Practical Information
All sort of useful information and tips to make your day or weekend in Amsterdam hassle-free and even more enjoyable. Which tram goes to the Rijksmuseum? What are the shopping hours? Where to rent a bike? Your city trip was never so pleasant and enjoyable!
The editor of Amsterdam-Now knows the city like no other person and can answer (almost) any question.
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Public Transport Tram, Bus and Metro
Public transport in Amsterdam is by tram, metro, bus and ferry. Amsterdam is a compact city and most sights are within walking distance of each other. Yet, it is fun to explore Amsterdam by tram and see the city in a relaxed way. There is a whole gamut of different...
Hop-on Hop-off Bus Amsterdam City Sightseeing Tour
Hop-on Hop-off bus tour and enjoy the sights of Amsterdam hassle-free! Discover the city at your own pace and hop off wherever you like and wherever you like. Visit a museum or amble along the canals, then hop on again to the next point of interest. Sit back and enjoy...
I Amsterdam City Card
I Amsterdam City Card is your ticket to experience Amsterdam in an affordable and relaxed way. You’ll see more and save money at the same time! No need to buy separate tickets for attractions and public transport. The I Amsterdam Card not only affords you free...
Amsterdam Museum
Housed in a former orphanage, the Amsterdam Museum tells the story of Amsterdam. The permanent exhibition: Amsterdam DNA, free thinking, entrepreneurship, citizenship and creativity. Apart from the core collection, the Amsterdam Museum hosts temporary exhibitions in...
Amsterdam City Pass
Purchase the Amsterdam City Pass and discover Amsterdam hassle-free. This City Pass affords free entry and fast track entrance to the Rijksmuseum or the Van Gogh Museum. Also included are a free canal cruise and a free train ticket from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Add...
Days and Months in Dutch
Everywhere in Amsterdam you will see posters for exhibitions and concerts. When you see someone playing the violin you need no further explanation. Popconcerts are also also easy to recognise. The only problem may be the names of the days and the months. The names of...
Dutch Bicycle Rules
Experience Amsterdam and rent a bike! Pedal around town for a few hours and feel like a local. Biking in Amsterdam is safe and easy because Amsterdam is as flat as a pancake, no elevations apart from picturesque humpback bridges. Observe the bicycle rules and do not...
From Schiphol to Amsterdam City Centre
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is located 17 kilometers southwest of Amsterdam centre. Schiphol Station is right at the terminal at a lower level. Getting to Amsterdam Central Station takes 15 to 20 minutes. The train is by far the most convenient way of getting from...
Public Transport Pass
A Public Transport Day Pass is handy for tourists who like to ride the trams in Amsterdam. True to say, Amsterdam is a compact city and many sights are within walking distance of each other, yet a tram ride is fun and if you want to visit the Amsterdam suburbs a Day...
Amsterdam Metro
Like many other metropolises Amsterdam, too, has a metro, but with a difference. The Amsterdam metro was built only in 1977 and has just two underground stations and four lines. The metro fans out from Centraal station to the suburbs, Bijlmer, Amstelveen and Diemen....
Low-cost Airlines to Amsterdam
Schiphol Amsterdam Airport is the largest airport in the Netherlands and the fourth biggest in Europe. Other airports in the Netherlands are Eindhoven Airport, Maastricht Aachen Airport and Rotterdam The Hague Airport. All Dutch airports have good train connections to...
History of Delftware
Delftware is synonymous with Holland and ubiquitous in souvenir shops – windmills, clogs, kissing farmer boy and girl, vases, mugs, wall plates – they all sell like hotcakes. All souvenir shops in Amsterdam sell this blue-and-white pottery but did you know that this...
Amsterdam Holland Pass
The Amsterdam Holland Pass also known as Amsterdam City Card is your ticket to hassle-free Amsterdam, a must-have for visitors who like to enjoy Amsterdam to the full: a guide book, queuing for the popular museums is history. Take your pick from 60 museums and...
The Golden Bend where Wealthy Merchants Lived
Golden bend – Gouden Bocht – that is where the most coveted canal houses in Amsterdam. All these mansions clustered around the curve of Herengracht between Spiegelstraat and Vijzelstraat. This is the stretch of the canal where, in the 17th century, wealthy merchants...
Food translator
Eating out in Amsterdam is no problem as there are hundreds of restaurants. Most menu cards are both in Dutch and English. Still, in some smaller restaurants or snackbars the menu may be in Dutch only. Here are some key words to help you along. And, remember, most...
Jewish Amsterdam
Many people refer to Amsterdam as the Venice of the North, a pertinent name for a city with two hundred canals. Few people know Amsterdam’s second name, Mokum, Yiddish for place or town. Mokum is an appropriate name, because the city has welcomed Jews ever since the...
Remnants of Medieval Amsterdam
Amsterdam was founded in 1306, or to be more precise, this is the year in which (probably) city rights were granted (sources on the exact date vary). City rights gave privileges to a city. A city wall could be built, markets held, tolls levied and mint their own...
Narrow Houses and Skinny Facades
Judging by the number of extremely narrow houses along Amsterdam's canals, you could conclude that in the seventeenth century when these houses were built, the locals were very slim. Some of these houses are as narrow as the front door. But why are these houses so...
European Sleeper Amsterdam to Berlin and Prague
Amsterdam is a train hub for national and international connections. It is easy to travel by train from Amsterdam to many cities in other European countries. A very convenient way to travel to Berlin, Germany, and Prague, Czech Republic is by European Sleeper. You...
Rembrandt as Portrait Painter
In the seventeenth century, in Rembrandt's time, photography had not yet been invented and when people wanted their likeness taken, they went to a portrait painter, Rembrandt for example. That is exactly what Marten and Oopjen Soolmans did a year after their wedding....
Best Bridges, Canals and Singel of Amsterdam
Say Amsterdam and the first thing that comes to mind are canals and bridges. No wonder because Amsterdam canals are true eye-catchers. There are about two hundred canals in the city. Originally, the canals were a practical solution to a problematic situation....
Tulip Mania in Seventeenth-century Amsterdam
Tulip mania was a result of greed. In the seventeenth century tulips had become trendy in Amsterdam. Clever speculators stepped in and the commodity markets soared, but their profits were short-lived. One tulip bulb would fetch €2000 (in today's money). This meant...
Public Transport Tram, Bus and Metro
Public transport in Amsterdam is by tram, metro, bus and ferry. Amsterdam is a compact city and most sights are within walking distance of each other. Yet, it is fun to explore Amsterdam by tram and see the city in a relaxed way. There is a whole gamut of different...
National Monument Cenotaph on Dam Square
The National Monument on Dam Square is a cenotaph in remembrance of those who fell in the Second World War. The steps of the National Monument are a popular place in Amsterdam to rest, eat a snack or do some people watching. The Remembrance Day ceremony takes places...
Hop-on Hop-off Bus Amsterdam City Sightseeing Tour
Hop-on Hop-off bus tour and enjoy the sights of Amsterdam hassle-free! Discover the city at your own pace and hop off wherever you like and wherever you like. Visit a museum or amble along the canals, then hop on again to the next point of interest. Sit back and enjoy...
Hop-on Hop-off Cruise, Unique Way to See Amsterdam Highlights
Hop-on Hop-off cruise is the perfect way to discover Amsterdam highlights. Float along picturesque canals, hop on and off at one of the seven stops to see important sights such as Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and the Heineken Experience. A canal cruise is a relaxed...
Shopping Hours of Stores and When and Where to Shop in Amsterdam
Shopping Hours of stores in Amsterdam are very generous. Therefore Amsterdam is the ideal place to spend hours shopping, browsing or simply window-shopping. Opening hours of stores in the city centre are 7 days a week, but may vary on public holidays. Popular shopping...
Vincent van Gogh and the Potato Eaters
Vincent van Gogh is not only the artist who painted the Potato Eaters, he is also known as the man who cut off his ear, the man who drank turpentine, the man who sold only one painting during his lifetime but became famous posthumously. In 1885, Van Gogh painted...
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