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There’s more to Amsterdam
than tulips, there’s culture, incredible architecture and a pulsating
night life. Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most vibrant and diverse
capitals and each year it attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists.
Not only the capital city, Amsterdam is also the
largest city of the Netherlands and is in North Holland. It gets its
name very simply, in the 12th century the village of Amstel had a dam
which created Amstellerdam. As with many words, over the centuries the
name adapted and changed and we now have the modern day name of
Amsterdam. The modern day bustling, growing city is a far cry from its
fishing village origins of centuries ago.
Many different kinds of visitors visit Amsterdam for
many different reasons, those looking to soak up the history, those
wanting to experience the famous coffee houses and those who don’t
really know why they came but are glad that they did! With the
introduction of low cost travel, especially between European countries
you’ll find an increasing amount of weekenders visiting for a quick
dose of Holland before returning to work on Monday.
One of the best things to do in Amsterdam is completely
free and you can find it pretty much as soon as you set foot out of
your hotel or guest house and that’s walking around the city and
soaking up the architecture. It’s easy to lose track of time doing
this, you can start on one cobbled street on the edge of the canal and
find yourself exploring a labyrinth of streets, all flanked by
wonderfully tall European houses. You can marvel at their beauty and
ask yourself how on earth they get their furniture to the top floor
all day long, occasionally stopping for coffee and a pastry.
Many visitors will make sure that they go and see some
of the many museums that the city has got to offer, Van Gough museum,
Anne Frank museum and a whole host of sex museums. There are some
great markets where you can shop for new and old souvenirs of your
trip to Amsterdam. At
night the city takes on a whole different feel, it comes alive in a
completely different way to the daytime. Cafes and restaurants
illuminate your walk along the canal, oozing ambient music and
wonderful smells. The bars and clubs are very popular with the young,
with a wide variety of different clubs from electronic, garage, gay or
live music, you name it and the city has got it. The Red light area is
very famous and many visitors get a kick from visiting it, you don’t
have to be wanting to pay for sex to enjoy a quick walk along the
streets but be careful if you do decide to go and see what it’s all
about, pickpockets working in gangs are known to target the area, so
make sure you keep your money and valuables out of sight.
Amsterdam is great; you can visit it time and time
again and still find areas you haven’t seen before and new attractions
to visit, making this one of the best European cities to take a trip
to. | 
Amsterdam
Reviewed
