Top City Breaks
2012 Special Events
Vienna Philharmonic Sea & Music Cruise - July 2012
London Olympics 2012
For ticket information please click here.
As the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is one of Europe's most exciting and colourful cities, offering an unparalleled combination of high culture and decadence.
At first glance it is a pretty European city criss-crossed by canals, but look a little deeper and it becomes a hub of culture with an impressive collection of art and an extravagent party scene where anything goes. The sleepy curves of the city's waterways will delight the romantics who can enjoy them at their best from cafés in cobbled streets or for picturesque bridges.
For more information and to book, please visit the Amsterdam City Break page
In Amsterdam, you'll find everything from international fashion labels, books, arts and antiques, to local specialities, such as tulip bulbs, cumin cheese and stoneware bottles of jenever (Dutch gin).
There is an interesting flea market around the City Hall and Opera. The busy, cosmopolitan food and clothes market is in Albert Cuypstraat. The colourful floating flower market bloemenmarkt on the Singel is not to be missed. On Saturdays, you'll find the organic food boerenmarkt (farmers market) and the vogelmarkt (bird market) in Noordermarkt.
The Dam Square offers Bijenkorf, the premier department store in
Amsterdam, which sells a good range of clothing, accessories,
cosmetics and household items, and also Magna Plaza, an exclusive
shopping centre in a fairy-tale, neo-gothic building.
The luxurious shopping centre De Kalvertoren and the upscale The
Maison de Bonneterie - the Harrods of Amsterdam - are both located
on Kalverstraat. There you can find top quality men's and women's
clothing and fine household goods.
d'Vijff Vlieghen (The Five Flies) is popular with both tourists and locals. Set in a series of period rooms and spread over five ancient, rambling, 17th-century canal houses, the dark wooden panelling, crisp white linens and antique furnishings of the interiors create a formal yet intimate setting. Typically experimental dishes include spring onion soup laced with berry-flavoured Dutch gin or red perch with sauerkraut, with tangy plum compote for dessert.
This bar/restaurant/club complex is a breath of fresh air on touristy Rembrandtplein. The bouncers and dark facade are a bit off-putting, but it is worth the effort of getting inside to enjoy a funky, visually impressive space. The menu covers three different types of cuisine (Asian, Continental and Mediterranean) and carries each off impressively well.
This restaurant fully deserves its Michelin star for the blending of French style and East Asian influences to great. The result is exotic flavour combinations, such as cod and merguez sausage, with preserved Cevennes onions in a reduction of red wine and vinegar. The culinary creations are served with flair in a chic, contemporary canal-side restaurant. Reservations are essential. Only open for dinner.
Amsterdam has plenty to see including the wonderful 17th-century city centre and the canals, which give Amsterdam the famous face it portrays to the world. There are a large number of art museums, brown cafes and squares which are very popular with tourists. Among the more notorious Amsterdam highlights are the coffee shops and the Red Light District.