Wendy and Patti, seemingly are looking to merely have a good time while in Amst. Perhaps some of the respondants, should "light(en) up" Where does all the rudeness and hostility come from?? Geez, they asked, what they thought was an important question, who are we to judge them or their lifestyle, Party On Girls, Enjoy your trip(s), and feel free to thumb your noses at those that don't know, (yet scream the loudest,) and in their honor, visit the BullDog, or The Wall, and light(en) up for them!!

Please note that the smoking cafes extend way beyond the redlight area, they are all over the city. <BR>Don't hang around Dam Sq, its full of shady characters.The street beween there & Centraal station (the Damrak) is hassle alley, the rest of the city is fine.Never buy on the street. <BR>You probably realise that half the posters here are talking nonsense and know zero about the place.Enjoy A'dam, its worth visiting for the atmosphere alone. <BR>Herion is more openly sold in UK cities than in Holland.Most of the junkies were driven out of the centre years ago, unlike most European & many US cities.Anyone looking for smack wouldn't go to A'dam, they'd stay home.Holland is a very well-ordered country. <BR>Sorry about the criticism on this thread, it's only the whisky talking.

Dogsbreath, ha! "it's only the whiskey talking." True, people don't mind questions about where in London to taste the best beers or info on pub crawls, but they really get their dander up when someone asks about the coffeehouses in Amsterdam! Folks, news flash, it is legal to purchase and smoke marijuana in licensed coffeehouses in Amsterdam! Get over it! This is not the same thing as heroin. It is not the same thing as going to Washington DC to purchase drugs on the street. Yes, Amsterdam has much else to offer as a city. No one is denying that. But it also offers the unique experience of smoking a joint in a public place with friends and travellers from all over the world. That is what makes it such a popular destination for young people and such a great place to meet a huge cross-section of folks from Europe, America, Australia, etc. Just purchased a ticket to Paris and am happy to find I have a six hour layover in Amsterdam! What a great way to start the trip!

"regular", while I'm in complete agreement with what Amsterdam does vis-s-vis marijuana, it's also my understanding that, technically, it's not legal, due to EU policies. My understanding is that it's technically illegal, but that laws against it simply aren't enforced. <BR><BR>Marijuana and heroin are about as similar as Bruce Springsteen and Celine Dion, and I hate to see them always lumped together as "Drugs." Alcohol is a FAR more abused (and damaging) drug than marijuna, and another drug, nicotine, addicts thousands and thousands of people worldwide and contributes to countless deaths every year.

Capo, you are splitting Jamaican red hairs with me.

Splitting? Don't you mean spliffing, mon? :~)

Wendy and Patti<BR>here's some web sites for further study<BR><BR>Coffeeshops:<BR>www.tourmaster.freeuk .com/index.htm<BR>www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com<BR><BR>Red Light District:<BR>www.ignatzmice.com<BR><BR>Low cost hotels:<BR>www.eurocheapo.com<BR><BR>You're gonna have a great time. You won't believe how cool and friendly the residents and visitors to Amsterdam are.<BR><BR>If you really want to take a walk on the wild side go to Club Paradise on a Thursday night. www.club-paradise.nl There will be 30+ young handsome guys there that will want to take you to one of the private or public! bedrooms.

Larry, I could be wrong, but I kind of imagine Wendy and Patti have already gone and returned since they posted 4 years and 4 months ago.

ha I didn't notice the provocateur "a regular here" had brought this old thread to the top. Here's a bong hit to him/her.

Big up the old postings!<BR><BR>A'dam is a paradise for high & low culture alike! I was turned off by the stereotypes, but my 1st visit last year was awesome - a real art and food fest.<BR><BR>Check<BR><BR>http://www.timeout.com/amsterdam/index.html<BR><BR>For the lowdown on all aspects of the City!<BR>Happy travels<BR><BR>= )

Has anyone else noticed that anyone over fifteen who uses the word "awesome" these days sounds---about fifteen. Unless it's used to describe something that really is awesome, like Mt. St. Helens exploding---but of course, that would be putting it in the same catagory as the latest shoe sale at the local mall, or Britney Spears' navel.<BR>Can anyone think of a new trendy enthusiastically positive adjective, to replace this worn-out, tired, abused, all-purpose, at least 10-year-old, one. Someone has to be the be the first to start each new fad.

Legal note - I believe the position is that local laws making cannabis legal under certain circs were later superseded by EU law.<BR> However under EU law the police can decide which law they want to enforce.<BR> This means that they can close the cafes down in an instant if there are problems.There never have been.QED.<BR> NB: cannabis in the UK has recently been demoted as a banned substance, although still illegal its not arrestable.<BR>

Although this question was asked many years ago, I'm sure there are many who now go to Amsterdam for the same reason as the orginal posters. In my scrap book of Europe, I have a black page titled "Amsterdam". We hated it. We arrived via train, walked around for 3 hours, cancelled our hotel reservations and left for Brugge. We hated it for the very reasons these women wanted to go there. We expected canal rides thru historical settings and banks of tulips with windmills in the distance.

CD: next time prepare better. There are "canal rides thru historical settings" available at many points in Amsterdam, and for the banks of tulips with windmills you need to travel about 25 km from Amsterdam.

<BR><BR>This post a 4 and half years old!!!!

Lived in Amsterdam. Coffeshops are everywhere, and it's tolerated although technically not legal for people who are not Dutch citizens. No one cares. Hard drugs are not legal, but you see people sniffing coke and the heroin hookers behind the train station etc., and the police usually won't arrest, but ceratinly they do sometimes. They look for pushers though, not users. Almost everyone in the coffee shops is foreign,hardly any Dutch people, it's basically a tourist activity. It would be too bad not to see how nice the city is if you're just stoned the whole time.