Amsterdam all too often is known for its red-light district and its liberal drug laws; this is a complete misrepresentation. In fact, Amsterdam is practically unsurpassable as a one-stop-shopping of elegance, culture and history.
Here are the top four reasons to visit Amsterdam:
• The canals: Miles of canals ring the city, with more than 1,000 bridges to span them. That's why Amsterdam is called "Venice of the North." There are no Venetian gondolas, but there are Amsterdam houseboats, and plently of canal-cruising options for tourists.
• The buildings: From a point in the center, walk 20 minutes in practically any direction and you won't run out of elegant 17th- and 18th-century canal houses to admire. Thanks to the canals themselves (which offered little incentive to future generations to raze and build anew, because the existing buildings already optimized the space), not a whole lot has changed in the city's layout in three centuries.
• The bicycles: You have never seen bicycle travel so embraced as it is in Amsterdam. Most Amsterdammers go to work, supermarket or school on two wheels. There are actually "traffic jams" of cyclists at rush hours, complete with stop lights. It is something to behold.
• The museums: Amsterdam has fantastic museums, and three of them are particularly world-class: the Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt, Vermeer and other masters), the Van Gogh Museum (most of the world's best Van Goghs are here) and the Anne Frank Museum, located in the actual house where Anne Frank and her family lived in hiding for nearly two years, with their belongings—and even Anne's wall-hangings—still intact.
Amsterdam is included on several itineraries offered by EF Educational Tours.
Photo: phault via Flickr (CC license)
