Amsterdam Features

Amsterdam Features

• Top Amsterdam Experiences
  

  According to 19th-century French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, Amsterdam is "A dream, an orgy of houses and water," and it's no less true 100 years... read more

• If You Like
  

  Some would use the word "cheap," but selective spending is a better way to describe consumption in the Lowlands. It's no wonder Amsterdam has... read more

• Top Reasons to Go to Amsterdam
  

  Golden Age canals: Hop aboard to glide past mansions shimmering on a summer's day or under bridges twinkling with fairy lights at night. Amsterdam... read more

• Amsterdam with Kids
  

  For each racy adult attraction Amsterdam offers, a dozen deserve a PG—Pure Goodness the entire family can enjoy. It's not for nothing that... read more

• Cheap 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

• Amsterdam Today
  

  "Amster-damaged." "Good girls go to heaven, bad girls to Amsterdam." Slogans on gift-store T-shirts are testament that, more than anything else... read more

• Sampling the Local Jenever Liquor
  

  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

• 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 Dutch Beers Primer
  

  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

• Antiquing on a Budget
  

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

• Amsterdam's Infamous Weed Scene
  

  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

• Psilocybin—uh, can you spell that?
  

  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

• Gabled Houses on Amsterdam's Canal Ring
  

  The gabled houses on the Canal Ring are Amsterdam's most picture-perfect historic feature. Starting in the 16th century, the different gable... 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

• Dutch-Style Theater
  

  Such internationally statured companies as Dogtroep (www.dogtroep.nl), PIPS:lab (www.pipslab.nl), and Vis-à-Vis (www.visavis.nl) are specialists... 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

• Lieverdje's Radical Past
  

  The innocent-looking statue of a woolen sock-clad boy in the middle of Spui Square, called Het Lieverdje (The Little Darling—local street... read more

• Leaning Houses
  

  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

• Eco Architecture
  

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

• A Dutch Cheese Primer
  

  To say that the Dutch like cheese is like saying the Italians are partial to pasta; a mere glimpse into a local supermarket will attest to this... read more

• Amsterdam's Hofjes—the 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

• The Jean Scene
  

  The recent rise of new-school haberdashers and so-called denim labs is keeping Amsterdammers big on the jean scene. And we're not just talking... read more

• The Best 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