Overview:
Lively, lascivious Amsterdam has a unique atmosphere that belies
the caricature of the dour Dutch.
Radiating out from the Dam Square, the historic center of the
city is ringed by quaint canals and cobbled streets, thronged with
bicycles, tourists, houseboats, students, and street performers.
The city wears two faces: on one it smiles and beckons hedonistic
youth with its notorious Red Light District and liberal view of
marijuana use, while on the other it offers some of Europe's finest
museums and art galleries.
For the tourist the joy of Amsterdam is its compactness. The old
part of town is a pleasure to explore on foot, strolling across
ancient bridges and down narrow lanes past gabled houses, dropping
in to browse in inviting souvenir boutiques crammed with blue and
white Delft china and wooden clogs. Pavement cafes and cozy bars
offer rest and refreshment. An alternative is to take a circular
canal-boat cruise and see the city from the water, peering in on
the lives of the locals who live on houseboats lining the
waterways.
At night even the most conservative visitor is drawn by the
lively atmosphere of the infamous Red Light District, known as De
Wallen, which is bounded by the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and
Oudeziujds Achterburgwal canals near the Dam Square. Here
prostitutes display their charms in brightly lit shop windows and
touts encourage passers-by to view raunchy floorshows. The best
nightclubs, bars, and the theaters and cinemas are mainly to be
found in the bustling Leidesplein and Rembrandtplein.
Getting Around:The central area of Amsterdam is fairly compact and
easy to get around on foot. When going further a field, there is a
good, inexpensive network of trams, buses and metro lines that all
converge at Centraal Station, as well as canal boats and a free
ferry service across the IJ Canal. The GVB public transport office
at Centraal Station has route maps and a guide to the ticketing
system, which is based on zones with the same ticket valid on
buses, metros and trams. The I Amsterdam Card offers unlimited
transport on buses, trams and metro for up to three days including
massive discounts on museums, canal cruises and other attractions.
A one day pass costs EUR33 and a three day pass costs EUR53.
Another type of travel pass is the Strippenkart; a strip gets
stamped every time one boards and remains valid for unlimited
transfers within an hour (eight-strip day card: EUR6.40; 15-strip
card: EUR6.90; 45-strip card: EUR20.40). After midnight there are
night buses that run from Centraal Station to most parts of the
city. Taxis are among the most expensive in Europe and renting a
car or driving one's own to Amsterdam is not recommended; it is
better to park it outside the city and use public transport to get
into the center and around. An ideal way to get around is the Dutch
way - by bicycle. There are several rental agencies around town
(about EUR7 daily or EUR30 weekly), but be aware that theft is
common and make sure that both the frame and a wheel is locked to
something fixed and solid.
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