Publishing information This tenth edition first published January 2010 by Rough Guides Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL 14 Local Shopping Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017, India Distributed by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL Penguin Group (USA) 375 Hudson Street, NY 10014, USA Penguin Group (Australia) 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia Penguin Group (Canada) 195 Harry Walker Parkway N, Newmarket, ON, L3Y 7B3 Canada Penguin Group (NZ) 67 Apollo Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland 1310, New Zealand Cover concept by Peter Dyer. © Martin Dunford, Phil Lee and Karoline Thomas ISBN: 978-1-84836-515-5 Maps © Rough Guides No part of this e-book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews. This Digital Edition published 2010. ISBN: 9781405382663 The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the information in The Rough Guide to Amsterdam, however, they can accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice contained in the guide. Introduction Introduction to Amsterdam Where to go When to go 20 things not to miss Introduction to Amsterdam Amsterdam gables Oudeschans canal Amsterdam has grown up in the past decade or so. It is a slicker, more cosmopolitan place than it once was, more business-minded, less eccentric, and overall more integrated into the European mainstream. Yet it still enjoys a reputation as one of Europe’s most relaxed cities – and with some justification. There’s a laid-back feel to the streets and canals (and its people) that you just don’t get in any other European city. Of course, it remains a place for Sixties throwbacks who just want to get stoned, and for well-oiled gangs of blokes on the prowl in the still notorious Red Light District. But it also has a small-city feel: it doesn’t take long to get from place to place, and – thanks to its canals – many parts of the centre are uncongested and peaceful. Amsterdam’s welcoming attitude towards visitors has been shaped by the liberal counterculture of the last four decades, but it’s emphatically no longer the hippy haven it once was. In fact, in the last few years the city has been more or less absorbed into the rest of Europe, with not only high-end bars and clubs muscling in on its more traditional haunts, but also with the emergence of crime and drug problems that for decades seemed to have passed Amsterdam by. However, some things haven’t changed, and it’s hard not to feel drawn by its vibrant, open-air summer events, by the cheery intimacy of its cafés, and by the Dutch facility with languages; just about everyone you meet in Amsterdam will be able to speak good-to-fluent English, and often more than a smattering of French and German too. Amsterdam is still far from being as diverse a city as, say, London or Paris; despite the huge numbers of immigrants from the former colonies in Surinam and Indonesia, as well as from Morocco and Turkey, to name but a few, almost all live and work outside the centre and can seem almost invisible to the casual visitor. Indeed, there is an ethnic and social homogeneity in the city centre that seems to counter everything you may have heard about Dutch integration. It’s a contradiction that is typical of Amsterdam. The city is world-famous as a place where the possession and sale of cannabis are effectively legal – or at least decriminalized – and yet for the most part Amsterdammers themselves don’t really partake in the stuff. And while Amsterdam is renowned for its tolerance towards all styles of behaviour, a primmer, more conventional big city, with a more mainstream dress sense, would be hard to find. Indeed, these days the city is trying to reinvent itself, geared towards a more up-market kind of tourist who is a little less fixated on smoking and drinking. In recent years, a string of hardline city mayors have had some success in diminishing Amsterdam’s image as a counterculture icon, instead touting it as a centre for business and international high finance. Almost all of the inner-city squats, which once defined local people-power, are gone or legalized; many coffeeshops, especially those in the Red Light District, are closing; and the Red Light District itself – for years the beacon of the city’s laissez-faire attitude – is being cleaned up, and many of its sleaziest establishments closed down. The cityscape, too, continues to evolve, with large-scale urban development on the outskirts and regeneration within. Canal house on Prinsengracht Nevertheless, Amsterdam remains a casual and intimate place, and Amsterdammers themselves make much of their city and its attractions being gezellig, a rather overused Dutch word roughly corresponding to a combination of “cosy”, “lived-in” and “warmly convivial”. Nowhere is this more applicable than in the city’s unparalleled selection of drinking places, whether you choose a traditional brown café or one of a raft of newer, more stylish bars. The city boasts dozens of excellent restaurants too, with great Indonesian options and a host of increasingly adventurous Dutch establishments. As for cultural attractions, the city holds its own in contemporary European film, dance, drama and music; it harbours several top-notch jazz venues, as well as the Concertgebouw, home to one of the world’s leading orchestras, and the state-of- the-art Muziekgebouw, the city’s prestigious venue for opera and orchestral music. The club scene is relatively restrained, although a wealth of gay bars and clubs partly justifies Amsterdam’s claim to be the “Gay Capital of Europe”. Amsterdam bicycle Introduction to Amsterdam | So much to see, so little time… Amsterdam is perfect for short breaks: it’s small, so you can amble about almost everywhere and see pretty much everything; there are very few must-see sights, so you don’t have to spend half your time feeling guilty about the cultural icons you should be visiting; and there are literally hundreds of enticing bars, cafés and restaurants where you can take the weight off your feet between attractions. The itineraries below give an idea of how to plan your time. Mostly designed around key sights, they cover everything from a flying visit to a full week in the city, and can be used as rigidly, or as flexibly, as you like. Two days Dam Square • Anne Frank Huis • Red Light District • Oude Kerk • Rijksmuseum • Van Gogh Museum • Leidseplein • Grachtengordel South • Museum Van Loon/Museum Willet-Holthuysen • Rembrandtplein Three days As above, plus: Westerkerk • Koninklijk Paleis • Brouwersgracht • Western docklands Five days As above, plus: Rembrandthuis • Waterlooplein • Verzetsmuseum • Artis Zoo • Tropenmuseum • Heineken Experience • De Pijp • Vondelpark • Museumtramlijn • Amsterdamse Bos • Amsterdam ArenA Seven days As above, plus: Stedelijk Museum • Esnoga • Joods Historisch Museum • Eastern docklands • Amsterdam Noord • Haarlem • Keukenhof Gardens Where to go The city’s layout is determined by a web of canals radiating out from a historical core to loop right round Amsterdam’s compact centre, which takes about forty minutes to stroll from one end to the other. Butting up to the River IJ, the Old Centre spreads south from Centraal Station bisected by the Damrak and its continuation, the Rokin, the city’s main drag; en route is the Dam, the main square. The Old Centre remains Amsterdam’s commercial heart, as well as the hub of its bustling street life, and also holds myriad shops, bars and restaurants. The area is also home to the Red Light District, just to the east of the Damrak, and contains dozens of fine old buildings, most memorably the Oude Kerk, the Amstelkring and the Koninklijk Paleis. The Old Centre is bordered by the first of the major canals, the Singel, whose curve is mirrored by those of the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht – collectively known as the Grachtengordel, or “Girdle of Canals”. These waterways were part of a major seventeenth-century urban extension and, with the interconnecting radial streets, form the city’s distinctive web shape. This is Amsterdam’s most delightful area, full of the handsome seventeenth-and eighteenth-century canal houses, with their decorative gables, and narrow, dreamy canals, that most people associate with the city; a well-worn image, perhaps, but one that is still entirely authentic. Here you’ll also find perhaps the city’s most celebrated attraction, the Anne Frank Huis, the house in which the young Jewish diarist hid away during the German occupation of World War II, now a poignant reminder of the Holocaust.