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Sights

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the famous red light district windows

the famous red light district windows

Amsterdam is home to some of the most beautiful sights in Europe. The canals that flow through the city give it great character and style and the museums are renowned all over the world.

Amsterdam has several excellent museums and two of the best are next to each other. The Van Gogh Museum is a must for anyone interested in the artist’s work. It houses some of his most famous masterpieces, beginning with his time in Holland and stretching through the period of his death in France. The museum is open every day between 10:00 and 18:00 hours, and on Friday night you can visit the museum until 22:00 hours! On the same square is the 250-room Rijksmuseum, which contains among its treasures a handful of exquisite Vermeers and one of the best Rembrandt collections in the world. At the moment, the main building of the museum is undergoing a major restoration, which is going to be finished in 2008. However, 200 masterpieces, amongst them Rembrandt's "Nightwatch" and Vermeer's "Milkmaid", are on display in the Philips wing of the museum. Open every day between 09:00 and 18:00 hours.

The excellent Stedelijk Museum, located on the museum square, displays contemporary art, including traveling exhibits from other countries. At the moment the museum is undergoing a renovation/expansion, and the artwork is on display in a temporary museum near the Central Railway Station.

Museum Amstelkring also known as "Our Lord in the Attic" is set in a 17th-century merchant house. It contains a secret Catholic church on the top floor. The house has its original furnishings giving a good idea of what life at that time was like.

If time permits, take a look a Rembrandt’s house near the Waterlooplein (the artist lived there 1639-1657). And the church where he is buried at the Westerkerk, (you’ll walk past it on the way to The Anne Frank House). Have a look for the crown on top of the church given to Amsterdam by Maximilian I in 1489 and you can also climb the spire for a great view of the city. There are also a number of other Rembrandt-related sites: the 13th-century Oudekerk (Amsterdam’s oldest church), where Rembrandt’s wife Saskia is buried; the 15th-century Waag (weigh station) where Rembrandt painted "The Anatomy Lesson" (it now houses a cultural center and café); and the Zuiderkerk (South Church) where he painted "The Night Watch".

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February 28, 2007 change by rfujitani

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Westerpark

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Westerpark is a park located west of the Central Station.

type:Parks, Gardens and Zoos
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Spui

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On the spui square you find some of the oldest buildings of Amsterdam. Be sure not the miss the Begijnhof.

The bookmarket helt here is a great place to find secondhand books about Amsterdam if you want to stay for some time in the city. If there's no market just go to the Slechte in the Kalverstraat (just arround the corner) you'll probably pay a bit more, but they do have an extensive collection on Amsterdam.

Every Sunday at the ''Spui'' in Amsterdam there is an exhibition in the open air with recent work of sixty Dutch and international professional artists.(in more..

type:Squares
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address:Spui
url:www.artplein-spui.nl

Carré

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Royal Theatre Carré with at the foreground the locks in the Amstel
Royal Theatre Carré with at the foreground the locks in the Amstel
 photo by: Hans-Peter Harmsen

The Royal Theatre Carre was built by Oscar Carré to house his family circus. Now it is the most prestigous theatre building of Amsterdam. Recent renovations have brought back the original windows and added a bar in the attic with a view over the city.

type:Public Buildings
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zipcode:1018 EM
address:Amstel 115-125
url:www.theatercarre.nl
tel:(0900) 25 25 255 (€ 0,40 pm)

Skinny Bridge

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Magere brug
Magere brug
 photo by: Hans-Peter Harmsen

The Skinny bridge or Magere brug as the Dutch say is one of the most beautiful bridges in the city.

Some local people say that the bridge was named after the Mager Sisters (mager is Dutch for skinny). These two well-to-do sisters lived on opposite sides of the river. They are said to have had the wooden bridge built to make it easier to visit one another. The real explanation is more down to earth, however. The bridge used to be so narrow that it was hard for two pedestrians to pass one another. When traffic along the Amstel increased, a wider more..

type:Landmarks
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address:Kerkstraat crossing the Amstel river

Artis Zoo

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Founded in 1838, Artis Zoo is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands. In addition to access to 14 hectares (34.5 acres) of 700 species of animals, visitors to Artis Zoo will also enjoy walking the dozens of winding paths this cultural zoo has to offer as well as exploring lush gardens and viewing sculptures and historical buildings. Located right next to the main entrance at Artis Zoo is the Artis Planetarium which features a 640-metre (2,099 sq. ft.) projection dome as well as more than 100 projectors for displaying special effects, videos, and slides.

type:Parks, Gardens and Zoos
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address:Plantage Kerklaan 38-40 1018 CZ Amsterdam
openinghours:9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
email:
url:www.amsterdamzoo.nl
tel:+31-20-5233400
openingHours:9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Concertgebouw

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Concertgebouw
Concertgebouw
 photo by: Hans-Peter Harmsen

At the west side of Museumplein stands the Amsterdam concert building. It can be easily recognized by the greek harp on it's top.

type:Public Buildings
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address:van Baerlestraat

Rembrandtplein

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Rembrandt Square
Rembrandt Square
 photo by: Luiz H Mentzingen

You easily miss it but there is a statue of Rembrandt on the Rembrandtplein. All around are pubs, disco's and some sleazy bars.

Rembrandt became the most important painter in the beginning of the 19th century when Belgiun separated itself from the Netherlands and claimed Rubens as their national painter. The statue on the Rembrand plein, wich used to be called buttermarket, was meant to be cast in bronze, but typically Dutch it was cast in iron to keep costs as low as possible. The statue of Rembrandt is made of cast iron because bronze was too expensive.

type:Squares
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address:Rembrandtplein

Wester Kerk

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Wester Kerk
Wester Kerk
 photo by: Charles de Lanoy

Overlooking the Jordaan, the Westerkerk and its Tower is one of the symbols of Amsterdam.

The necessity to undertake the construction of additional churches was the inevitable result of the 1613 urban expansion project. In 1620, therefore, a decision was made to build two churches, the Noorderkerk and the Westerkerk. The Westerkerk was planned as a large church catering for the religious needs of the inhabitants of the northern part of the ring of canals. A smaller church, the Noorderkerk, was designed for church-goers in the Jordaan area, a far less prestigious more..

type:Churches and Cathedrals
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Our lord in the attic

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The organ inside "Our Lord in the Attic"
The organ inside "Our Lord in the Attic"
 photo by: Giorgio Baresi

This marvellous catholic church, hidden into the attic of an old 17th century house, is part of the Amstelkring Museum. The history of this church dates back to 1661 when a wealthy merchant, Jan Hartman, bought a house on Oudezijds Voorburgwal. He and his family lived on the first two floors, while the attic was turned into a catholic church betwen 1661 and 1663. To be continued.

type:Churches and Cathedrals
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email:
address:Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40
openings:Mon-Sat: 10am-5pm, Sun: 1pm-5pm
tel:020 6246604
url:www.museumamstelkring.nl
zipcode:1012 GE

Zaandam

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Zaandam is a pitoresque village north west of Amsterdam.

The city of Zaandam is one of Amsterdams suburbs, located just on the other side of the river IJ. The city in itself is rather modern, but has two key historical attractions.

In the city itself you can find the Czaar Peter House. When Czaar Peter the Great visited the Netherlands to learn more about shipbuilding and watermanagement, he lived in this small wooden workmanshouse for a while. Zaandam at the time had many shipdocks where he learned how to build ships, the base for his Baltic fleet. Peter the more..

type:Landmarks
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Chinatown

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Amsterdam's China Town is loacted near the Nieuwmarkt. The Zeedijk is lined with Chinese shops and restaurants.

type:Streets
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address:Zeedijk

Royal Palace

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photo

The Royal Palace (1648-1665) was designed as the most prestigious town hall of its time. It is justly famous for being a large and important cultural and historic building of 17th century Amsterdam. It was built by the architect Jacob van Campen in Palladian style as the city hall. However, when Holland was occupied by the French troops of Napoleon, at the end of the 18th, beginning of the 19th C, Napoleon made his brother Louis King of the Netherlands. Louis didn't want to live in a house on one of the canals, he wanted a real palace, so he had the city hall converted in more..

type:Palaces
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Vondelpark

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The Cinema Museum in Vondelpark
The Cinema Museum in Vondelpark
 photo by: Giorgio Baresi

The vondelpark is one of the nicest parks in the world and should not be missed. It is perfect to walk, to cycle or to skate. You can rent inlines at the far end. Designed in English Landscape style at the end of the 19-th century. It runs roughly speaking from Leidseplein to the Amstelveense weg. There are several sculpures and temporary art rojects to be discovered. In the park you can find a Picasso sculpture (which is also a gay rendezvous) , a Rietveld building, and a beautiful crowd of people sunbathing, playin soccer or reading (in summer) and spitting lama's (all year more..

type:Parks, Gardens and Zoos
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Hortus Botanicus

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Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
 photo by: Hans-Peter Harmsen

Great place to relax. You can have coffee and tea in the Orangerie. Entrance is free if you have a student card. The Hortus serves good food too. If you are looking for a place to lie down on the grass you'd better visit the Wertheim park opposite the Hortus. For exotic plants the hortus is the right place indeed.

type:Parks, Gardens and Zoos
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address:Plantage Middenlaan 2
openinghours:9:00-17:00 weekdays, 11:00-17:00 weekend, closes at 16:00 in winter

Leidseplein

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Leidseplein is one of the most busy places in Amsterdam. There are many pubs around it that have nice lights at night on thier facade. In winter there is a skating ring, in summer there is a big terrace.

There are many good value priced resturants in the area. Great area for watching street perfomers and people in general.

type:Squares
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address:Leidseplein

Waag

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Today the Waag (Weigh House) is a restaurant cum Cybercafe. The Weigh House at the Nieuwmarkt is the oldest secular public building in Amsterdam. It was designed as a city gate (Sint Antoniespoort, 1488) and as such it formed part of the medieval defences.

type:Hotspots
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address:Nieuwmarkt

Beurs van Berlage

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photo

Designed by Berlage, the most famous modern architect of the Netherlands, his Beurs (1903) was the starting point of Dutch Modern architecture. The building had a profound influence on architecture in the whole of Europe in to the 1920's, and was an inspiration for famous architects and artists like Rietveld, Oud and Mies van der Rohe.

The Beurs (Beurs is the Dutch word for Exchange, this building was the 3rd Merchants Exchange of Amsterdam) nowadays is a prestigious center for culture, conferences and events. In 2002 it was venue for the civil wedding of the future more..

type:Public Buildings
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address:Beursplein 1-3/Damrak 243
openinghours:Café: 10am-06pm
zipcode:1012ZJ Amsterdam
email:
url:www.beursvanberlage.nl
tel:0031205304141
openingHours:Main Hall: only with public events

Amsterdamse Bos

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The Dutch call it a wood, but it is closer to a park. Commisioned in the 1930-ies by the Dutch government as part of a Keynesian attempt to fight unemployment, it is the biggets city park of the Netherlands. In summer there are free Theater performances (in Dutch).

type:Parks, Gardens and Zoos
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address:Amstelveenseweg

Canal view from the water

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Have you ever seen the beautiful canal houses that date back to the 1600's, churches and other monumental hotspots from the water. Explore the city Amsterdam from another perspective? Rent a boat with friends, family or colleagues and spend the day on the water? Boat rental Amsterdam offers the possibility to rent a boat with or without skipper to cruise the Amsterdam canals. Rent a boat Amsterdam offers a beautiful fleet and provides a perfect boating package for every occasion.

type:Hotspots
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address:Prinsengracht
openinghours:09.00 - 19.00
zipcode:1015 GT
email:
url:www.rentaboatamsterdam.com
accessibility:all year round
openingHours:09.00 - 19.00

St. Nicolaaskerk

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Front of St Nicolaas Kerk
Front of St Nicolaas Kerk
 photo by: Michael Spaans

The new church of St. Nicholas is among the better known of the ‘new’ Amsterdam churches. The tall and spacious building occupies a prominent place in the city centre, opposite the Central Station and is a rare example of the neo-Baroque style. Most ‘new’ Roman Catholic Churches, in Holland as well as in other European countries, were built in the neo-Gothic style promoted by Viollet-le-Duc in France, Pugin in England and Cuypers in Holland. Neo-Gothic architecture referred back to the heyday of medieval French Catholicism and its world-famous cathedrals. Therefore, it is more..

type:Churches and Cathedrals
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