Amsterdam ‘s Life and Liveliness

Easily accessible by road and rail from Europe, and by air from Ireland and the rest of the world Amsterdam provides a good taste of old and modern Europe, with much to offer in terms of history, culture and food. Considered hip and laid back by many, you can travel around Amsterdam either on foot or on bike. A city with 700,000 bikes is a far cry from the chaos of modernization and the bridges, canals and cobble-stoned routes welcome the cyclist.

The heart of Amsterdam is shaped like a horseshoe with four criss-crossing canals: the Herengracht, Singel, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht. The canals are associated with canal fishing but you won’t find any trout here. Instead the locals use the name for fishing out stolen bikes, an entertaining pageant you will notice if you hang around long enough.

What makes Amsterdam a favorite haunt, for most romantic couples and seasoned travelers, is the climate, which can vary from 33 to 74 degrees F or 1 to 23C. And when it gets really hot, enjoy chilled beer and some great music at any of the numerous nightclubs but only after about 10 PM. One of the most famous is De Karpershoek, which is incidentally also the oldest and close to Central Station. You can also check out Paradiso, which came into the limelight after Rolling Stones shot their video ‘Not Fade Away’ here.

There are activities to keep you busy throughout the day like taking a walk through the city and checking out the old harbor; beautifully decorated churches, city towers, and historical museums. The Van Gogh Museum is one of the most famous with a display of some of the finest art by the master himself. It is quite breath-taking, and next door is the 250-room Rijksmuseum, which houses the best Rembrandt collection in the world.

You can visit the golf course Spaarnwoude, which is a 25 minute drive from the city centre to play 18 holes and enjoy afternoon snacks. The best way to travel in Amsterdam is by foot, bike, trams or the metro. You will find taxis but they are expensive compared to other modes of transportation.

If you love to be close to nature then visit the nature reserve Oostvaardersplassen. It is a popular bird-watching haunt. You can try your hand at wildlife photography with Eurasian spoonbills and white tailed eagles flying about.

There are opportunities for trekking, climbing and other sports too. After a tiring and active day like this, you might be feeling hungry and Amsterdam has some of the best International cuisine to offer. In fact, you will find the cuisine of every country but a typical Dutch dish is Vlaamse frites, which includes large fries topped with tasty mayonnaise.

You can find cheap flights to Amsterdam online with places like Cheap Flights pooling together deals from the internet on European cities. However, for dirt-cheap travel, there are overnight coaches to take you there too.