Amsterdam Vacations


	Amsterdam has as many facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters: the capital, and spiritual "downtown," of a nation ingrained with the principles of tolerance; a veritable Babylon of old-world charm; a font for home-grown geniuses such as Rembrandt and Van Gogh; a cornucopia bursting with parrot tulips and other greener -- more potent -- blooms; and a unified social zone that takes in cozy bars, "brown" cafés, and outdoor markets. While impressive gabled houses bear witness to the Golden Age of the 17th century, their upside-down reflections in the city's canal waters below symbolize and magnify the contradictions within the broader Dutch society. With a mere 730,000 friendly souls and with almost everything a scant 10-minute bike ride away, Amsterdam is actually more of a village -- albeit a largish global one -- that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a megalopolis. A wry bit of self-criticism has Rotterdam making the money, bureaucratic Den Haag figuring out what to do with the money, and Amsterdam spending the money. However, this kind of thinking is becoming obsolete as Amsterdam reinvents itself as the business "Gateway to Europe." Hundreds of foreign companies have flocked here to establish headquarters and take advantage of Amsterdam's central position within the European Union. One result of this windfall is that the city is hastening to upgrade its infrastructure and to create new cityscapes that will distract photographers from the ever-photogenic Red Light District. Within a few years, the Eastern Docklands -- once a bastion for squatters attracted to its abandoned warehouses -- will be transformed into a new cultural and nightlife hub, with a boardwalk planned to be as image-enhancing as Sydney's in Australia. Could this be the birth of a new golden age? Amsterdam related links: Amsterdam Hotels \| Amsterdam Vacation Specials Amsterdam Family Vacations \| Amsterdam Honeymoon Vacations Europe Vacations

Weather & When to Go

The Netherlands is at its best when the temperatures climb and cafés and restaurants spill across sidewalks to lure happy groups to dine on canal boats moored alongside. Unfortunately, because such weather is so transient, you could find yourself sharing your sun-dappled experience with too many others for comfort. From tulip-time onward, museums, galleries, and tourist sights become overwhelmed by visitors, and it becomes increasingly difficult to obtain accommodation reservations. The cultural calendar runs from September through June, but there are often festivals and open-air events scheduled for the summer. However, if you can, try to avoid visiting Amsterdam at the height of summer.
Weather-wise, the best months for sightseeing are April, May, June, September, and October. The maritime climate of the Netherlands is very changeable, though, and during these months expect weather ranging from cool to pleasant to wet and windy to hot and surprisingly humid. Winters in Amsterdam can be very cold from December through February and March.

Attractions & Excursions

Amsterdam's heart has a relatively ordered layout -- as any glance at the map will tell you. Imagine a horizontal line with a dip in the middle. The left-hand side of the line is the North Sea Canal, an engineering accomplishment of the first magnitude. The right-hand side of the line is the IJ River (pronounced "eye"), which once flowed into the brackish Zuiderzee and thence into the North Sea by a roundabout route that led north past Hoorn, Enkhuizen, and Den Oever. Today, the Zuiderzee is a fresh-water lake called the IJsselmeer in honor of this selfsame river. Along both sides of this line is a complex of piers, harbors, dry docks, warehouses, cranes, and other maritime facilities.

The dip in the middle of our hypothetical line marks the point at which an artificial island was built to receive the Centraal Station (1889). The medieval core of Amsterdam, marked by a confusion of waterways that have since been partially filled in (Damrak and Rokin were once canals), is directly below this dip and thus within a few minutes' walk of the station itself. Around this core you'll notice four semicircular rings of canals, with two more at a somewhat greater distance. Everything within the Lijnbaansgracht, or outermost canal, is called the Centrum; everything beyond belongs to the modern development of Amsterdam and is subdivided into West, Zuid (south), and Oost (east). With this noted, we seriously advise you to do your exploring with map in hand. The concentrically circular nature of the city's layout makes it terribly easy to start walking in exactly the opposite direction from the one you thought you were going.

The Centrum -- or inner Old Center -- is handily sliced in half into a westerly "New Side" and an easterly "Old Side" (with its enjoining former Jewish Quarter). This is where you will find the most famous attractions of Amsterdam. To most short-term visitors, the Museum District and Vondelpark are the city's furthest frontier, but on either side of these are two of the city's more vibrant neighborhoods: Jordaan to the west and the ultimately multicultural De Pijp to the east. Originally built to house immigrants and workers, these neighborhoods are probably the best places to go to get a sense of the real Amsterdam today.

Entertainment

Fasten your seat belts. Amsterdam's nightlife can have you careening between smoky coffee shops, chic wine bars, mellow jazz joints, laid-back lounges and clubs. The city's nightlife centers mainly on two of its main squares. Leidseplein, rich with cafés and discos that attract younger visitors to the city, also has the city's two major live venues, Melkweg and Paradiso, around the corner.

Although a relatively small city, Amsterdam packs a giant cultural wallop. The local interest of a culturally inclined people supports a milieu whose spectrum ranges all the way from the austerely classical to the most outrageously avant-garde. So book that ticket fast. Amsterdam's theater and music season begins in September and runs through June, when the Holland Festival of Performing Arts is held. What's On in Amsterdam is a comprehensive English-language publication that lists art and performing-arts events around the city.

Shopping

An antique koekeplank (cookie mould)? Blue-and-white Delftware? A box of those delicious hard candies called Haagse Hopjes? A cutting-edge vest styled by Viktor & Rolf? Whether you go for Baroque or postmillennium, the variety of goods available here is one of the major joys of shopping in Amsterdam. Style-setters invariably begin shop-hopping their way through the elegant boutiques of the grachtengordel, or girdle of canals, where they find a concentration of specialty and fashion shops along the "nine little street," or negen straatjes. And everybody usually ends up at the year-round outdoor flea market at Waterlooplein, a holdover from the pushcart days in the Jewish Quarter.

Shopping hours in The Netherlands are regulated by law: one night a week is reserved for late shopping. In Amsterdam, department stores and many other shops are closed Monday morning but are open Thursday evening. Increasingly, following an easing of legislation governing shopping hours, you'll find main branches of major stores in the center of the city open on Sunday afternoon.

Dining

Up until a decade or two ago, eating in Amsterdam was tinged with the flavor of Calvinism. Happily, today the feasting draws on all corners of the globe. International eating trends now make it routine to encounter a sushi shack, a soup shop, a Thai take-out joint, or a hipster lounge. And, as if to compensate for the long drought, many of the city's former industrial buildings are currently being transformed into distinctive or trendy dining establishments. The term "New Dutch Cuisine" has come to mean anything recently brought to Amsterdam's kitchens by a new generation of young chefs. Their creations -- think cappuccino-textured pea soup with chanterelles and pancetta -- have finally "turned on the style" and succeeded in taking the starch (literally) out of the old mainstays.

If you're the type who likes to make your own discoveries, here are a few tips. In general, consider the tourist traps around Leidseplein, Rembrandtplein, the Damrak, and the Red Light District as just that. Cheap global eats are concentrated in the De Pijp district. A broad selection of middle-range eateries can be found around Nieuwmarkt, the Jordaan, and Utrechtsestraat. And to find posher purveyors, head to Reguliersdwarsstraat or the "Nine Streets" areas. Some fancier eats can be found in the Gouden Bocht neighborhood, and smart, chic dining is now spilling into the areas east of the Amstel and around Central Station. Remember that the Dutch eat early. In fact, most of the city's kitchens close by 10. And since Amsterdam is a casual sort of town, "jacket and tie" means more "if you feel like it" than "required."

Lodging: Hotels & Accommodations

Amsterdam's luxury hotels are located in the heart of the city. Many hotels can be found bordering canals and are within proximity to many attractions.

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	Van Gogh Museum Wander the galleries of Amsterdam's Vincent van Gogh Museum, with its impressive and nearly complete collection of this famed, tragic impressionist master, in addition to other artists, such as Monet. Cruise the Canals Cruise the many winding stone-walled canals of the beautiful city of Amsterdam aboard a glass-domed canal boat. View the Countryside Rent a bicycle and pedal through the flat countryside of the Netherlands, past charming windmills and across dykes that hold back the sea from flooding the country, which sits below sea level in many areas. Anne Frank House Reflect quietly at the Anne Frank House, where she and her family hid during World War II, and marvel at the remarkable strength of this young girl whose writing is still so memorable. Visit the Neighborhoods Discover the pleasures of the tree-lined neighborhoods throughout Amsterdam, as you crisscross more than 1,200 bridges, stopping to sample herring, licorice, and the Dutch distilled gin, jenever, at outdoor stalls and cafes along the way. Learn about the 900 year history of this London landmark.


	Hotel Pulitzer Grand Hotel Amsterdam

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