Take a short city break to Amsterdam in The Netherlands!
Map view of Amsterdam
Amsterdam city landscape
Amsterdam is a splendid city, known for its culturally rich collection of museums, its taboo nightlife and for its canals and bridges of which there are over 1200 and have earned the city the pseudonym ‘The Venice of the North’.
Museums in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is home to a fantastic collection of museums that illustrate the culture and colour of The Netherlands. One of Amsterdam’s most prised museums is the Van Gogh museum, home of the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. The Rijkmuseum of Dutch Art is the largest in The Netherlands and is visited by well over one million people each year, while the Stedelijk Modern Art Museum is certainly the most controversial noted for its questionable policies on art and finances.
Attractions & Sights
The jewel in the sightseeing crown that is Amsterdam is the city’s famed botanical gardens, Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world with plants that are centuries old and came from across the globe delivered by the Dutch East India Trading Company. The Anne Frank House and home of Rembrandt are both famous tourist attractions worth a visit. The Oude Kerk church is worth seeing as is the Hash Marihuana Museum.
The Rijkmuseum of Dutch Art
Dam Square is a popular place to be at the heart of the city with the Royal Palace and the Historical Museum. A canal tour is an ideal way to traverse this watery city. The Magere Brug is the Skinny Bridge, the city’s most famous bridge which opens every twenty minutes to let boats pass. Taking a bike tour around the city is also great way to see major attractions and parks.
Amsterdam is also well known for its seedy, yet surprisingly safe, Red Light District. The city is also home to dozens of exceptional restaurants and cafes. Beware if you find yourself in a coffee shop ordering space cake as you’ll get more than you bargained for.
Getting There...
Amsterdam is only an hour and a half from London by air. Schiphol International Airport is only 14 kilometres from the city centre making it a wonderfully accessible city; only 15 minutes by train. KLM is based at Schiphol which serves as one of Europe’s busiest transit hubs. Check out flights from a number of UK destinations on a wide variety of airlines such as Delta, BA, KLM, VLM, Alitalia, Norwich, easyJet, Air France, FlyBe, Kenya Air and China Southern. For car hire we recommend www.ebookers.com.
