Fodors - Fodors Amsterdam: with the Best of the Netherlands

Welcome to Amsterdam! Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, this remains the City of Canalsbut Amsterdam is no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory. While many images are imprinted on your consciousness even before you arrivethe gabled roofs of its mansions, the Rembrandts hypnotizing all viewers in the Rijksmuseum, the splendor of its 17th-century Golden Agetime does not stand still in this city. Indeed, theres an undercurrent of significant changes happening here that might not be immediately apparent. Ask the savvy locals and they will tell you that Amsterdam

Or better said, the worlds most nice-on-vice neighborhood is no fewer than 50 shades of redand other Pantone swatches. Since 2007, when Amsterdam unveiled a plan to clean up its Red Light District, surveillance cameras began rolling 24/7, whole bordellos were bought out, and lights went down on a hundred prostitute windows (and counting). Meanwhile, in a move of gentrification par excellence, many spaces were turned over to studio-seeking artists and designers. Project 1012, named for the areas postal code, was initiated to counter rising rates of human trafficking and derivative forms of illegal ickiness. In so doing, the citys historic center was meant to return to the people, though whether the creatives in residence fairly represent them is up for debate. Still, for inhabitants and visitors both, the de-sleazing efforts have made room for unique, unabashedly boho opportunitiesvinyl-record shopping, bespoke pottery, courses for aspiring cordwainers, and wine tastings, to name a few.

Sex, scatology, assisted suicide: little is difficult for the Dutch to discuss. But to see an Amsterdammer go all awkward, you might raise the issue of dining. Up until a few years ago, besides the pre-theater brasserie deal or a few Indonesian and Surinamese establishments, a quality-seekers best bet was a traditional brown caf, akin to a pub. But there the meal would be formulaic: meat or fish, salad, fries. For such a pleasure-permissive city, how could a side of mayonnaise be the only opportunity for Burgundian indulgence? Clearly, others asked this, too. Today, food quality, variety of venues, and, yes, even the historically depraved customer service all get an A for effort; many deserve at least a B for substance. Amsterdam currently counts nine Michelin-starred restaurants and hosts a twice-yearly restaurant week. National grocer Albert Heijn now has an eco-friendly Puur & Eerlijk (pure & honest) line, and basic Dutch cable is proud of its very own food network. Not unrelatedly, gym culture is growing.

Not unlike the gastronomy sitch, Amsterdams offerings for accommodations long lacked Goldilocksian middle ground. For luxury, youd have to spend oodles of euros on a Dutch five star that would still charge for extras like gym use and Wi-Fi. For comfort, youd settle on a ho-hum chain. Enter the boutique hotel. More and more of these small, stylish lodgings are appearingand in prime spots. The design-catalog-worthy rooms are exciting enough, and their personable, polyglot hosts, Apple-inclined workstations, and organic breakfast spreads are definitely something to write home about.

Bezuiniging . Dont bother trying to say it; every Dutch person and their boss already does. This, by now soporific, worda fancy term for cutshas been uttered over and over to explain the butchering of budgets since late 2010. The conservative government that began the movement blamed global recession and the euro crisis. Bezuiniging has closed arts foundations, shrunk public broadcasters, caused small businesses to go bankrupt, and is responsible for many a hard-working do-gooder getting sacked.

The Dutch will never not be ready to talk about the weather, but to really ignite conversation among Amsterdammers, try this: Noord-Zuidlijn. Completion of the metros latest addition is delayed till at least 2017 and is costing an extra 1.5 billion. Yet when ready, the 10 km (6 miles) spanning the hipster-happening borough of Noord and the chichifying Zuidas business hub will be but a 16-minute poof! On Tuesday through Sunday afternoons, you can check on the progress yourself at the citys underground observation station, the Uitkijkpunt (Rokin 92). Better mobility is happening, thanks to the improved tram network, the refillable swipe-n-go OV-chipkaart, and announcements in English at stops of main attractions.

Amsterdam. If only those 13th-century fishermen who decided to dam up the Amstel could see what became of their erstwhile marsh. Its the capital and spiritual downtown of a nation, where Gothic monuments interface with digital billboards and Golden Age drinking holes neighbor hip coffee shops. Wander just outside the city center and youll find tree-lined canals, hidden courtyards, and wood-paneled cafsa panoply of painting-perfect images.

Day Trips. How could you visit Holland and not trod through the tulip fields? Or take in some of the Netherlands folkloric towns famous for their centuries-old wooden houses, fishing boats, and locals in traditional costume? This country is so manageably small, theres no excuse not to take a day trip from Amsterdam to visit a couple of countryside villages.