, geography and culture. The fishermen who first built their huts at the mouth of the River Amstel at the beginning of the 13th century earned a good living from the fertile fishing grounds of the Zuiderzee, although they and their families were at the mercy of wind and sea in that low-lying, swampy delta. Yet the community flourished, particularly once a dam was built to hold the Zuiderzee at bay. A by-product of this Amstel dam was the creation of a good anchorage, at the point where the Centraal Station now stands.

Yet for all its rich history, Amsterdam is very much a 21st-century city, famed for its tolerant attitudes to sex and drugs in particular tolerant but never unconcerned, and the citys laws and attitudes do change. What doesnt change is its appeal to visitors, who flock there from all over the world.

The Blauwbrug and the River Amstel.

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GEOGRAPHY

With a population of over 800,000, Amsterdam is the Netherlands biggest city, and its capital, though the seat of government is nearby in The Hague (see ). Its located in the Netherlands province of North Holland, and the country is often referred to as Holland although The Kingdom of the Netherlands is the full correct name.

A large part of Amsterdams charm lies in its network of canals. The grachtengordel , the horseshoe of concentric canals that encloses the city centre, is the citys most timeless area. Names such as Prinsengracht (Princes Canal), Herengracht (Gentlemens Canal) and Keizersgracht (Emperors Canal) are redolent of Amsterdams Golden Age elegance.