Amsterdam Features

Amsterdam Features

• Amsterdam & the Netherlands Today
  

  Welcome to Amsterdam! Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, this remains the City of Canals—but Amsterdam... Read more

• Quintessential Amsterdam
  

  According to 19th-century French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, Amsterdam is "a dream, an orgy of houses and water." More than 100 years later... Read more

• Top Amsterdam Attractions
  

  Though given relatively little marquee space, this is one of the best museums in which to invest your time and attention. Amsterdam's history... Read more

• Amsterdam with Kids
  

  For each racy adult attraction Amsterdam offers, there's another dozen that deserve a PG (Pure Goodness) mark to entice the entire family. It's... Read more

• Free Things to Do in Amsterdam
  

  Regardless of the fluctuating dollar-to-euro exchange rate, the Netherlands is an expensive country to visit. Besides flowers, cheese, and wine... Read more

• Bicycling in Amsterdam
  

  Stand at any intersection in any Dutch city and you're guaranteed to see bicycles. Getting around on two wheels has long made sense for Lowlanders... Read more

• Money-Saving Tips
  

  To go Dutch is a native practice indeed, but don't think your host country will be footing half your vacation bills. The Netherlands is an expensive... Read more

• Local Do's and Taboos
  

  The Dutch are generally warm and welcoming. Most are multilingual and proud of it. They are also open and direct when it comes to speaking their... Read more

• A Jenever Primer
  

  The indigenous liquor of the Netherlands is jenever, a potent spirit that was invented in the mid-1600s, when an alchemist in Leiden discovered... Read more

• Cheers to Dutch Beers
  

  If you think Dutch beer begins and ends with Heineken, think again! The Netherlands has a thriving little industry of microbrews and produces... Read more

• Nine Streets Plus One
  

  The Nine Streets has a distinctly old-world feel. This cluster of quaint canal crossings between the Rozengracht and the Leidsegracht dates back... Read more

• Lighting Up in Amsterdam
  

  Unless you're a regular user, checking out one of those euphemistically named venues where marijuana is sold is hard to justify from a "when... Read more

• Antiquing on a Budget
  

  For more gently priced collections, you might opt to tiptoe past the 18th-century tulipwood armoires and explore an increasingly popular neighborhood... Read more

• The Globe-Hopping Bunny
  

  Created by Utrecht native Dick Bruna in 1955, Nijntje is to the Netherlands what Mickey Mouse is to the United States. Rarely does a Dutch child... Read more

• Psilocybin
  

  Only two decades after the Dutch government condoned the sale of marijuana and hash under the Opium Act of 1976, another "soft drug" came onto... Read more

• Cutting-Edge Dutch Design
  

  Ever since Gerrit Rietveld produced his "Red and Blue Chair," the Dutch have been in the international limelight, famous for graphic design... Read more

• Dutch Art
  

  Few other countries can boast of having fathered so many great artists, but then again, Holland seems almost expressly composed for the artist... Read more

• Multicultural Holland
  

  The face of Holland has changed dramatically since World War II. New arrivals have created a melting-pot society, and today the Netherlands is... Read more

• Open-air Entertainment
  

  Theatrical events in the Vondelpark have a long and glorious history. Nowadays, during the Openluchttheater season, there's a lunchtime concert... Read more

• The Leaning Houses of Amsterdam
  

  Ever wonder why all of Amsterdam's old houses lean like drunken sailors on a Saturday night? After the great fires of 1421 and 1452, which swept... Read more

• Indonesian Rice Tables
  

  Holland's famed rijsttafel, or rice table, was the ceremonial feast of the Dutch colonists in Indonesia centuries ago. The Dutch are famously... Read more

• The Life of Rembrandt
  

  Dutch art speaks with many voices, but in the case of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69)—the greatest painter of Holland's 17th-century Golden... Read more

• On the Menu
  

  A typical Dutch meal is often derided for its boldly honest approach to the food groups: meat, vegetable, potato. But all you need is one restaurant... Read more

• Eco Architecture
  

  Dutch architecture is known for its creative approach to practical problems, and right now eco-architecture (bringing environmental awareness... Read more

• Gabled Houses on Amsterdam's Canal Ring
  

  The gabled houses on the Canal Ring are Amsterdam's most picture-perfect historic feature. The infinite array of gables on the city houses dominates... Read more

• Amsterdam's Historic Almshouses
  

  Hidden behind innocent-looking gateways throughout the city center, most notably along the main ring of canals and in the Jordaan neighborhood... Read more

• Dutch-Style Theater
  

  Over het IJ Festival. Such internationally statured companies as Dogtroep (www.dogtroep.nl), PIPS:lab (www.pipslab.nl), and Vis-à-Vis... Read more