Amsterdam

Customs / Culture
 Amsterdam has been known for world-class entertainment and has been a center of culture for centuries. Special performances, street performances, bands in bars/cafés, festivals, cultural events and a bunch of low-cost entertainment complete the scene of this very cultural city. There are also two cultural movements which have been very important for Amsterdam, the Gay Pride movement and Graffiti.

Gay Pride in Amsterdam is very big. It began in 1955 when“De Schakel” (dance locale) opened and subsequently led to the opening of another dance locale 3 years later. In mid-1960 Amsterdam was the gay capital of Europe. Today it still is an important center for Gay Pride. In 2008Amsterdam Gay Pride was named the best in Europe.

Amsterdam is one of the most important metropolitan cities regarding Graffiti. It was definitely influenced by the graffiti that evolved in New York by the Hip-Hop scene. But the punk movement was more important in Amsterdam. Amsterdam’s graffiti has been influencing sprayers around the globe since the 1980s.


Traditions
Cabaret has been in very popular tradition in the Netherlands and is very well represented in Amsterdam. Another tradition is the celebration of Queens Day.

Religion
The largest religious groups in Amsterdam are the Christians(Catholic and Protestant), followed by Islam and Sunni. Religion in Amsterdam is represented by various buildings. The Nieuwe Kerk, Oude Kerk, Westerkerk, Sint Nicolaaskerk, Jakob Isreal Belmonte, Beth Haim, Portugese Synagogue, Joods Historisch Museum and the center for Jewish emigration.

Airports / Car rental
Getting to Amsterdam by airplane, you will land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. It is an international airport with flights to over 80 countries. It has a vast shopping area and has great connecting transportation to Amsterdam.

All major car rental services have seats at the airport, making it easy to get a car for traveling around the Netherlands. However renting a car is only recommended when traveling outside of Amsterdam, because the city isn't really car friendly.

Public transport
Public transport in Amsterdam includes, trains, metro, bus and trams. The trains and buses offer transportation into the outskirts and the region of Noord Holland whereas the metro is for suburb to suburb travel and the tram for general transportation in the city. However, traveling in Amsterdam is best done by bike, and if you're able to, a mix of tram and foot travel is also optimal. When taking the tram you buy "Strippenkaarten" they work by time and you have to validate and devalidate the ticket when getting on and off.

Taxis / Infrastructure
Taxis are readily available and can either be found at the airport or the train station or called up by phone.

Events
Big events in Amsterdam are traditional holidays like “Koniginnen Dag”, “Sinterklaas”, and New years eve, especially on “Koniginnen Dag”. You have never seen so much orange in one place, not even at the soccer world cup, until you’ve been in Amsterdam on 30th April. Also very crazy is the New Year Eve celebration. Even though Fireworks are forbidden in the Netherlands, the Dutch are crazy about fireworks and light it anyway. So now there’s an exception to the rule; the week before and after New Years it is aloud, and it gets crazy, so be careful when in Amsterdam on New Years.

Culinary Specialties
Apart from the Amsterdamse Ui, Amsterdam does not have a culinary specialty per se. But it is known for it’s peculiar “vending machines”. Restaurants try to optimize sale by operating a wall filled with compartments. In these there is typical Dutch fast food, like “Pattate”, “Oliebolle”, etc., but also fully prepared meals are offered. You should try it at least once.

Lifestyle
Amsterdam is a very busy city, not busy as in cars, but busy when it comes to bicycles. All around Amsterdam you will see people on bikes. You’ll even see people on bikes wearing a suit. The part of Dutch lifestyle regarding bicycles is very well represented in Amsterdam. There are nearly just as many bikes in Amsterdam as there are people living there. Most of those don’t even own, let alone need a car.

Sights
The the Leidseplein (food), the Dam (shopping), Rembrandtsplein (for nightlife), and Oudekerk for the Red light district are the must see areas in Amsterdam.
Other attractions and sights are of course the “Grachten” (canals), Van Gogh Museum, Rjiksmuseum, Madame Tussauds, Sex Museum, Anne Frank Huis, Vondelpark, Heineken Experience.