I’m really not sure what we were thinking when we planned a backpacking trip to London, Paris and Amsterdam – three of the most expensive European cities going. But alas, they are stunning places and who could realistically say no to the Paralympics in London…Read More

I’m really not sure what we were thinking when we planned a backpacking trip to London, Paris and Amsterdam – three of the most expensive European cities going. But alas, they are stunning places and who could realistically say no to the Paralympics in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Add to this numerous bottles of delicious French wine and one too many visits to patisseries and you have two very happy backpackers but also some very empty wallets. By the time my travel buddy Beth and I arrived with the overnight bus in Amsterdam we were very much aware of our dire financial situation. And this is the point where Lady Luck decided to favour us and sort us out one of the most incredibly and, at the same time, cheapest days in Amsterdams history. A huge Thank You goes out to all the nameless people that made this day so incredible. Let’s hope their generosity continues to save hungry backpackers from another sad pot noodle dinner.

Imagine this scene, two tired girls getting off a bus from Paris where the aircon was stuck on Antarctic freezing temperatures and the radio refused to play anything else than cheese pop sounds. Now add this annoying drizzling rain that soaks you in minutes and cannot be stopped by even a supersized umbrella. This is how we arrived at the door of our hostel at 7 in the morning, wet, tired and decisively grumpy. The receptionist told us that we had to wait another four hours until check-in which, albeit fair enough, was simply soul crushing. Four hours in wet overnight clothes sitting in the entrance hall of a hostel did not sound particularly appealing but there was no chance we’d go back out in the rain to look for a cafe. And there he was – our first hero of the day! This unnamed man that stumbled out of the hostel bar clearly took pity on us or was so off his face that he had no idea that we were in fact not his buddies. But anyway, he came over and started chatting to us. A bit of small talk later he invites us for a drink, coffee maybe or rather double vodka? While Beth opted for a cappuccino I have to admit to downing my double vodka orange. A couple of drinks later we had made friends with the hostel staff and were graciously allowed to wait in the bar rather than the entrance hall.

By this time Beth was warmed up and hyper with all the caffeine and I was in a very happy place thanking the Russians for one of their greatest inventions ever. All that was missing now was some good old Dutch herbs. But with it being eight in the morning the Coffee Shops were still firmly closed. Enter my new Australian best friend. Totally hung-over he stumbles downstairs from the dorms and right to the smoking room. Sitting in there on his own must have gotten too boring as he came over to us and invited us to join him. After explaining that unfortunately we hadn’t done any shopping yet he insisted on this being his treat. Fast forward half hour and we are in a very happy place filled with giggles and delicious smoke. So not only were we jammy enough to get free drinks and free weed before we even unpacked our backs but no, the Australian guy then gets up, hands me over some 50 Euros worth of smoke and tells me to keep it as he’s off to Germany later that day and has no use for it anymore. I really did try to force some money onto him but all he was willing to take was a couple of raspberry macaroons that miraculously survived the bus ride from Paris.

We could finally check into our room and get some well deserved rest. But after only a few hours of sleep our tummies woke us up with the decisive and urgent need to eat, and subito please! After a quick stroll through the busy pedestrian area we stumbled upon this curios little shop that appeared to, well, be an homage to KitKat? The interior consisted of white walls and some white seating and all of this decorated with KitKat sticker. We walked past it a few times trying to figure it out before finally giving up and going on. We were greeted by a cheerful shop assistant that offered us tons of free KitKats in exchange for a Like on Facebook. So people in the Netherlands like to hand out free sweets – slightly dodgy but hey, we were hungry!

Stuffed full of sweets we were in serious need of a proper dinner. Just before caving and heading off to the next take away we were magically drawn to a cheese store. These speciality stores sell various types of cheese, mustards and condiments. All of which you can sample for free to your heart’s content. And once you grazed one of these stores empty there will be another identical one next door for you to continue your culinary tour. By the way, all of the products in these shops are gorgeous and I’d definitely recommend picking up some goodies to take home with you! By the end of our trip half of my backpack was filled with cheese.

Now all we were missing after this rich dinner was something to drink. My thirst was not helped by the high number of people passing us clutching ridiculously small cans of coke. Seriously, was this the size of drinks you could buy in the Netherlands? With not even half the size of a normal can this certainly must be a product that only calorie conscious people would waste their money on. Just on a hunch however we followed the stream of coke drinking people and finally found its source – a diet coke promotion event where cheerful staff was handing out free coke! Seriously, this could not get any better! We stocked up on cans and made our way back to the hostel after a long day of taking in the sights and being spoiled by Lady Luck.

Just as a disclaimer, the next day we went on a proper spending spree and pumped all of the money that we saved back into the economy.
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I'm always a little nervous about flying into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as it is one of the largest airports (actually 17th biggest in the world, and 4th biggest in Europe handling almost 15m passengers each year), and one of the worst for a reputation for…Read More

I'm always a little nervous about flying into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport as it is one of the largest airports (actually 17th biggest in the world, and 4th biggest in Europe handling almost 15m passengers each year), and one of the worst for a reputation for losing your baggage.

However, my fears are unfounded for many Europeans at least these days, thanks to the drive of many budget airlines to persuade folks to only take hand luggage given their extra baggage charging policy.

Exit from Schiphol to the city centre is straightforward via the train. The trains leave from the airport concourse (or rather, below it).

Tickets one way to Amsterdam Central Station cost around 4 Euros per person and is a lot cheaper than the approximately 50 Euros it costs to take a taxi. Even if you need to grab a taxi from Amsterdam central to your hotel, you will almost definitely find it cheaper to hop on the train first. There are trains every 10 minutes or so, up until approximately 1:30 am, and they start early in the morning from 5 or so.

In terms of getting a ticket, it is always worth saving a few Euro coins from a previous trip if you can as the easiest way to buy tickets is via the ticket machine, which only accepts coins rather than notes. Decide how you are going to pay before using the machines (they are user friendly with English instructions) as some are coins only, others cards only.

You can pay at the machines by card but it is more expensive by a Euro or so, and for some unknown reason the machines have never accepted our debit cards.

Look out for the franking machines – just stick it in with the silver foil side in your hand – this validates your ticket. The train takes 20 minutes or so tops to get to Amsterdam Central Station. You will easily know when you are at the Central Station.

Departure from Schiphol can be a little confusing as it is one of those airports that perform passport control first, and then a baggage and security check for your hand luggage as you leave for your gate. In addition, some of the gates are a goodly way from the departure lounge meaning you may have to schedule in a lot of time for leaving the airport – I saw some estimated walking times to get to the gate at around 30 minutes.

Obviously if the hand luggage and security scan is busy then that time can be extended.

There are a number of restaurants at Schiphol including a McDonalds. We had a small but tasty tuna sandwich from the main concourse restaurant for around 7 Euros. As always with airports, my tip is to dine before you leave Amsterdam city if you can.

There is also a good range of shops ready to take your excess Euros, including places selling trinkets such as china clogs (why would anyone buy these) and small chesses and chocolates. Again, they aren't particularly cheap but you can come across the odd sale bargain.   Close

You think the thought of having to spend 21 hours in an airport would scare most people unless they were Mehran Karimi Nasseri or Tom Hanks. Both these chaps have spent hours, days, weeks, even years in a terminal. You may remember Mehran Karim…Read More

You think the thought of having to spend 21 hours in an airport would scare most people unless they were Mehran Karimi Nasseri or Tom Hanks. Both these chaps have spent hours, days, weeks, even years in a terminal. You may remember Mehran Karim Nasseri lived in Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport for eighteen years and Tom Hanks starred in a film roughly based on this man’s life. I have always loved airports so I wasn’t that worried when I knew that we would have to spend the total time of 21 hours waiting in Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. Both journeys to and from Shangahi included a long wait.

The thing is with Schiphol it is a lot of fun to spend time in. For a start the airport is huge with lots of activities to keep you occupied, it’s well organised in the way of signposts. You won’t get lost. The first things that were immediately on my mind were lounge areas and food halls. I was tired and starving having only had a light snack on the flight from Warsaw. I needn’t have been concerned about food as there are at least 45 bars and restaurants selling food not forgetting a shopping complex that sells a huge variety of Dutch delicacies as well as everyday foodstuffs like sandwiches, cakes, biscuits and chocolate. There are many lounge areas, some you have to be a club member others are for everyone to relax in. As we had already come off a flight from Warsaw and our luggage was being transferred to the flight for Shanghai we went straight to the top level of the airport where we found a relaxing oasis known as the Airport Park Area.

This is a quiet are where everything is green. There are large squashy, olive bean bags, reclining seats, wooden benches shaped like huge tree trunks and covered with a log patterned type of carpet. There is a circular area of green seats with arms encompassing a small garden area with trees and ferns. The trees are artificial but look good enough; all the other plants including ferns are real. Once you have sat down you will hear birdsong and ducks quacking. These birds aren’t really in the park area; it is a tape playing and sounds pretty convincing. I had to move away from the duck area as the quacking was too loud and couldn’t concentrate on reading my book. It was actually more pleasant sat on the recliners listening to the tweeting of small birds except that after a long sit down my bottom got a bit sticky due to the recliners being made from plastic. I am not sure if it was my imagination but I could smell cut grass and foliage when plants have been watered. I mentioned this to my husband but he said he couldn’t smell anything, that’s quite normal as he has no sense of smell. My theory is that the management releases these smells into the air of this area to make it authentic so that you really believe you are in a park.

Just outside the park there is a door which leads to an observation area. Here you can look through the telescopes at planes landing and taking off. Coloured tables and chairs are available if you want to sit outside with food.

We decided that we would stay in this park area for the duration of our wait as my husband was very comfortable on his bean bag on the floor. He was able to stretch his body out and sleep. He didn’t want us to move away because the bean bags and recliners were in demand and as soon as we left we knew they would be snapped up. We kept taking turns to walk around the airport, have a sleep, read, and go for a drink and a bite to eat.

Luckily there was a café/snack bar close to the park which we did use. This was one of the cheaper cafes. Here we bought a large cup of tea for 2.70 Euros and a sandwich which was 4 Euros. A breakfast roll with everything on it like bacon, sausage, egg and tomato cost 6 Euros. Bottled water was expensive the cheapest being 2.50 Euros from one of the delicatessen’s. I did wander around the food halls to check out the prices and what was on offer but seeing that we only had 50 Euros on us and didn’t want to mess around changing money we decided to have a sandwich and a cup of tea.

I found the shopping areas fascinating and wanted to buy lots of souvenirs. I particularly liked the Tulip Garden; a shop selling wooden tulips, windmills, potted plants, clogs in various colours. You could even buy fridge magnets from these shops which were really pretty but at 5 Euros each I decided not to. I don’t really need any more tat but I just love looking.

Walking around the two floors of the airport I got the feeling that it was a very relaxed airport. Police and security guards were around but their presence wasn’t as dominant as in Warsaw and UK.

I noticed that Schiphol has a policy of recycling which pleased me. Re-cycle bins are placed in all seating areas for travelers to throw their plastic containers, paper and cardboard in. In the toilets paper towels and toilet rolls are made from recycled paper. Toilet areas and baby facility areas are cleaned regularly and are spotless as are all other areas of the airport.

If you do have a long stay and you aren’t feeling lazy like we were there are so many things to do. There are internet centres where you can use the internet for 15 minutes and pay 5 Euros. I think there is a full business centre also where you can fax, print, photocopy etc.

In Lounge2, level 2, Lounge 3, level 3 and Pier D which is near the Transfer Kiosk there are Express Spa services if you want to pamper yourself. A foot massage will knock you back anything from 22 Euros to 57 Euros. Neck and back massage cost the same. A hand and arm massage is cheaper and if you want the cheapest option then opt for the Massage lounger. This costs from 12 Euros to 30 Euros.

If you feel the need for a special quiet moment you can go to the meditation centre which can be found on the upper level of Lounge 2/3 between Piers E and F. I came across the centre on our return trip from Shanghai as we decided to try out a different lounge than the park. The lounge was in front of the centre. There are three rooms in the centre; a Quiet Room for individual prayer, meditation and reflection, a Reading Room and a Meeting Room where you can drop in and talk to members of staff.

Just to the left of the Meditation Centre is a Medical Centre so if you have any injuries while you are in the airport I suggest you go along. I was sat very close to the centre and kept hearing the bell ring as I dozed off. The medical staff seemed very helpful and friendly.

On this floor also there is a picture exhibition informing visitors about the history of Schiphol and aviation in general which is interesting especially the old photographs of planes.

Just around the corner is an XD theatre that has special motion seats. I didn’t fancy this experience as I had had enough sensations for one day. Apparently, once your seat belt is fastened you feel the G forces of acceleration breaking and high speed turns. Not good for my hair and I’m not mad on 3D glasses either. Still, I am sure there are plenty of folks and kids who would love this experience.

My husband managed to sleep for hours in the airport park on both stays in the airport. On the return journey we decided we didn’t like the upper level lounge area near the meditation centre so went back to the park. I found it difficult to rest because of the announcements. I couldn’t believe how many passengers couldn’t get to the boarding gate in time and were threatened with their luggage being off loaded. It was very entertaining listening to the announcers as some couldn’t pronounce names properly yet others were brilliant and could probably speak about 10 languages. I loved listening to all the Latin names like Paulo Nascimento and Martinez LeBoeuf. It makes a welcome change for me not to hear too many Polish names which are unpronounceable.

So after 21 hours spent in Schiphol would I do it again? Oh, definitely especially if it meant getting a cheap flight to China. It’s a terrific airport – I could live there.
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Having spent a 10 hour wait in Schipholl Airport we were so pleased to actually get on the huge KLM plane that was going to fly my husband and I to Shanghai. The stay in the airport hadn't been too bad and we coped very…Read More

Having spent a 10 hour wait in Schipholl Airport we were so pleased to actually get on the huge KLM plane that was going to fly my husband and I to Shanghai. The stay in the airport hadn't been too bad and we coped very well but we were both looking forward to settling down and having a long sleep. Unfortunately this ‘long sleep’ wasn’t about to happen as we had only been sat in our seats a few minutes when the dreaded announcement came through the plane saying that there was a delay. As soon as the captain had finished speaking there was a silence and then a huge sigh from the rest of the passengers. The delay was going to be 2 or 3 hours due to the part of the plane that holds cargo being damaged. In the end the delay was only 1 hour 30 minutes. In that time we were given orange juice and chocolate biscuits while the 400 Chinese passengers phoned Shanghai to say they would be late.

Quite a few people I know complain about economy seats on long haul flights but after spending 10 hours on the top deck of our 747/400 Combi I didn’t find it too difficult. The leg room was good enough although half way through the flight I started to twitch a little. It is quite difficult to get a decent night’s sleep especially if you are sat in the middle as my husband was. He struggled to make his head comfortable even though we were given a free pillow and blanket. I was able to prop my head up with my hand underneath the pillow leaning on the window so I wasn’t too bad. I didn’t feel the need to use the blanket as I was warm enough with a T shirt and light jacket. I noticed that many Chinese passengers were wrapped in blankets.

Before climbing aboard the plane I had made my mind up not to watch the on flight entertainment but when we were delayed I changed my mind. I previewed a couple of the latest movies but wasn’t that interested. In the end Clint Eastwood’s movie about J. Edgar Hoover captured my interest and I snuggled in my seat to watch Leonardo DiCaprio do his thing. I enjoyed the movie but was pretty fed up altering the remote control which had a mind of its own and kept switching over to the main menu or turning itself off. At one stage I found myself looking at the flight food menu and what we were going to be eating that evening. It all looked pretty good and I was looking forward to my chick pea salad followed by chicken and rice and strawberry mousse for dessert. I was rather disappointed when only a soggy green salad turned up as a starter and they had run out of rice so I had to have pasta. Not a raspberry mousse in sight but the chocolate profiteroles and cream were delicious so I will let the catering services off on this occasion.

Talking of food I also thought it was wacky to receive a tub of toffee ice cream and a small glass of water at midnight. It is KLM’s policy to keep passengers hydrated throughout long flights and I think it is a very good policy to have. It gets pretty dry on the top deck of the plane. Overall, the quality of the food was good and seemed to be a large quantity. If you think in 10 hours we had 2 main meals followed by snacks in between. I certainly don’t eat this amount of food in a normal day when I am at home.

I do remember having some sleep. My husband said he thought I had a lot of sleep and he hadn’t been able to have much due to the fact that he had a bad throat virus and was unable to rest. I remember at one time thinking that the plane seemed to be racing through the air with the wind on its tail. The highest speed showing on the computerised flight details was 678 miles per hour. I find it incomprehensible to think of a great big lump of metal with 450 passengers on board floating through the clouds at this speed. I am always amazed when the plane actually gets in the air. Another statistic I spotted was the coldest air temperature at -78. It’s hard to believe. I think -28 is enough to bear when we are having a bad winter in Warsaw.

It was good to see that the temperature had risen to 28 degrees centigrade when we landed in Shanghai.

The question I have asked myself since returning from Shanghai is this: After 10 hours on this plane would I fly again with KLM to Shanghai? My answer is yes. The journey wasn’t bad at all and you certainly get the chance to observe other passengers which I always find entertaining. I have no complaints about the staff; all were helpful and pleasant. I thought the captain dealt with the delay well and kept us informed of the progress every twenty minutes or so.I will definitely be booking another flight for September and am looking forward to stepping aboard my favourite KLM 747 Combi.

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I've been lucky enough to have visited Amsterdam three or four times to get the measure of the city. I struggle to find anywhere else that has the sheer diversity of Amsterdam.Old world charm? Yes, just wander along one of those canal streets lined with…Read More

I've been lucky enough to have visited Amsterdam three or four times to get the measure of the city. I struggle to find anywhere else that has the sheer diversity of Amsterdam.
Old world charm? Yes, just wander along one of those canal streets lined with old grand town houses just on the edge of the city centre and you will see old world charm in spades. I like it that the original loading hooks to lift goods from the boats into these old merchant houses are still there and still often used to carry items of furniture in and out of apartments.

A wild night out? Heh, the centre of Amsterdam has enough night life, sleaze and excitement to keep anyone happy. Every visitor to Amsterdam should gawp at the lit windows occupied by scantily clad working girls, although my tip is to wander past late afternoon/early evening just as things are starting; it is a lot quieter and less threatening feeling. I do find the night life in Amsterdam city centre all a little too brash and tacky for my tastes, and be warned there are plenty of scammers hanging around looking for that little too drunk kid to take advantage of, but if it's your thing to go wild you will find it.

I was proud that I didn't look too old or boring not to be offered a whole range of drugs by the dealers on the street (they often hand round on or near the bridges if you are looking).

Dear reader, I didn't inhale.

Culture? While Rembrandt isn't my taste personally, there are plenty of famous and expensive paintings to look at in the Rijksmuseum. There is also Rembrandt's house to look at with a reconstruction of his workshop. I prefer Van Gogh, and the Van Gogh museum is a must see for me. I'm always fascinated with his painting style, and marvel at how so few thick brush strokes can create a painting that is so intricate.

A quiet night out? I'm of an age where I prefer to sink a few beers in quiet and quaint surroundings. The brown cafes of Amsterdam are where I head for – traditional townhouses selling beers with basic wooden tables and knick knacks collected over the years. The Jordaan area is my favourite area for hotel accommodation although it isn't cheap; it is close to the city centre and a good part of town to find brown cafes and jazz bars.

A nice meal? I actually find the Dutch traditional food a little too stodgy and boring, but I love the Indonesian, Thai and Senegal restaurants around the place. The Dutch were a great trading nation and these long held experiences make it a great melting pot for good ethnic food.

Wacky Amsterdam? Amsterdam is also home to the weird and wonderful and it seems to be a city where your habits or hobbies can be put into a career.

Collect handbags? Love cats? Why not form a successful museum around your obsession? In my collection of reviews I concentrate on weird attractions and have just picked out four of many. One joy of Amsterdam is to wander into something you did not expect. Spot something a little left field on your travels and dive in.
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We literally planned our Amsterdam trip the night before we jumped on the train and headed up there. Sure it was more expensive then we thought. At 202(almost 300usd) Euros each for roundtrip train tickets only, it added more pain to the already expensive trip…Read More

We literally planned our Amsterdam trip the night before we jumped on the train and headed up there. Sure it was more expensive then we thought. At 202(almost 300usd) Euros each for roundtrip train tickets only, it added more pain to the already expensive trip thanks to Santorini! But hey, we couldn't just do 2 countries in 11 days so we decided to just do it!

Boy am I glad we did. We crawled out of bed at 5am to lug our bags to the metro to the Paris Du Nord train station. I really liked the train station. It was much prettier than I expected. Felt like a olden traditional movieset train station and I could almost picture a returning soldier running into his lover's embrace once his train chugged into the station.

The trainride was about 4.5 hours and we went through the French countryside and Brusells, Belgium. We were quite well prepared with our chocolate croissants, banana cake slices, chicken caeser salads to make sure we weren't hungry along the way. While Edar slept, I liked to write and let my thoughts wander as I watched the landscape passing by.

The minute we arrived in Amsterdam, it felt like a whole new world! The buildings were very traditional and historical in a different way than Paris. Less gold and white and more dark brown, mahogany, rich wood churches and imposing buildings. While we walked to our hotel, we got lost(thanks to me) and immediately, we could feel and see the difference. There was so much energy and life in the air, possibly because there were throngs and throngs of young people milling around the streets.

Our hotel was called the Tulip Inn Amsterdam Center and a funky little room was frosted glass windows and a W-esque vibe. We chilled for about a half hour then my cousin, Andy msged to say him and his wife had arrived. They had driven a couple hours from the German border just to have dinner with us. I was so happy they could make it as I hadn't seen him in a year and was wanting to meet his wife!

Andy and Natalie were lovely to us, taking us on a guided tour to the red-light district. Now, this is an infamous site but seeing the "flesh trade" in the live is a whole different experience. It was almost surreal to see these women, many of them very beautiful, partially and completely undressed standing by their windows trying to entice customers. Edar and I walked around several of these streets lined with windows and working women in them as we were so curious!

Then we walked along the canals marvelling at the most quirky houses. Most of them were built on mud so they were starting to tilt and each building had its own character. It was all so charming and quaint, like as if it were a city in a children's storybook.   Close

People come to Amsterdam for all kinds of reasons: to see paintings and to get stoned, to admire the 18th century canal houses and to see the best examples of the modernist style, to eat Indonesian food and to sample the dubious delights of the…Read More

People come to Amsterdam for all kinds of reasons: to see paintings and to get stoned, to admire the 18th century canal houses and to see the best examples of the modernist style, to eat Indonesian food and to sample the dubious delights of the Red Light District.

Many days are needed to see everything – but some things are unmissable for anybody who wants to get the taste of the city in all its variety: thus the top ten things to see and do in Amsterdam, in no particular order, and probably more suited to a slightly more mature kind of visitor than a member of a 20-something stag or hen party.

1) Walk the Grachtengordel: a sequence of five canals that extend from Brouwersgracht to the River Amstel in a "belt of canals" or Grachtengordel.. This is how Amsterdam is often imagined and this how – surprisingly, as the reality is often different from the images – it really looks like. It's a strikingly attractive townscape, with grey-green canals overlooked by rows of beautiful canal houses, mostly dating to 17th and 18th centuries. The three main canals are Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht , and the picturesque canal-land stretches to hip area of Jordaan, west of the very centre.

2) Still on the aquatic note, take a canal boat tour (or use it as a means of transportation combining practical with the pleasurable). Canal Bus is the best, offering three routes through three different parts of the city. If you already covered the south and the west as per previous tip, take the blue line that will take you to the eastern docks and the heart of maritime Amsterdam. Tickets cost 20 euro and allow for unlimited usage for 24 hours.

3) See some art: Holland produced some of the best known and most influential painters of the Western world, and Amsterdam has a fantastic selection of museums devoted to art ancient and modern. Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum (with Rembrandt and Vermeer) and the Stedelijk (with Mondrian) are the most obvious – for a good reason – picks.

4) Eat Indonesian food. The most popular "exotic" cuisines come from the former colonies in all countries that had those, and Holland had Indonesia with its spice trade. The colony is no more, but Amsterdam has a wonderful selection of Indonesian restaurants. Ask for a rijsttafel – a sample menu vaguely reminiscent of Southern European meze of tapas.

5) See some modernist and newer architecture, for example 1920 de Klerk's Het Schip housing complex (now a museum) or the science centre Nemo and nearby ARCAM building. If you are particularly interested, set out to Java Island to see a contemporary take on the canal house, or the almost brutalist housing complex The Whale.

6) Have a beer or a cup of coffee and an apple tart with cream in one of Amsterdam's "brown cafes" (cafe bruin) – they are as much pubs as cafes, actually, and provide the most traditional, cosy and inviting place for a quiet break in a touring schedule. A beer will likely set you back about 4-5 euro, so it's not a cheap past-time.

7) Have a walk through the Red Light District: not to sample the wares on offer, but to see what is, after all, a tourist attraction in itself. Still sleazy and seedy, despite great inroads made for the working rights of the working girls, and perhaps not a place to hang around for long, but worth a stroll in the early hours of the evening even if just to say you have been there and done that.

8) Visit the Resistance Museum: it's more better than the slightly overrated Anne Frank House and presents the story of the Dutch people during the Second World War in an admirably clear, informative and moving display combining historical facts and personal accounts: and the fate of the Dutch Jews is extensively covered too.

9) Walk along the Flower Market by the Singel canal: you can admire the countless varieties of the tulips (and few others) and fulfil all your souvenir and tourist tat buying needs here as the stalls and shops sell bulbs, porcelain clogs and various windmill-decorated items galore.

10) Have a peek into a coffee shop. Amsterdam is unique and well known in that allows licensed and legal use of cannabis. Even if you have no intentions of using any hash or marijuana, a look at one of those establishments (with menus listing the wares by name, origin and price) which for many -especially young - visitors are the main draw of Amsterdam.
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It's easy – and pleasant too - to walk or cycle in Amsterdam, while public transportation system includes excellent tram network, metro (subway) and canal bus boats.The centre of Amsterdam, where most of the attractions, sights, entertainment and night-life is concentrated, is easily walkable. In…Read More

It's easy – and pleasant too - to walk or cycle in Amsterdam, while public transportation system includes excellent tram network, metro (subway) and canal bus boats.

The centre of Amsterdam, where most of the attractions, sights, entertainment and night-life is concentrated, is easily walkable. In fact, walking round Amsterdam, with its picturesque water-side streets lined with traditional canal houses, is one of the greatest pleasures of Amsterdam and an attraction in itself.

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You can also do as many locals do and cycle: bike hire places are widely available and designated cycle lanes are everywhere. Expect to pay around 4 euro an hour, 10 euro a day or 30-40 euro per week (cash deposit or/and passport are required to hire a bike). Get a good lock, though, as theft can be a real problem.

Amsterdam is flat, and cycling is easy (although the humpback canal bridges will require a bit of a push if you are not fit and your bike isn't equipped with many gears).

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The canals that criss-cross Amsterdam provide excellent opportunity for water transport and there are several companies offering sightseeing cruises as well as a regular canal-bus boats. The Canal Bus operate three colour-coded lines that give easy access to all major sights and provide fantastic opportunity to see Amsterdam from the water level. A day ticket for all the lines cost 20 euro and allows for unlimited use of the network for 24 hours (so if you start at midday you have until midday the next day). If you buy two days, the second one is half price.

The main stop is opposite the central station, but you can get tickets at Rijksmuseum, Leidseplein and Anne Frank House stops as well as at many hotels, Amsterdam Tourist Information Offices. If you just want to hop onto the boat and have no time to get a ticket, you might be able to persuade the skipper to let you on to nip out at one of the main stops to buy your ticket there. Get a map and the timetable to make a full use of this excellent service.

An alternative is a Museum Boat run by a company called Lovers, which has two lines which stop at slightly different locations (the price is the same) and offers discounts on entry to several of the major museums (these have to be pre purchased with a ticket, so planning is needed).

Obviously, the canal boats are not the cheapest or fastest way to travel round Amsterdam, but an a very pleasant one, and at least one such a cruise (whether involving any hopping on and off or not) is a must for any visitor.

If your hotel is near a canal bus stop, the boat is actually a reasonable alternative to a taxi or more conventional public transport when travelling back to the train station (get your ticket the day before to get the full use out of it).

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GBV runs the proper Amsterdam public transport system, comprising trams, buses, small metro and some ferries in the north part of the city. Centraal Station is the hub for all of those, and all are covered by the same ticket system: strippenkaart, a long thin cardboard ticket divided into strips. Fold the card over and validate each strip in one of the on-board machines.

One adult travelling for up to one hour within one zone (most of the central Amsterdam is covered by one central zone) costs 2 strips, extra zone is one strip more. Two or more people can use the same card, provided requisite number of strips is validated. You can change, as long as you remain within the zone and within the 1 hour timespan.

Tickets are available on trams and buses (at 1.60 per journey/zone/hour), but it's cheaper to buy longer cards (15 strips) in tobacconists and GBV offices. An unlimited day card for the whole network is around 6.50 euro.

Trams are the most useful in the centre (buses go mostly to the outlying districts, and so does the metro) and are very easy to use: there is a map of the line on-board each vehicle, the stops are announced by name by an automated voice system in the trams and there is a map of the whole network at each stop.

In my experience the tram and bus drivers are among the few people you might meet in Amsterdam who won't necessarily speak any (or very limited) English, so it's useful to learn how to pronounce your destination name in Dutch.


**

The Schiphol airport is connected to the city by frequent (every ten-twenty minutes on weekdays and every hour at night) trains.    Close

Amsterdam has over 50 museums, covering everything from Van Gogh to prostitution, Rembrandt to beer, diamonds to Anne Frank, modern art to marijuana. You are not likely to want - or be able to - visit all or even most of them during your visit,…Read More

Amsterdam has over 50 museums, covering everything from Van Gogh to prostitution, Rembrandt to beer, diamonds to Anne Frank, modern art to marijuana. You are not likely to want - or be able to - visit all or even most of them during your visit, but you are likely to find something of interest in the sheer variety of them all: below is a pick of the best we visited.


1) Van Gogh Museum houses a huge permanent collection of his work in chronological order, a small gallery of his contemporaries and changeable temporary exhibitions on a particular theme, location or period. It's beautifully laid out and with plenty of information that sheds light not only on Van Gogh's development as an artist, but his whole life and the art world of his time. It's busy (with frequent queues) and expensive (15 euro) but well worth visiting.

2) Rijksmuseum is at the time of writing undergoing an extensive refurbishment which is expected to last until at least 2012, but it still displays a selection of the most known, loved and interesting works in an exhibition entitled "The Masterpieces" and for this exhibition alone should be visited by anybody with the scantiest interest in art. Some truly remarkable work is displayed here, from the eponymous Night Watch and other (and arguably, better) Rembrandts to Franz Hals to wonderfully luminous Vermeers.

3) Stedelijk is the must-see museum for modern and contemporary art: due to re-open in renovated premises in 2010, the musuem still maintains presence at a selection of temporary venues around Amsterdam. The collection features cutting edge new artists as well as a works from Monet, Cezanne, and of course a great showing for Mondrian.

4) Dutch Resistance Museum has been chosen as the best historical museum of the Netherlands, and rightly so: it recounts the story not just of the resistance, but of the whole German occupation of the Netherlands in Word War 2. What was the national response? How was the resistance started? Who resisted and why? The displays are incredibly well presented, mixing historical fact, social background and personal stories of real people. A lot of the info is provided in English and the whole is compelling and very enlightening. Even if you are not particularly interested in the WW2 or history, it's still very worth visiting.

5) The Willet-Holthuysen Museum is a houses of the Amsterdam rich merchant and allows for a peek into the life of those who used to inhabit those magnificent canal houses in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the time of our visit an exhibition on fans was also held there!

6) Anne Frank's House combines the detailed presentation about the fate of the teenage diarist and her family with more general information about the Holocaust in the Netherlands, and although initial impression might be of a slightly undignified tourist trap, the actual result is dignified, moving and informative: the enormity of the Jews' extermination doesn't is shown through the focus on an individual case but rarely if even becomes sentimental or simplistic.


There are many more - from the world-class photography centre FOAM to the museum of Hash, Hemp and Marijuana to Historical Museum of Amsterdam to Prostitution Information Centre to one devoted to the local football club Ajax to Heineken Experience to Museum of the Tropic, plus numerous small and medium exhibitions and displays catering for a huge variety of interests and tastes, Amsterdam museums have a lot to offer and every visitor should find one - and probably more - that will capture his attention and imagination.

I certainly want to go back and see some more.

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This Rough Guide is as comprehensive, up to date and well researched as most if not all Rough Guides seem to be. I have used numerous examples of their guides and I found them to be among the best if not the best ones there…Read More

This Rough Guide is as comprehensive, up to date and well researched as most if not all Rough Guides seem to be. I have used numerous examples of their guides and I found them to be among the best if not the best ones there are. They do seem to have moved upmarket a bit since I first started to use them in the early 90s - but they still provide the best balance in descriptions covering practicalities, context, history, sightseeing, entertainment, drinking, clubbing and even (in Amsterdam at least) dope smoking.

The introduction is to the usual Rough Guide standards, with all general info a traveller to the Netherlands in general, and to Amsterdam in particular might wish to have.

The main guide section, which provides descriptions of the city and its sights is excellent. Amsterdam is divided into several naturally separating chunks and the guide provides a description and historical background to the areas, takes the reader on a walk throughout each of them and informs in fair depth on all significant and many minor sights and attractions.

As most Rough Guides are, and as all good guides should be, this one is opinionated and doesn't avoid giving recommendation nor damning with faint praise when necessary.

In addition to the general, the guide has good sections for visitors with children and an extensive section devoted to gay Amsterdam (though Amsterdam being Amsterdam, this separation perhaps wasn't even necessary).

We used this volume during our visit in February 2009, and I can't think of one part or entry that I would disagree with. Even the practicalities of the museum closures were all covered and up to date, although all prices were already slightly higher (but that is to be expected). The colour maps were incredibly useful.

The only reason I can't possibly give it full five stars and I was even contemplating giving three is the layout. The whole book is divided into sections within sections within sections.

And thus, we have a sightseeing section, accounted for above, and very sensibly, divided into city districts. Then we have accommodation section, and that is also divided into districts. So far, not so bad. After all, accommodation is organised once or twice, the over and done with, while sightseeing is an ongoing process. There is nothing wrong with separating the two.

But then we listings and reviews for restaurants, bars and cafs. And each of those categories is GIVEN ITS OWN SECTION. And each of those is separated into districts. This was really, really impractical, especially as (at least during the day) the difference between restaurant, caf or bar is not that great for practical purposes. In order to find a place to eat lunch or snack or stop for a coffee, I had to first check the bars for a given district, then skip over bars in all other districts to find the cafs in mine, then skip over cafs in all other districts to find restaurants. Finding anything (especially on the go!) means either manipulating several bookmarks/bent pages or furiously thumbing the pages as you walk straight into a canal.

It would have been much better to have all the listings (separated into types of venues) in one place, ideally after the sightseeing text. This is a much more natural system, as it doesn't assume that sightseeing is separate from eating and that eating is separate from drinking. It would also allow a visitor who wished to do so to split the book (physically) into sections to lower the weight to carry on any given day.

With this one caveat, I can still recommend The Rough Guide to Amsterdam to all visitors: it's comprehensive, informative, opinionated and is bound to be useful regardless of what brings you to the city on the Amstel.   Close