Amsterdam, Holland: Basic Facts

Amsterdam is the capital city of Netherlands, also known as Holland. This is considered as the greatest planned city in the world and is located in the province of North Holland, in the north-west of the country. Amsterdam is an old city with a history of more than 700 years. Amsterdam, Holland is a lively, vibrant and liberal city. It also covers an area of about 207 square kilometres and is populated by around 1,730,000 inhabitants. Today, it is known as the "Venice of the North" as it is built on 90 islands connected by 400 stone bridges across 100 kilometres of centuries-old canals. With its strategic location, Amsterdam, Holland is relatively quiet with little traffic.

Amsterdam is the nominal capital of the Netherlands. The Government of the Netherlands is seated in The Hague. The offices and government buildings and other administrative establishments are situated in The Hague.

Arts and Events

Amsterdam, Holland is in the first place a place worthy of visit. It has more arts treasures per square kilometre than any other country on earth. It is a ‘museum city’ with around 40 great museums, all serving as the home to the world's richest and most comprehensive collection of art masterpieces, dating back from the 15th century up to the 20th century. They attract around four million visitors annually. The Rijksmuseum is known for its collection of 17^th century Dutch masterpieces. The Stedelijk Municipal Museum has a leading collection of modern art. The Van Gogh Museum is dedicated to the work of Vincent van Gogh, who was born in the Netherlands. Other important museums include the Anne Frank House, the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Dutch Maritime Museum and the Rembrandt House.

Aside from arts, Amsterdam, Holland is famous for its excellent performance halls that play host to music, dance and the widely acclaimed performing arts festivals.

Amsterdam Dining

A number of restaurants are now operating in Amsterdam, Holland. Their number is even more increasing with multinationals such as Sony, IBM and Xerox choosing Amsterdam as their base for European operations. The restaurants in the city of Amsterdam, Holland offer great dining with international menus that have been dramatically increased, giving diners an extensive choice of cosmopolitan culinary options. It is also interesting to know that local dishes are also served in the restaurants, and include stamppot, a down to earth meal consisting of mashed potatoes with carrots, onions, bacon and smoked sausage.

The poffertjes, small hot pancakes covered in powdered sugar are also delicate and sold by vendors at fairs or similar events. However, just note that in Amsterdam, Holland the restaurants will close earlier than you might expect as the Dutch tend to eat early in the evening.

The Tipping Service

In the city of Amsterdam, a service charge is generally included in restaurant prices and taxi fares. However, this tipping service is usual to round the total up to the nearest euro, including a 10 percent for good service. And, the room service and doormen in most of the Amsterdam hotels will generally expect a small tip for their services.

Transportation

Amsterdam, Holland has one of the finest and most reliable transportation networks in the whole continent of Europe. It is this fact that makes Amsterdam, Holland a popular location for industry. As you might notice in the city, fast and frequent trains and buses run throughout the country and are an excellent way to travel from the city of Amsterdam to other parts of the country. What's more, both bus and rail in Amsterdam provide effective connections to Central Station and the Schiphol International Airport.

Weather

The climate in Amsterdam, like the rest of Holland, is generally mild. It is characterized by rarely dropping below freezing in the winter or becoming too hot in the summer. Also, like any other countries in the northern Europe, Amsterdam, Holland is very prone to occasional but unspectacular periods of rainfall.

Modern Amsterdam, however, is struggling hard to find solutions to the problems of pollution and other urban menaces.