Written By Kerry Naughton
Amsterdam is the largest city and capital of ‘The Netherlands.
What do you think of when you hear the word Amsterdam the first images that flash through your mind are weed and prostitutes. However as I’ve just returned from a trip to Amsterdam, to be honest when I agreed to go there for a three day girls holiday for my birthday I didn’t know what to expect. Amsterdam is one of the most popular destinations in Europe, receiving more than 4.63 million international visitors annually. The number of visitors has been growing steadily over the past decade.
Is Amsterdam a city cloaked in sleaze? Not at all! Yes there are many “coffee shops” where you can buy weed and space cakes, however there are guidelines on top of the packets their sold in, the coffee shops are relaxed and friendly and scattered all over the centre of the city. The city is clean and full of cyclists and the canal is beautiful. If you visit Amsterdam make sure you get on a boat, there are plenty of tours but we opted for the canal boat bus that allowed us to get on and off when we pleased with the boat dropping us off at tourist sites such as the Van Gogh museum. What makes the canal tours so special is that you get to take in the beautiful architecture that the city inhabits. If you like baroque style check out the royal palace in Dam square, a lot of the architecture you pass on the canal looks heavily influenced by French culture and art deco.
There are so many museums and things to do that it’s very easy for your cash to disappear quickly so take plenty and make sure you take your debit card, however if you stay in the centre (and most of the hotels are situated here) then a lot of the tourist attractions are in walking distance. So which museums to visit? It depends on your taste really, their is ‘The torture museum’ for those who are fans of the macabre, The Rijks museum is currently having a 227 million euro makeover but it’s still open with over 400 masterpieces on display including Rembrandts ‘Night watch’. There is also a Rembrandt museum. The Van Gogh museum was great and included the famous paintings ‘The sun flower’ and ‘The Bedroom’. For me the highlight of Amsterdam was visiting Anne Franks House, she hid their for two years during world war two, you get to walk through her house and learn her story, be warned it’s quite upsetting seeing the cramped conditions and extreme solitude that the Franks lived in. The museums aren’t free and the price can range from 5-15 euros. So make sure you take enough cash out with you to cover entry costs.
The red-light district is definitely worth a visit just to experience the surrealism of seeing the sex workers sell themselves in their windows with red lights placed above the windows, (hence the name) however it is worth mentioning that you may also pass windows with blue lights, transsexuals inhabit these ones. The district has many bars and boutiques and looks perfectly normal during the day therefore I would recommend visiting it at night, the red light district is also home to ‘The sex museum’. If you have the opportunity visit this city, it has plenty to offer everyone.
Want to see more and experience more? please visit:http://www.beingfunchina.com/magazine/the-getgo-vol-13/now!
