Amsterdam Tourism | Amsterdam Hotels

About Amsterdam:

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The city's status as the capital of the nation is governed by the constitution. Amsterdam has a population of 790,654 within city limits, an urban population of 1,209,419 and a metropolitan population of 2,289,762. The city is located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. It comprises the northern part of the Randstad, one of the larger conurbations in Europe, with a population of approximately 7 million.

Amsterdam's name is derived from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city's origin: a dam in the river Amstel. Settled as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, Amsterdam became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age, a result of its innovative developments in trade. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were formed. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam (in Dutch: 'Grachtengordel'), located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.

As Netherlands' commercial capital and one of the top financial centres in Europe, Amsterdam is considered an alpha world city by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) study group. The city is also cultural capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city. In 2010, Amsterdam was ranked 13th globally on quality of living by Mercer, and previously ranked 3rd in innovation by 2thinknow in the Innovation Cities Index 2009.

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the oldest stock exchange in the world, is located in the city center. Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Hermitage Amsterdam, Anne Frank House, Amsterdam Museum, its red-light district, and its many cannabis coffee shops draw more than 3.66 million international visitors annually. However, a new national regulation could greatly affect the city's famed tolerance for drugs, and cut down on the number of foreigners coming there to buy marijuana. Mayor Eberhard van der Laan is hoping to reach a compromise with the national government so the tourism industry will not be significantly affected.

Geography of Amsterdam:

Amsterdam is part of the province of North Holland and is located in the west of the Netherlands next to the provinces of Utrecht and Flevoland. The river Amstel terminates in the city centre and connects to a large number of canals that eventually terminate in the IJ. Amsterdam is situated 2 metres above sea level. The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders. To the southwest of the city lies a man-made forest called het Amsterdamse Bos. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal.

Amsterdam is intensely urbanized, as is the Amsterdam metropolitan area surrounding the city. Comprising 219.4 square kilometres of land, the city proper has 4,457 inhabitants per km2 and 2,275 houses per km2. Parks and nature reserves make up 12% of Amsterdam's land area.

Amsterdam Weather:

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Amsterdam Tourist Attractions:

Canals of Amsterdam:

Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has been called the "Venice of the North" for its more than one hundred kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2010.

Herengracht:

Herengracht (Patricians' Canal or Lord's Canal) is the first of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam. The canal is named after the heren regeerders who governed the city in the 16th and 17th century. The most fashionable part is called the Golden Bend, with many double wide mansions, inner gardens and coach houses on Keizersgracht.

Keizersgracht:

Keizersgracht (literal English translation: Emperor's Canal) is the second and widest of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, in between Herengracht and Prinsengracht. It is named after Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Prinsengracht:

Prinsengracht (Prince's Canal) is the fourth and the longest of the main canals in Amsterdam. It is named after the Prince of Orange. Most of the canal houses along it were built during the Dutch Golden Age of the United Provinces. The bridges over this canal don't connect with the streets in the Jordaan.

Notable buildings along Prinsengracht include the Noorderkerk (Northern Church), the Noordermarkt (Northern Market), Anne Frank House, the Westerkerk (Western Church, Amsterdam's tallest church) with the Homomonument (Gay Monument), which actually faces Keizersgracht.

Rijksmuseum:

The Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art. It also displays the stern of the HMS Royal Charles which was captured in the Raid on the Medway, and the Hartog plate.

The museum was founded in 1800 in The Hague to exhibit the collections of the Dutch stadtholders. It was inspired by French example. By then it was known as the National Art Gallery (Dutch: Nationale Kunst-Gallerij). In 1808 the museum moved to Amsterdam on the orders of king Louis Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. The paintings owned by that city, such as The Night Watch by Rembrandt, became part of the collection.

Van Gogh Museum:

The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, dedicated to the works of the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. It has the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world. The museum had 1,600,300 visitors in 2011. It is the most visited museum in the Netherlands and the 23rd most visited art museum worldwide.

Stedelijk Museum:

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern art, contemporary art and design in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is housed on Museum Square next to the Van Gogh Museum and close to both the Rijksmuseum and the Concertgebouw. The original municipal museum was founded in 1874, but developed into the present museum after a 1909 decision of the city to collect contemporary art and accept donations of work made by artists of international acclaim, Georges Braque and Wassily Kandinsky being among the first to enter the museum from outside the Netherlands. Its original light red brick, Neo-Renaissance style building of 1895, designed by city architect Adriaan Willem Weissman, was painted white on the inside in 1938 by its director Willem Sandberg and is currently being renovated and enlarged with a new extension and utilities building. The museum has announced to reopen on September 23, 2012.

Since its 1909 decision to collect contemporary art the Stedelijk Museum has consistently reflected new currents and developments in art and design in both its exhibition and acquisitions policy. On its website the museum presents 435 highlights from its collection from Monet, Cézanne and Van Gogh to Gilbert & George and Tracey Enim representing virtually every relevant development in the history of 20th century art. For the this year the museum has announced making a retrospective exhibition of the works of Mike Kelley: ' themes and variations from 35 years,' which will open on December 15, 2012 in Amsterdam and will later travel to the Centre Pompidou, MoMA PS1 and MOCA.

Anne Frank House:

The Anne Frank House located on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place — known in Dutch as the Achterhuis — and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination.

It opened on 3 May 1960 with the aid of public subscription, three years after a foundation was established to protect the property from developers who wanted to demolish the block.

NEMO (museum):

Science Center NEMO is a science center in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located at the Oosterdok in Amsterdam-Centrum, situated between the Oosterdokseiland and Kattenburg. The museum has its origins in 1923, and is housed in a building designed by Renzo Piano since 1997. It contains five floors of hands-on science exhibitions and is the largest science center in the Netherlands. It attracts annually over 500,000 visitors, which makes it the fourth most visited museum in the Netherlands.

The museum has grown from humble beginnings in 1923 when the Museum van den Arbeid was opened by the artist Herman Heijenbrock on the Rozengracht in Amsterdam. In 1954 the name was changed to the NINT or Nederlands Instituut voor Nijverheid en Techniek, and in 1997 it changed again to newMetropolis. The name Science Center NEMO was introduced in 2000.

Oude Kerk:

The Oude Kerk is Amsterdam’s oldest building and oldest parish church, consecrated in 1306 by the bishop of Utrecht with Saint Nicolas as its patron saint. After the Reformation in 1578 it became a Calvinist church, which it remains today. It stands in De Wallen, now Amsterdam's main red-light district. The square surrounding the church is the Oudekerksplein.

The church covers an area of some 3,300 square meters. The foundations were set on an artificial mound, thought to be the most solid ground of the settlement in this marshy province.

The roof of the Oude Kerk is the largest medieval wooden vault in Europe. The Estonian planks date back to 1390 and boast some of the best acoustics in Europe.

Church of St Nicholas:

Church of St. Nicholas is located in the Old Centre district of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the city's major Catholic church.

Officially the church was called St. Nicholas inside the Walls, i.e. the oldest part of the Amsterdam defence works. The architect, Adrianus Bleijs (1842-1912) designed the church basing himself on a combination of several revival styles of which Neo-Baroque and neo-Renaissance are the most prominent models.

The church has a collection of religious murals. Above the high altar is the crown of Maximilian I, which is a symbol seen throughout Amsterdam.

Inside the newly renovated church, a 19th century Sauer Organ can be found, on which concerts are given and mass is accompanied.

Magere Brug:

The Magere Brug is a bridge over the river Amstel in the city centre of Amsterdam. It connects the banks of the river at Kerkstraat (Church Street), between Keizersgracht (Emperors' Canal) and Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal).

The central section of the Magere Brug is a bascule bridge made of white-painted wood. The present bridge was built in 1934. The first bridge at this site was built in 1691 as Kerkstraatbrug and had 13 arches. Because this bridge was very narrow, the locals called it magere brug, which literally means "skinny bridge". In 1871 the state of the bridge was so bad that it was demolished and replaced by a nine-arched wooden bridge. Fifty years later this bridge also needed to be replaced. Architect Piet Kramer made several designs for a steel and stone bridge, but the city decided to replace it with a new bridge that looked the same as the previous, only slightly bigger. In 1934 the bridge was demolished and replaced. The last major renovation was in 1969. Until 1994 the bridge was opened by hand, but now is opened automatically.

Blauwbrug:

The Blauwbrug is an historic bridge in Amsterdam. It connects the Rembrandtplein area with the Waterlooplein area.

The bridge owes its name to a wooden "blue bridge" that was there from around 1600 but no longer exists and which was painted the characteristic blue of the Dutch flag. It kept the name after 1883 when it was replaced by the spans of a new bridge which is inspired by the architecture of several of the bridges over the Seine in Paris.

The stone bridge has three openings for ships and is richly decorated. The bases are formed like ships bows and on top columns with leaf-motifs, masks and finally the Imperial Crown of Austria. Also the lantern poles have shipping decorations and the lanterns themselves are again in the shape of crowns. The bridge carries a road which is also used by the tramway.

Royal Palace:

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which is at the disposal of Queen Beatrix by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth century. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House. It is situated in the west side of Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam, opposite the War Memorial and next to the Nieuwe Kerk.

The palace was built as a town hall and was as such opened on 20 July 1655 by Cornelis de Graeff, the political and social leader of Amsterdam. It is now called the royal palace. It was built by Jacob van Campen. He took control of the construction project in 1648, as the Town Hall for the City of Amsterdam. It was built on 13,659 wooden piles and cost 8,5 million gulden. A yellowish sandstone from Bentheim in Germany was used for the entire building. The stone has darkened considerably in the course of time. Marble was the chosen material for the interior.

Waag:

The Waag ("weigh house") is a 15th-century building on Nieuwmarkt square in Amsterdam. It was originally a city gate and part of the walls of Amsterdam. The building has also served as a guildhall, museum, fire station and anatomical theatre, among others.

The Waag is the oldest remaining non-religious building in Amsterdam. The building has held rijksmonument status since 1970.

The Waag is depicted in Rembrandt's 1632 painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. The surgeons' guild commissioned this painting for their guildhall in the Waag.

Munttoren:

The Munttoren ("Mint Tower") or Munt is a tower in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It stands on the busy Muntplein square, where the Amstel river and the Singel canal meet, near the flower market and the eastern end of the Kalverstraat shopping street.

The tower was originally part of the Regulierspoort, one of the main gates in Amsterdam's medieval city wall. The gate, built in the years 1480, consisted of two towers and a guard house.

After the gate went up in flames in a 1618 fire, only the guard house and part of the western tower remained standing. The tower was then rebuilt in Amsterdam Renaissance style in 1620, with an eight-sided top half and elegant open spire designed by Hendrick de Keyser, featuring a clockwork with four clockfaces and a carillon of bells.

Rembrandt Tower:

The Rembrandt Tower is an office skyscraper in Amsterdam. It has a height of 135 metres, 35 floors and it has a spire which extends its height to 149.85 metres. It was constructed from 1991 to 1994. The building's foundation required piles 56 metres long and two metres in diameter. It is the first building in the Netherlands constructed with a concrete core and a steel frame.

The building was designed by the architects Peter de Clercq Zubli and Tom van der Put from ZZDP Architecten, in cooperation with Skidmore, Owings and Merrill from SOM.

Dam Square:

Dam Square, or simply the Dam, is a town square in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. Its notable buildings and frequent events make it one of the most well-known and important locations in the city.

Dam Square lies in the historical center of Amsterdam, approximately 750 meters south of the main transportation hub, Centraal Station. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching about 200 meters from west to east and about 100 meters from north to south. It links the streets Damrak and Rokin, which run along the original course of the Amstel River from Centraal Station to Muntplein (Mint Square) and Munttoren. The Dam also marks the endpoint of other well-traveled streets, Nieuwendijk, Kalverstraat and Damstraat. A short distance beyond the northeast corner lies the main red-light district, de Wallen.

On the west end of the square is the neoclassical Royal Palace, which served as the city hall from 1655 until its conversion to a royal residence in 1808. Beside it are the 15th-century Gothic Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) and the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. The National Monument, a white stone pillar designed by J.J.P. Oud and erected in 1956 to memorialize the victims of World War II, dominates the opposite side of the square. Also overlooking the plaza are the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and the upscale department store De Bijenkorf. These various attractions have turned the Dam into a tourist zone. The square abounds with city pigeons, popular for birdfeeding.

Rembrandtplein:

Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square) is a major square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is named after the famous painter Rembrandt van Rijn.

The square used to be a butter market but developed into a centre for nightlife with the opening of various hotels and cafés. There are bars chock-a-block with people singing along to Dutch folk songs at the top of their voices, and a few large clubs. This makes it very popular with tourists as well.

The popularity of Rembrandtplein has arisen along with the café terraces, which are packed during summer. In the middle of the square is a green rectangle of grass with a statue of Rembrandt himself, in front of which there used to stand smaller statues wrepresentated in his most famous painting The Night Watch. The biggest building on the square is the former head office of the Amsterdamsche Bank (latterly ABN AMRO), which is currently undergoing renovation.

Leidseplein:

The Leidseplein is a square in central Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Lying in the southwest of the Grachtengordel district of Amsterdam, the Leidseplein is immediately northeast of the Singelgracht canal. It is situated on the crossroads of the Weteringschans, the Marnixstraat, and the Leidsestraat. The Leidsestraat was originally named for being the road to Leiden.

The Leidseplein is one of the busiest centres for nightlife in the city. Historically, the square was the end of the road from Leinden, and served as a parking lot for horse-drawn traffic. Today, modern traffic travels through the square and side streets are packed with restaurants and nightclubs. The Stadsschouwburg, a theater, is the most notable architectural landmark on the square, and the American Hotel is close by.

Waterlooplein:

Waterlooplein is a square in the centre of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, near the Amstel river. The daily flea market on the square is popular with tourists. The Stopera city hall and opera building and the Mozes en Aäronkerk church are at Waterlooplein.

Waterlooplein was created in 1882 when the Leprozengracht and Houtgracht canals were filled in. The square is named after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

The square became a marketplace when the city government decided that the Jewish merchants in the nearby Jodenbreestraat and Sint Antoniebreestraat had to move their stalls to the square. The Waterlooplein became a daily market (except on Saturdays, the Jewish sabbath) in 1893.

Bloemenmarkt:

The Bloemenmarkt is the world's only floating flower market. Founded in 1862, it is sited in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Singel between Muntplein and Koningsplein in the city's southern canal belt. It includes 15 florists and garden shops as well as a range of souvenir gifts. The market is one of the main suppliers of flowers to central Amsterdam.

Albert Cuyp Market:

The Albert Cuyp Market is a street market in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on the Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat, in the De Pijp area of the Oud-Zuid district of the city. The street and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a 17th century painter.

The market began as an ad hoc collection of street traders and pushcarts. By the beginning of the 20th century, this had become so chaotic that in 1905, the city government decided to set up a market, at first only held on Saturday evenings. In 1912, the market became a daytime market open six days a week. Originally the street was accessible while the market was taking place, but for years now the street has been completely closed off to traffic during market hours.

The product selection at the market varies from the traditional range of vegetables, fruit and fish to clothing and even cameras. There are many products sold that are of interest to the city's residents of Surinamese, Antillean, Turkish, and Moroccan origin, giving the market and neighbourhood a strong multicultural feel.

Artis Zoo:

Artis, short for Natura Artis Magistra (Latin for "Nature is the teacher of art"), is a zoo in the centre of Amsterdam. It is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands. In addition to the zoo, Artis has an aquarium, a planetarium, a geological museum, and a zoological museum.

The zoo is a member of the Dutch Zoo Federation (NVD), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), the International Species Information System (ISIS), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

The zoo was founded in 1838 by Gerard Westerman, J.W.H. Werlemann and J.J. Wijsmuller (also known as the three Ws). It was initially open only to members. Starting in 1851 it was opened to the public during the month of September. In 1920 it was opened year-round to the public, but September remains discount month.

Hortus Botanicus:

Hortus Botanicus is a botanical garden in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. One of the oldest in the world, it is one of Amsterdam's major tourist attractions.

Hortus Botanicus is now one of the attractions of the Dutch capital for both Dutch and International visitors.

The collection is famous for some of its trees and plants, some of which are on the "danger" list, also well-known plants and trees can be found there, like the Persian Ironwood Tree which is known in Dutch as Perzische Parrotia.

Hortus Botanicus's initial collection was amassed during the 17th century through plants and seeds brought back by traders of the East India Company (VOC) for use as medicines and for their possibilities for commerce. A single coffee plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortus's collection served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America.

Amsterdam Facts:

Currency:

The currency in the Netherlands is the Euro ( € , EUR), which is used in almost all countries within the European Union. For details on changing money and methods of payment see our tips for visitors.

Language: Dutch

Continent: Europe

Country: The Netherlands

Population: 780,152

Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1

Telephone area code: 020

Amsterdam Airport:

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the Netherlands' main international airport, located 20 minutes (4.9 NM (9.1 km; 5.6 mi)) southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The airport's official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order (Luchthaven Schiphol). The airport used to have the IATA code of SPL, which has fallen into disuse and has been replaced by AMS.

The airport is the primary hub for KLM as well as for Arkefly, Corendon Dutch Airlines, Martinair and Transavia. The airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines and as a base for Vueling. Schiphol is considered to be an Airport City.

Schiphol is an important European airport, ranking as Europe’s 4th busiest and the world's 12th busiest by total passenger traffic. It also ranks as the world’s 6th busiest by international passenger traffic and the world’s 17th largest for cargo tonnage.

49.8 million passengers passed through the airport in 2011, a 10% increase compared with 2010.

Schiphol's main competitors in terms of passenger traffic and cargo throughput are London Heathrow Airport, Frankfurt Airport, Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and Madrid-Barajas Airport.

In 2010, 65.9% of passengers using the airport flew to and from Europe, 11.7% to and from North America and 8.8% to and from Asia; cargo volume was mainly between Schiphol and Asia (45%) and North America (17%).

In 2010, 106 carriers provided a total of 301 destinations on a regular basis. Passenger destinations were offered by 91 airlines. Direct (non-stop) destinations grew with 9 to 274. Regular destinations serviced exclusively by full freighters (non-passenger) grew with 8 to a total of 27.

Schiphol has six runways, one of which is used mainly by general aviation aircraft. The northern end of the Polderbaan, the name of last runway to be constructed, is 7 km (4.3 mi) north of the control tower, causing lengthy taxi times (up to 20 min) to the terminal.Plans have been made for a seventh runway.

The airport is built as one large terminal (single terminal concept), split into three large departure halls, which converge again once airside. The most recent of these was completed in 1994, and expanded in 2007 with a new part, named Terminal 4, although this part is not recognised as a separate building. Plans for further terminal expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept.

Amsterdam Hotels:

5 star hotels amsterdam:

Hilton Amsterdam
Marriott Amsterdam
Hotel Okura Amsterdam
De L'Europe Amsterdam
Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam
Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel
Bilderberg Garden Hotel
NH Barbizon Palace
NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky
Conservatorium Hotel
Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam
InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
Hotel Pulitzer, a Luxury Collection Hotel

4 star hotels amsterdam:

Banks Mansion
citizenM Amsterdam City
Hotel Notting Hill
Hotel JL No76
Convent Hotel Amsterdam
Swissotel Amsterdam
WestCord Art Hotel Amsterdam
The Albus
Park Plaza Victoria Amsterdam
NH Amsterdam Centre
Hotel Amsterdam - De Roode Leeuw
Mercure Amsterdam Airport
Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport

Cheap Hotels Amsterdam:

Hotel Internationaal
Hotel Bema
Hotel Hortus
Hotel Torenzicht
Hotel Museumzicht
Hotel 83 Amsterdam
Quentin Arrive Hotel
Hotel Beursstraat
Hotel Princess
Hotel Continental
Marnix Hotel
Hotel Manofa
Chic & Basic Amsterdam