The cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam is without doubt Holland's jewel in its crown, with its charming medieval architecture and vast 17th century canal system that cuts through the city street by street, with 400 bridges linking together each street packed with vibrant restaurants, bars, shops, café bars and museums, and with over 3 million visitors a year Amsterdam offers something for everyone.
Flying to Amsterdam is by far the quickest and easiest way to get there, with all the major airlines offering great deals all year round. With the arrival of the low cost no frills budget airlines, fairs have been known to drop to as little as 99p plus taxes (one way) on a first come first served basis, not surprising it's a popular destination with flight times just over 1 hour from all major UK airports.
Getting into the city centre from Schiphol airport is very straightforward with regular trains running round the clock and takes 20 minutes to arrive, just walk out of the arrivals door and down the escalators onto the train station (don't forget to purchase your tickets from the kiosk before boarding the very slick double deck trains) you will need to catch a train to the city centre (Centrum), on arrival into central station you walk out of the main doors into the city centre, only to be greeted by the local form of transport (bicycle) they are everywhere due to the narrow streets cars struggle to fit down them, so bicycles are the better option.
Amsterdam is one of the few places in the world where the use of soft drugs is legal or rather decriminalised is probably the correct term, it is legal to smoke marijuana in coffee shops only, and is not advisable to walk round the streets puffing away, most pubs/bars don't allow anyone to smoke marijuana at all on the premises, but as of the 1st July 2008 smoking in any public place in Holland (and including Amsterdam) is not permitted. How this will effect the tourist industry is yet to be seen.
One of the largest tourist attractions by far is the Red Light District, with the Dutch having a very liberal approach on sex, the licensed prostitutes pay their taxes, and must have regular medical checks, which allow them to work legally in designated areas in the city, and with over 5000 prostitutes majority being female of all nationalities plying there trade in windows where soft neon lights gently illuminate the narrow streets and canals, (a word of warning prostitutes don't take to kindly to having there photo being taken) regular police patrols make sure the prostitutes stay safe, and they will not tolerate anyone abusing them, BE WARNED.
