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Amsterdam
Short City Breaks for open minded people looking for a fun relaxing
time
Hotels in Amsterdam range
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 Amsterdam
is one of the greatest small cities in the world for short city
breaks. From the famous
canals to world-famous museums and historical sights, Amsterdam is
one of the most romantic and beautiful cities in Europe that you
must visit with your partner.
Amsterdam is a city of tolerance and diversity, with all the
advantages of a big city: culture, entertainment, international
restaurants, good transport - but is relatively small, quiet, and
largely thanks to its canals, has a little road traffic.
Amsterdam is known for the
Red Light District.
Great for singles or adventuress couples.
Museums are the main tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Everyone knows
the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum, but there is
much more. Amsterdam has over fifty museums which attract millions
of visitors each year.
Coffee shops in Holland are allowed to sell small amounts of
cannabis and are strictly regulated and taxed. Furthermore, coffee
shops must not sell to anyone under 18 and they must not sell more
than 5g to any customer. Hard drugs are strictly prohibited.
Short City Breaks hotel guide for
Amsterdam
offers the most convenient reservation service for Amsterdam. The
selection of hotels include over 330 accommodation properties, from
rooms to apartments that you can book online. Take that short
city break, even a short weekend break should be enough to recharge
those batteries. The trick with
lodging in Amsterdam is getting in (and we don’t just mean squeezing
up those narrow stairs). Book your hotel well in advance, especially
if you want something special. It is a fact that in 2003, continuing
hard times for hoteliers meant there were more empty rooms than
usual, and deals could be snapped up on all price levels; you could
well beat the prices listed here. Many hotels also post offers on
their websites.
 The
hotels in Amsterdam have clustered around clearly demarcated
consumer zones; each is lined with dozens of anonymous small but
significant places. Amsterdam is famous for it's sex clubs and the
Red Light District
and slightly more salubrious Central Station area, the neon-lit
entertainment quarters around Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein, the
elegant canal zone between the station and Leidseplein, and the
stately museum district are the main hotel areas, in ascending order
of posh ness, peacefulness and price.
Wherever you stay, the typical room might feel a bit cramped. Try to
see it as cozy, and leave the 24-piece luggage set at home -
Amsterdam isn’t a dressing-up town anyway. Enjoy yourselves, take a
short break. If you need things like a lift or wide doorways,
always ask: much of this wiggly city is not very disabled-friendly,
and hotels are no exception. And when that promised king-size bed
turns out to be two small ones pushed together, bear in mind that
this is standard even in expensive hotels, what with windows being
furniture’s usual way into the city’s old skinny buildings.
In lieu of bigness, Amsterdam’s hoteliers seem to have gone for the
‘small but perfectly formed’ approach. ‘Design hotels’ are catching
on at all but the lowest price levels, and even there, themed rooms
abound. Other places around town emphasis art or literature,
in-hotel bike rental, or being on a boat. Whatever you find, enjoy.
The local wish to be unique will make your stay that much funkier
and perhaps add a bit of poetry to your life. We’d expect nothing
less from this self-expressive city.
Restaurants
For sure, it’s taken a few centuries, but Amsterdam has transcended
its geographic setting on a land best suited to spuds, cabbages,
carrots and cows. Many of the famed greenhouses now grow a stunning
array of more delicate and often organic ingredients, and the city’s
well traveled chefs are taking full advantage of them. Of course,
visitors should try the traditional grub (the carrots, in
particular, taste all the better when you know that 17th-century
Dutch royalists grew them for their orange colour). And you’d be
silly missing out on such homegrown delicacies as herring, shrimp,
cheese, asparagus or lamb. But rest assured, there’s also a dizzying
array of more global and globally-inspired options.
Leisurely dining
When you dine in Amsterdam you will notice a laid-back affair,
though the Dutch do tend to eat early: many kitchens close by 10pm,
mainly to cater for the tourists. All bills should, by law, include
19 per cent tax and a 15 per cent service charge, though it’s
customary to leave between five and ten per cent if the service
merits it. It really is up to you. If you have any special
requirements, like high chairs or disabled access, it’s always best
to phone the restaurant before setting out. Now then again did
you really want to take your children to Amsterdam?
Bars & Night Clubs
Well they say size matters, so one of the first things visitors
to the city may notice when they order a beer is the size of the
glass it’s served in. When it comes to beer, size matters. Not only
is that thimble before you the standard glass (250ml, or 0.44pt), but it comes with a sizeable head of froth. In fact, when
beer in Holland is served correctly, it comes topped with exactly two
fingers’ worth of beer-scented foam.
I'd be very careful from which glass I was drinking when in Holland.
A bad habit that the Dutch have is the way the glasses empty
and are often casually sluiced out in a sink of water at the bar
during busy periods. Check the rim of the glass carefully before
taking your first swig, and don’t be afraid to hand it back at the
slightest hint of washing-up liquid or lipstick.
All that said, once you’re fully initiated to the bizarre and bubbly
world of beer in Amsterdam, you’ll find that the streets really are
paved in gold - or at least, amber nectar: there are more bars per
square foot than you could shake those two fingers at.
Most common is the old-style bruin café or brown bar, so called
because over the years, nicotine has stained their walls. Wood,
warmth and well-worn gezelligheid (a uniquely Dutch type of social
cosiness) typify the best. Brown bars have a good range of local and
national brews, but uncompromising enthusiasts should head to
specialist purveyors such as ’t Arendsnest or In de Wildeman; and
for fine, locally-produced beer, take a trip to De Bekeerde Suster
or Brouwerij ’t IJ .
However, there’s much more to Amsterdam’s bars than boozing. Some
simply ooze history, like In ’t Aepjen or In de Waag . Others
preserve an important Dutch tradition: proeflokaal (tasting houses)
specialise in jenever (a gin-like spirit made from juniper berries),
brandewijn (literally, burnt - or distilled - wine) and other old
Dutch liquors.
Recent years have seen a steady growth in lounge bars, but
thankfully, other types of bar - geared towards political, literary,
musical, trad or mad crowds - are still out there.
Gay & Lesbian in Holland
Like attracts like in the Netherlands’ gay capital. With
its benevolent eye to difference and diversity, Amsterdam is a
magnet for gays and lesbians - indeed, it’s regarded by many as the
gay capital of Europe (and perhaps even the planet). Amsterdam is
the capital of a country which is second-to-none for judicial
equality. Holland decriminalised homosexuality as far back as 1811,
lowered the age of consent for gay men to 16 in 1971, and pulled off
its greatest coup in 2002, when it became the first nation to
legalise same-sex marriage for nationals and residents. In the first
year alone, 1339 male and 1075 female couples tied the knot.
But of course it’s not just social acceptance that brings them here:
it’s the fun, too. For gays, the Amsterdam scene offers something to
all comers, from leather-daddy to perma-tanned twink and everything
in between. Alas (as is often the case elsewhere), it’s hardly
Sapphic heaven. There is scope to indulge everyone from separatists
to S&M devotees, but lesbian opportunities tend to be restricted to
a handful of venues. And it’s unfortunate that such a diverse scene
should be so strongly divided by gender, although girls and boys do
come together for one-off club nights, for Queen’s Day celebrations
and - with a bang - at Gay Pride.
Shops & Services in Holland
Or how this city can help you part with your money.
Amsterdam doesn’t insist you waste your precious posturing and
posing time in its museums, galleries and historical streets: the
city is just as keen to please those who have come to flex their
retail muscle.
The shopping scene has radically changed in the past few years.
Great bargains still abound, but the Dutch capital is fast becoming
one of the world’s great shopping attractions. With its flat
streets, few places are as well suited to movement on foot, and
unlike the cloned malls you’ll find all over the planet, Amsterdam’s
quirky neighborhood boutiques have personality by the bucketful.
Many occupy superb historical canal buildings or sell fantastic art
and design. In other words, you’ll actually be getting a dose of
culture after all.
Hotels in Amsterdam range
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