Berlitz Pocket Guide Amsterdam (Travel Guide eBook)

By Berlitz

With an iconic style and a bestselling brand, this is the quintessential pocket-sized travel guide to Amsterdam - now with a bilingual dictionary

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering fun and interesting things to do and see in Amsterdam, from top tourist attractions like the Dam, Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and Oude Kirk, to hidden gems, including the EYE Film Institute, the Van Loon Museum and the Hortus Botanicus. 

- What to see: comprehensive coverage of the city's attractions, illustrated with striking photography
- What to do: how to make the most of your leisure time, from local entertainment to the best activities and shopping
- History and culture: giving you a deeper understanding of the city's heritage, people and contemporary life
- Practical tips: where to stay, dining out and how to get around: reliable recommendations and expert travel advice
- Dictionary: quick-reference bilingual language guide to help you with vocabulary on the ground
- Covers: the Centre, the Southeast, the Southwest and the Northwest

About Berlitz: Berlitz draws on years of travel and language expertise to bring you a wide range of travel and language products, including travel guides, maps, phrase books, language-learning courses, dictionaries and kids' language products.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Sep 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781785732515

Berlitz

Make the most of your time on Earth with the ultimate travel guides

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Amsterdam, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Amsterdam, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Amsterdam are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Amsterdam. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Berlitz Pocket Guides

The Berlitz story began in 1877 when Maximilian Berlitz devised his revolutionary method of language learning. More than 130 years later, Berlitz is a household name, famed not only for language schools but also as a provider of best-selling language and travel guides.

Our wide-ranging travel products – printed travel guides and phrase books, as well as apps and ebooks – offer all the information you need for a perfect trip, and are regularly updated by our team of expert local authors. Their practical emphasis means they are perfect for use on the ground. Wherever you’re going – whether it’s on a short break, the trip of a lifetime, a cruise or a business trip – we offer the ideal guide for your needs.

Our Berlitz Pocket Guides are the perfect choice if you need reliable, concise information in a handy format. We provide amazing value for money – these guides may be small, but they are packed with information. No wonder they have sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Amsterdam’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Day In Amsterdam

Introduction

A Living City

A Brief History

From Fishing to Trading

The Arrival of the Spanish

Towards Independence

The Coming of the Golden Age

Decline and Fall

The Return of the House of Orange

The 20th Century

People Power

Twenty-first Century Challenges

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

The Centre

Stationsplein to Damrak

Oude Kerk

The Red Light District

Museum Het Amstelkring

De Waag

Nieuwmarkt and Zuiderkerk

Rembrandt’s House

The Southeast

Waterlooplein

Towards Magere Brug

Herengracht

Museum Willet-Holthuysen

Reguliersgracht and Museum Van Loon

Thorbeckeplein and Rembrandtplein

The Jewish Quarter

The Plantage

Tropenmuseum

Entrepotdok

The Het Scheepvaartmuseum

Science Center NEMO

The Southwest

Muntplein

Bloemenmarkt

Leidseplein

Vondelpark

Museumplein

Rijksmuseum

Van Gogh Museum

Stedelijk Museum and Surrounding Area

Diamond Territory

Nieuwe Spiegelstraat and the Golden Bend

The Northwest

The Begijnhof

Amsterdam Museum

The Dam

Koninklijk Paleis

Nieuwe Kerk, Nationaal Monument and Waxworks

Around Raadhuisstraat

Westerkerk

Anne Frank House

The Jordaan

Amsterdamse Bos

Excursions

Villages to the North

Zaanse Schans

Broek in Waterland and Monnickendam

Marken

Volendam and Edam

Haarlem

Floral Glory

Leiden

Alkmaar

What To Do

Shopping

Markets

What to Buy

Entertainment

Bars and Clubs

Sports

Football

Watersports

Cycling

Skating

Children

Calendar of Events

Eating Out

Dutch Dishes

Fish

Cheese

Desserts

Indonesian Cuisine

Food of the World

What to Drink

Reading the Menu

To Help you Order

Menu Reader

Restaurants

The Centre

The Southeast

The Southwest

The Northwest

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation (see also camping, youth hostels and the list of Recommended Hotels, click here)

Airport

B

Bicycle Hire (fietsverhuur)

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Camping

Car Hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime and Safety (see also emergencies and police)

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergencies (see also police)

G

Getting There

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

Language

LGBTQ Travellers

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Times (see also holidays)

P

Police (see also emergencies)

Post Offices

Public Holidays

T

Telephones

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

Travellers with Disabilities

V

Visas and Entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Recommended Hotels

The Centre

The Southeast

The Southwest

The Northwest

Beyond the City Centre

Dictionary

English–Dutch

Dutch–English

Amsterdam’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Shutterstock

The Dam

This square is the symbolic heart of the city and home to the ornate Koninklijk Paleis. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

Getty Images

Oude Kerk

Dating from the early 13th century, it is the oldest church in the city. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

Getty Images

Anne Frank House

Visit the house in which she wrote her extraordinary diary. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

Getty Images

Begijnhof

Find peace and quiet in the picturesque courtyard, notable for its quaint architecture. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

Shutterstock

A canal cruise

A leisurely way to see the sights. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

Vincent van Gogh Foundation

Van Gogh Museum

Houses a collection of hundreds of the troubled artist’s works. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Getty Images

Bloemenmarkt

Colourful flowers on display all year round. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

Greg Gladman/Apa Publications

Hortus Botanicus

This botanical garden in the Plantage district houses more than 4,000 species of plants. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

DigiDaan/NEMO Science Museum

Science Center NEMO

Get your hands on the latest science and technology in this remarkable ship-shaped museum. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

JL Marshall/Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum

Reopened after a 10-year renovation, the city’s famous art and history museum is looking better than ever. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Day In Amsterdam

9.00am

Breakfast

A leisurely breakfast over the morning newspapers in a grand café, Café Luxembourg, at Spuistraat 24, should hit the spot.

10.00am

The Begijnhof

Cross over Spui to the tranquil courtyard garden of this restored medieval hofje (almshouse), which was once home to pious single women known as beguines, who carried out religious and charitable duties.

11.00am

Leidseplein

Take tram 1, 2 or 5 to Leidseplein, Amsterdam’s bustling entertainment square. Maybe fit in a coffee in the spectacular Art Nouveau and Art Deco Café Américain.

12.00pm

Vondelpark

Continue south to this wild and wonderful park, with its hippie-era history. There is usually plenty of free space amid the trees to escape from the city’s hustle and bustle.

1.00pm

Lunch

Vondelpark has three cafés with outdoor terraces and views of greenery but if you want more than a snack join the art crowd at one of the new museum restaurants on Museumplein: the Stedelijk Restaurant in the museum’s sleek extension, or the Rijksmuseum Café in the stunning atrium. (No admission charge for either.) To get your daily sweet tooth fix make sure to visit De Drie Graefjes on the Dam (Gravenstraat 13) where they serve Amsterdams’ famous red velvet cake.

2.00pm

Museum fix

Choose between the beautiful Rijksmuseum, where the highlights of Holland’s Golden Age are a wonder to behold; the Van Gogh Museum, with the world’s largest collection of Vincent’s paintings or the revamped Stedelijk Museum, dedicated to modern art and design.

4.00pm

Het IJ

Take tram 2 or 5 from Museumplein to Centraal Station, and go to the ferry dock at the rear. Board the free Buiksloterwegveer ferry for a 5-minute trip across the IJ waterway to hip and happening Amsterdam-Noord. Dominating the harbour beside the former Shell tower is the dazzling white EYE Film Institute and the Amsterdam tower with stunning views over the city. Take in the view at the Lookout, where you can swing over the edge of the building.

6.00pm

Anne Frankhuis

Take tram 13, 14 or 17 from Centraal Station to the Westermarkt stop. Waiting times at the Anne Frank House are generally shorter in the evening. On a short visit, stick to the secret rooms where the young diarist, her family and acquaintances spent several years hiding from the Nazis.

8.00pm

Dinner

For an indelibly Amsterdam experience, try De Prins (tel: [phone]), across from the Anne Frank House on Prinsengracht. A good modern Indonesian choice is Kantjil & de Tijger, at Spui 291/3. For an after-dinner drink in a ‘brown café’, go to Hoppe at Spui 18–20.

Introduction

There’s no other city on earth like Amsterdam. It is a city of superlatives, having more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris. It is also one of the prettiest cities in Europe. More than 50 museums – featuring everything from the world’s most prominent artists to the history of cannabis – quench the thirst of even the most ardent culture buff, and with 7,000 buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the reflections of its illustrious past happily ripple on into the 21st century. However, the lure of Amsterdam’s bricks and mortar is only part of its excitement. Its contemporary culture is vibrant – it’s definitely not a city stuck in the past, and its people are open-minded, easy-going and strong-minded, but also down to earth and welcoming to visitors.

Without doubt, though, a major attraction of the city is its historic buildings. The lines of tall, narrow houses with their pretty gables rest beside picture-perfect tree-lined canals. They are connected by humpback bridges and quaint cobbled walkways, which seem to have changed little in nearly 400 years – in fact, since they were walked by the artist Rembrandt and the explorer Abel Tasman, who gave his name to Tasmania.

Amsterdam, which lies in western Holland, close to the North Sea, is a wonderful city to visit. It’s small enough to stroll around, and, with the canalside streets too narrow for tour buses, there is no risk of sightseers driving past all the best attractions at high speed. You have to feel the summer sun or see your breath on a crisp winter morning to see what Amsterdam is all about. On a canal tour, the quiet boats allow you to admire the architecture from water level, floating slowly along away from the noise of the modern world.

A Living City

The facades of the buildings may hark back to the past, but the interiors do not. Creative industries, digital hotspots and recycling advice centres, thrive amidst the history. This is no historic ghost town: the city brims with people. Its houses are still lived in (although most are now apartments rather than single-family homes), and its streets are filled with bakeries, delicatessens and wine merchants where people drop in to buy dinner on the way home in the evening.