Amsterdam (Amsterdam) is the capital of the country and an insanely attractive and beautiful city. Here, in addition to seeing a huge number of attractions, you can go to the so-called "author's" excursions "Alternative Amsterdam" or "Crazy Amsterdam". They are devoted to the informal city: hippies, punks, representatives of sexual minorities and other things. During the excursion the theory is supported by practical exercises: visiting "coffee shops". The cost of this kind of excursion is around 200 EUR per person.

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How to get to Amsterdam

International Schiphol - one of the busiest airports in the world, is located 15 km from the city. Here flights from all over the world fly, including from Russia (KLM, Aeroflot, etc.)

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• How to get from Brussels to Amsterdam

How to get from the airport to the city center

The city center can be reached in several ways:

• on a direct train that arrives at Amsterdam's main train station. Trains depart around the clock, at peak hours 3-4 trains per hour, from 1:00 to 5:00 am - one train per hour. The fare is 3, 8 EUR (6, 9 EUR round trip), the journey time is 20 minutes. Trains depart, as a rule, from platform No. 3. All platforms are underground, under the main hall of the airport. You can buy a ticket in one of the yellow-blue "machines", some accept plastic cards.
• on buses that follow up to Leidseplein and Museumplein squares, the journey time is 30 minutes. The fare on the bus number 197 ~ 4, 8 EUR, on the express No. 370 ~ 3, 6 EUR (funny, but the fact - a simple bus is much faster express). The 197th bus leaves every 15 minutes from 5:00 to 00:00, bus number 370 - every hour during the day and every 30 minutes during peak hours. At night, buses 97 and 72 run from the city center (departing once a hour).
• in a taxi - expensive and angry. The fare 7, 5 EUR for landing and the first two kilometers, on average the trip to the hotel in the center will cost 40-50 EUR. Travel time 25 minutes (depends on time of day).
• Connexxion Hotel Shuttle is an eight-seater shuttle-bass that delivers tourists to hotels (over 100 hotels in the company's list). Leaves every 30 minutes from the platform A7, operating mode: 6: 00-21: 00. The fare is 14, 5 EUR.

Most of the trains arrive at Amsterdam's main train station - Amsterdam Centraal Station, located almost in the heart of the city, off the bay. Trains from Brussels (2, 5 hours), Paris, Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin, Copenhagen, Milan, Zurich, Vienna and Prague come here. Other stations: Duivendrecht, Bijlmer-ArenA, Amstel, Muiderpoort, RAI, Zuid-WTC, Lelylaan and Sloterdijk.

The climate of Amsterdam

March 1, Sunday Partly cloudy, light rain +8 ° С in the afternoon +7 ° C at night ° С water	March 2, Monday Partly cloudy, light rain +4 ° C in the afternoon +3 ° C at night ° С water	March 3, Tuesday Partly cloudy, light rain, storm Cloudy +4 ° C in the afternoon +3 ° C at night ° С water
Amsterdam weather forecast for 10 days

Amsterdam is not only another European capital, but also one of the most attractive tourist cities for thousands of people. So it's no wonder that the concept of "low season" here simply does not exist. However, there are days when tourists on the streets are a little less than always. Usually this time comes in winter (not counting Christmas!), When the days become shorter (a light day lasts only 8 hours) and the weather is too dank for long walks along the canals. July and August are the hottest months with an average temperature of +23 ° C.

See also the current weather forecast for Amsterdam for the coming days.

It's worth remembering some dates when Amsterdam becomes amazingly beautiful: it's spring and endless blossoming fields with tulips, and April 30 is Queen's Day, when the whole city is dressed in a royal orange color.

Transport in Amsterdam

The historical center of the city, that is the place of concentration of the main attractions, does not take much place, so you can not use public transport here at all .But if you need to get somewhere quicker and more convenient - it is better to do it on the tram (walk on a schedule that hangs on a pillar, on a pink background, a schedule for the weekend, on a blue - for everyday life) .Bus schedule does not comply, but very comfortable, ply including even at night (from 1 to 10).00 to 5 .30, you need to raise your hand so that the driver will notice that the travel on the night routes is invalid! )

In addition, the city has a metro - three lines connecting the Central Station with the southern and eastern districts of the city. However, the tourist to use the metro is not very convenient - the stations (with the exception of Nieuwmarkt and Waterlooplein) are not located in the most interesting places.

Tickets for all modes of transport (tram, bus and metro) are uniform .The city is divided into zones; The more zones you need to drive, the more expensive the ticket (practically the entire historical center is one zone) .A map of zones hangs at stops and inside trams and buses .The ticket can be bought from the driver, as well as in vending machines at metro stations .The fare 1, 60 EUR, applies to any number of trips within an hour .In addition, you can buy a profitable strippenkaart (strippenkaart) - at the post office, at a tobacco stall or at a supermarket .The cost of such cards in 15 strips is 6, 50 EUR, in 45 strips - 19, 20 EUR .Passage inside one zone - two strips (plus one strip for each next zone), it is necessary to compost: count the necessary number of strips, bend it, push it into the automatic machine (yellow box inside the tram or bus), hear a click and get the ticket .In addition, a stripe card with 8 stripes can be used as a single ticket for a day (dagkaart), cost 6, 40 EUR (for persons over 65 or under 18 - 3, 20 EUR) .The

The penalty for a fare in Amsterdam is 35 EUR.

Bicycle rental

The most pleasant way to travel in Amsterdam is by bike. It is a very, very bicycling city (over 500,000 two-wheeled vehicles are registered here). For the most part the city has special lanes and traffic lights for them, however in the old center of Amsterdam cyclists often have to drive one lane from the car.

The rental price ranges from 9 to 20 EUR per day. As a rule, in the office they give out cards and code locks for parking. Unfortunately, the theft of the great in Amsterdam thrives, so among the local there is such a joke: "If in a large crowd of bicyclists loudly shout" Hey, this is my bike! ", At least five will start to run away! »

Nice rental offices:

• MacBike Bicycle Rental - their red bicycles with logos knows the whole city, so to such tourists the attitude is precarious and friendly
• Orangebike, Rentals & Tours - more tattered and less popular bikes. But here they offer excursion bike tours around the city, cost 19, 5 EUR
• Frederic Bike - for 10 EUR per day here offer insurance, a bag, a lock and a child seat in a load to the bike
• Damstraat Offer - rent for a day and a week. In some hotels you can find their coupon code. The rental price is 12, 5 EUR for 24 hours, insurance is included.
• Het Zwarte Fietsenplan offers rental of traditional Dutch bicycles, managing which a tourist can never distinguish from a local

Bicycles can be carried in the metro (when buying a special ticket).

Money

A lot of "exchangers" are located at the Central Station, on Damrak Street, but before you go for a purse, you should pay attention to the size of the commission. For example, the extortionate course in the amount of 5 EUR for the exchange established the offices of Thomas Cook (Damrak 1) and American Express (Damrak 66). Bank GWK at the Central Station and at Schiphol airport in this regard is more profitable, the commission is 2 EUR, the mode of operation is round the clock. A good course (without commission) is at the exchange office Pott-Change (Damrak 95, Rembrandtplein 10, Mon-Sat 8: 00-20: 00, Sun 9: 00-20: 00) or at Lorentz Change at Dam Hotel (Damrak 31 , around the clock).

In addition, money in Amsterdam can be exchanged at the post office, with a commission of 2-3 EUR, and in some banks (a good exchange rate with ABN-AMRO). About plastic cards and there is nothing to say: you can withdraw money in an ATM almost everywhere.

Beaches of Amsterdam

The entire west coast of the Netherlands is a long long beach. The nearest site to Amsterdam is in the town of Zandvoort. It can be reached in 27 minutes by train from the central station (departure once every half hour, in the summer, additional trains are allowed). Another good beach is in IJmuiden: a train from the main station to Castricum, from where bus number 267 is available. Or by water on Fast Flying Ferries from Central Station to IJmuiden, from where the bus goes to the beach. In summer, also build an artificial beach Blijburg in the vicinity of IJburg, the final tram number 26.

Kitchen and Restaurants

What: Dutch cheese, which is sold in supermarkets, in markets or in cheese shops; and herring, the best time for eating which is the beginning of June. The latter is accepted to buy on the street or in the market, with a tray with the flags Hollandse Nieuwe. More information about the national cuisine can be found on the page "Dutch cuisine".

Where: almost everywhere. Restaurants with traditional cuisine in Amsterdam are very rare, but almost everywhere you can find a cafe with French, Indonesian, Japanese and Belgian dishes (and sometimes, and cuisine from different countries at once). In the city there are decent Italian and French restaurants, but most Thai and Vietnamese institutions are better not to visit: something like that there can hardly be found. But Indonesian institutions in Amsterdam are especially good.

Most restaurants with Asian cuisine are located on Zeedijk in the Nieuwmarkt area (for which this place was even called the "Amsterdam Tea Town"). The business street Damstraat is located nearby, where many inexpensive cafes with Chinese cuisine and Arabian falafels are located. It is worth looking into the restaurant with the national cuisine of Suriname (the former Dutch colony in South America), which are located in the Albert Cuypstraat area.

In a decent restaurant it is recommended to book a table in advance (many of them are closed on Mondays). In addition, it's difficult to eat in Amsterdam from 16:30 to 18:00, when restaurants and cafes move from the lunch menu to the evening.

Entertainment, excursions and attractions in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a city of canals through which over 600 bridges are thrown. The most beautiful are Blaubourg and Maheret-Brug ("Skinny Bridge"). From the water you can see most of Amsterdam's attractions and hundreds of picturesque bridges.

Most of the excursions start from a red brick building in the Neo-Gothic style - this is the central station. From there, the streets and "grahts" (canals) of Amsterdam scatter, including the main street of the city - Damrak. The historical center of the city is called "Quarter of the Great Canals", surrounding its canals - the single ("defensive"), Heirengracht ("Lord's Channel"), Kaisersgracht ("Imperial"), Prinsengracht (Princes Channel), divide the city into 90 islands .

The main square of the "Quarter of the Great Canals" - Dam. Here is the Royal Palace with a museum, the Liberty Monument, the New Church (Nieuwe-Kerk, 1408) and the famous Madame Tussauds. Nearby are the building of the Berlagh exchange and the Amsterdam footstep, the complex of buildings of the East India Company, the Shipwrights' House, the Amsterdam Canal Museum.

Not least Amsterdam is famous for its museums and theaters.

Entertainment

Amsterdam is famous for its nightlife and clubs, which are mainly concentrated in three centers: Leidseplein, Red Light Street and Rembrandtplein.

On the Waterlooplein Square, a pretty "flea market" is open, where you can find all sorts of things: from a bicycle call made in the seventies of the last century to rare music on vinyl records.

On weekends, various interesting things are arranged in city parks: from fairs of organic products to mass skating on roller skates.

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Coffeeshops

Amsterdam's coffeeshops are the most popular, crowded and expensive. They will not be difficult to find on the sign "coffeeshop" and the bright red-yellow-green Rastaman flag. It does not sell alcohol and over 5 grams of marijuana per person, and prices fluctuate around 5-10 EUR for a joint.

Good coffeeshops: Bulldog - a network of coffeeshops for tourists, Gray Area, The Bluebird - the best choice in all of Amsterdam, De Kuil (420 Cafe), Global Chillage, Barney's, Rokerij, Kandinsky, Club Media (free fruit!), Katsu (nice atmosphere ), The Greenhouse, De Dampkring, De Kroon, Abraxas and Homegrown Fantasy.

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Photos of Amsterdam (128)