Amsterdam has been called the "Venice of the North" for its more than 100 kilometres of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals - Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings. The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2010.

Moreover, the Dutch are multilingual which makes getting around so much easier. Amsterdam will welcome you warmly and you will feel at home in one of the most interesting cities of Europe.

Did you know that Amsterdam has:

• 7,000 historic buildings, some of which date back to the 14th century;
• The well-known symmetrical rings of historic canals with over 1,000 bridges summon up visions of Holland's Golden Age;
• 42 museums, including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum (Municipal), the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) and the Anne Frank House;
• Legalized prostitution and it’s also a famous tourist attraction in the Red-light District. It’s  understandable that you might hesitate to walk through this neighborhood in the night but during the day this is an area not to be missed. It’s arguably the most beautiful part of a city, and also the oldest and most historic neighborhood as well;
• About 500.000 bicycles. Amsterdam is one of the most bicycle-friendly large cities in the world and is a centre of bicycle culture with good facilities for cyclists such as bike paths and bike racks, and several guarded bike storage garages (Fietsenstalling) which can be used for a nominal fee.

 Most popular attractions in Amsterdam:

• Canals of Amsterdam
• Red Light District
• Van Gogh Museum
• Rembrandthuis museum (Rembrant House museum)
• Begijnhof 
• Heineken Experience
• Reypenaer Cheese Tasting Room in the centre of old Amsterdam
• Rijksmuseum

Interesting places out of Amsterdam:

• Kinderdijk – the largest concentration of old windmills iin Netherlands (95 km out of Amsterdam-city centre)
  
• Madurodam - a park in the Hague (Den Haague) with 1:25 scale model replicas of famous Dutch landmarks, historical cities and large developments (57 km out of Amsterdam-city centre)
• Efteling – a fantasy-themed amusement park in Kaatsheuvel 
• Royal Delft experience - a new multimedia journey through the time of the Delft Blue pottery (62 km out of Amsterdam-city centre)
• Rotterdam Zoo Blijdorp  
  
• Loevestein - a medieval castle built between 1357 and 1397 (7 km out of Amsterdam)
• Safaripark Beekse Bergen - the largest wildlife ZOO of the Benelux region, a home to approx. 1,250 animals (115 km out of Amsterdam-city centre)
• Open Air (Openlucht) Museum  - located about 100 km out of Amsterdam, near the city Arhem. The museum park is spread over 44 hectares in the woods and includes buildings from various places and historical periods.

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