Holland

Amsterdam Highlights

The Jordaan district for real, tourist-free, Dutch living with lovely canals, good restaurants, entertaining little shops and an excellent flea market at Looiersgracht; Begijnhof (a square withhold and beautiful buildings), Oude Kerk (a stunning 14th century church in the red light district), Koninklijk Paleis (a royal palace), the Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh museums for the best of Dutch art; Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Rembrandt House, Sex Museum, Cannabis Museum, Anne Frank Huis (house).

Shopping
Bijenkorf department store; Kalverstraat, Nieuwendijk and Leidsestraat for boutiques and department stores; the Spiegel quarter for books and antiques; Singel Canal for the floating flower market; diamond houses?

Entertainment
Classical Music, Dance, Opera and Theatre: Amsterdam is home to fine orchestras e.g. Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, superb Muziektheater opera and stunning, varied Carré Theatre.

For English information and tickets for most entertainment and cultural activities in the city, go to the AUB Amsterdam culture office in Stadsschouwburg theatre on Leidseplein.
Alternatively visit the VVV tourist information office.

Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk churches hold magnificent organ music concerts and Vondelpark open-air theatre is excellent in summertime.

Live Music and Clubs: Amsterdam has great clubs featuring every kind of music imaginable, from rave to jazz to world music.

Check 'Time Out Amsterdam', 'What's On' or 'Arena' - in English - for event information and listings.

Officially, The kingdom of Netherlands is a country that almost shouldn't exist, because more than half of the area of the entire country is below sea level.

Any time of year is great for a trip to the Netherlands. Spring brings a tapestry of tulips and daffodils as well as Koningennedag, celebration of the Queen's birthday, in April. Summer is a perfect, although crowded time to visit. You can enjoy a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam, or rent bicycles and see the small towns. The rainy weather in the fall, is perfect for enjoying fantastic museums, galleries and historical sights in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven and The Hague. The winter is cold, but the skating on the canals is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Highlights

Amsterdam - The Venice of the North is laced with 160 canals, crossed by more than 1200 bridges. It’s a lively, interesting and cosmopolitan capital, with terrific architecture, endless canal views and world-class museums.

Haarlem - a typical Dutch town, Haarlem is gateway to the flower fields 20 km west of Amsterdam, so it's best in spring time. It has well preserved medieval town centre including a 14th century city hall and a main square which hosts a lively market.

Visit the Keukenhof Gardens and the bulb fields nearby. This 80-acre park is the world's largest garden with about six million flowers at its peak time from late March till the end of May.
In Gouda visit the St Janskerk church to see the amazing stained glass windows, then buy a wheel of real, vintage, Dutch cheese in this picturesque town.

The Hague (Den Haag) is an elegant political centre and the Dutch Royal residence.

Delft is another delightful little medieval town with canal-lined streets, known for its 'Delftware' blue and white ceramics.

Local Transport in Holland
Urban buses and trams are easy and efficient with one type of ticketing 'strippenkaart' throughout the country. The train network is excellent with reasonable fares and efficient services; various passes are available. There's also a good taxi system - 'traintaxi' - with a fixed price for one ride anywhere to a certain limit from a rail station. It is available in all cities and towns except Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Hague. Long-distance buses connect Amsterdam with many European cities, as do the trains.

Best of Europe

Things to do in Holland

Day Trip

Zaanse Schans Windmills, Marken and Volendam Half-Day Trip from Amsterdam

Discover the Dutch countryside, see authentic wooden houses, windmills, historic shipyard and fishing villages, and witness traditional crafts from days gone by.

Europe

Italy

Greece

Turkey

France

More Information

Netherlands Board of Tourism (NBTC) Official site with comprehensive tourism information to the Netherlands.

Het Koninklijk Huis The Dutch Royal House.
City Guides
Amsterdam Official site of the City of Amsterdam with tourism and event information.
Amsterdam Hotspots A guide to all the local favorites.
Den Haag The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government.
Rotterdam The biggest city of the Netherlands after Amsterdam, with the largest port of the world.
Rotterdam Tourism The official Rotterdam city guide.
Groningen The City of Groningen.
Haarlem The City of Haarlem.
Maastricht The oldest city of The Netherlands.
Utrecht The City of Utrecht.

Transportation
Royal Dutch Airlines KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
Schiphol Airport Official site of Netherlands' principal airport.
Rotterdam Airport Regional airport.
Nederlandse Spoorwegen The Dutch Railroad (in Dutch)

Dutch Products
Amstel Amstel Beer.
Droste Dutch Chocolate.
Douwe Egberts Coffee.
Heineken Heineken Beer.
Keukenhof Spring Garden of Europe.
Oilily Children's and Women's clothing.
Wooden Shoes Dutch clogs.

Main Festivals
Late March-May: Spring Flower Show - huge gardens in bloom; www.keukenhof.nl
March: TEFAF Maastricht, the European Fine Art Fair, one of the world's leading art and antiques fairs.

April: Bloemencorso—25-mile flower parade; www.bloemencorso-bollenstreek.nl
April 30: Queen's Day (Koninginnedag), a national celebration for the Queen Mother's birthday with a massive, street party in Amsterdam. It is also known as Orange day and many people wander about dressed in orange, the royal color representing the House of Orange.

Late May/June: Holland Festival, Netherlands’ largest performing arts festival held mainly in Amsterdam and The Hague since 1947. www.hollandfestival.nl June: Amsterdam Roots Festival, Oosterpark—ethnic food, music, world culture; www.amsterdamroots.nl

The 2nd weekend of July: North Sea Jazz Festival, one of the best and biggest jazz event in the world, with world-class artists in Rotterdam. www.northseajazz.nl

The first weekend of August: Amsterdam Pride is one of Europe's largest gay/lesbian festivals. Also in August: Prinsengracht Canal Festival, www.grachtenfestival.nl the world famous Canal Parade, with a hundred decorated boats and music.

Aug: Carpet of Flowers (held only in even years; www.flowercarpet.be Mid Aug: SAIL Amsterdam, held every five years, next Aug 19-23, 2010 (tall ships and other historic boats; www.sail.nl

For more information about these and other events, please visit www.holland.com, www.amsterdam.info/events. NOTE: Before planning a trip around a festival, make sure that you verify the festival dates on the festival website.