Amsterdam is one of Europe's loveliest cities. It is a compact city with incredible colours, great museums, shopping opportunities and entertainment venues. The city's layout is determined by a network of canals radiating out of the historical centre to circle right round the centre. The effect of the seventeenth-century extensions to the medieval town create a uniquely elegant urban environment, with tall gabled houses reflected in the canal black-green waters. What makes Amsterdam so special is that it is a world away from the traffic and noise of many other European city centres. These charms are supplemented by a string of first-rate attractions, most notably the Anne Frank House where a young Jewish girl wrote one of the most moving accounts of the Second World War, the Rijksmuseum with its wonderful collection of Dutch paintings including several of Rembrandt's finest works, and the peerless Vincent van Gogh Museum, with the world's largest collection of the artist's works.
The history of Amsterdam is rich and colourful. It began its existence as a fishing village around the thirteenth century and draws its name from the river Amstel. The first recorded usage of the name Amstelledamme, however, occurred in the late thirteenth century in the toll concession of Floris V, Count of Holland.
Amsterdam began to blossom in the fifteenth century. Not many of the medieval buildings have survived the passage of time as they were built of wood, but some good examples are the Old and New Churches and the Houten Huis (Wooden House) at the Begijnhof. Amsterdam's Golden Age was during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries due to the growth of the Dutch Empire, and it was during this time that some of the city's most impressive historical buildings were constructed. These include the town hall in Dam Square (Royal Palace), the Westerkerk, the Zuiderkerk, and a large number of canal houses among which De Dolfijn (Dolphin), De Gecroonde Raep (Crowned Turnip), Huis met de Hoofden (House with the Heads), Poppenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal 95 (commissioned by the Poppen family), and Trippenhuis (built for the Trip family) are prominent. The city remained dominant even though the Dutch Empire began to decline in the eighteenth century, this due to it remaining the principal financial centre in Europe. By the time the British and French finished with the Dutch Republic at the turn of the nineteenth century, the city became parochial on the European and global map. The Dutch suffered harshly during the Second World War, but in the post-war period, the city blossomed so that now it is one of the premier European cities.
Amsterdam benefits from beautiful warm to hot summers. Springs in Amsterdam are mild and from April to May the city is awash with the sights and smells of daffodils and tulips. Winter can be cold, but this also means that the museums tend to be less crowded as less tourists visit than in other seasons. If it gets cold enough for the canals and waterways to freeze over, the Dutch enjoy skating on the canals and flood plains.
The currency in the Netherlands is the Euro. There are seven euro notes – in denominations of €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5, each a different colour and size – and eight different coins, €2 and €1, then 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cent. 1 & 2 Cents are not used anymore in the Netherlands and amounts will be rounded up or down. Banks opening hours are Monday to Friday 09:00 to 16:00 with a few also open Thursday until 21:00 or on Saturday- & Sunday morning; all are closed on public holidays. The main Bureaux de Change is GWK, whose main 24-hour branches are at Centraal Station and Schiphol Airport. GWK offers competitive rates. Visitors should be aware that some agencies offer great rates but extortionate commission, or, conversely, charge no commission but give bad rates. The VVV tourist office also changes money.
Taxis are identifiable by the blue licence plates and by their roofs. All taxis run on meters and start with a flat rate (around 7.50 Euro including 2 km.), then cost 2.20 Euro per kilometre. There are a host of taxi ranks throughout the city but make sure you don't pay too much and they run the meter.