Amsterdam is a mecca of all things taboo. If you’re looking for a naughty weekend away, it should be top of your list. It has its fair share of ‘coffee shops’, breweries, brothels and adulterated museums but, so as not to give you the wrong idea about Amsterdam, you’ll be surprised how friendly and clean it is.
Accommodation, budget-conscious or beautiful, is in abundance and any time of year is a great time to visit. Its proximity to London and surrounding European cities makes it easily accessible and cheap to visit. The currency in Amsterdam is the Euro, just like the rest of Europe and passage in and out of the Netherlands is as simple as getting on a train.
Getting around Amsterdam is cost-effective if you make use of the trams and trains but it’s just as easy to walk everywhere. A very popular form of transport is the bicycle and bells and chains can be heard tinkering along the cobblestone paths everywhere you go. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than there are people. Apparently the people notch up to about 700,000 and bikes, a whopping 1,000,000! There is also an incredible number of bicycle lanes in the city too – as many as 15,000km worth. What’s best about this love of biking is that there are twice as many bikes in the city as there are cars.
Many people like to visit Amsterdam for its range of coffee shops which are licensed to sell marijuana legally on their premises. It is one of very few countries where one can purchase and consume marijuana openly and this has drawn a constant flow of curious travellers to the city.
However, legal marijuana is, by no means, the only or main attraction! It just could possibly be the most famous attraction. The red light district holds its own in the naughty department with a range of sex shops, sex shows and brothels doing business throughout the day and night. And on the note of sex and marijuana, why not mention the famous Sex Museum and Marijuana Museum which experience a constant flow of foot traffic while we’re at it. And there are many more museums too. Amsterdam has the most museums among all of the cities in the world. There are 70 museums in the Netherlands and 40 of them are in Amsterdam! The Heineken brewery is located in Amsterdam and is well worth visiting.
It is a fact that 4% of the Netherlands is below sea level but don’t worry because the Dutch are experts at keeping water away from their city. Schiphol Airport is in fact 4 meters below sea level!
The Dutch are the tallest European race and the second tallest race in the world and they have some amazing tasting delicacies, a love of croquette, pancakes and pommes frites (hot chips with mayonnaise) so try not to be too concerned with your waistline if you’re planning a visit.