The Dutch Royal family is known for its easygoing, informal lifestyle. The royals cycle places, attend state schools and Queen Maxima is even a registered ‘lice mother’ – she inspects school children’s hair for head lice.  Rather than crowned, Dutch monarchs are inaugurated to their role as head of the royal family and the Dutch […]

Theatre lovers who do not speak a word of Dutch need not despair when they are visiting Amsterdam. When you are staying in an Amsterdam Apartments accommodation, chances are that you are located very closely to the centre of Amsterdam. And every night of the week, there are quality shows in English in theatres around […]

Amsterdam ranks as the mother of the graffiti street art scene in Europe. Youngsters were ‘putting shit’, the inner circle jargon for spray painting public fixtures and fittings in the middle of the night, as early as the 1970s. This was well before anyone in London or Paris even thought about engaging in such questionable […]

Anne Frank’s diary is famous the world over. By now, the estimated sales of this diary are over 30 million, and annually around one million readers come to visit the Anne Frank house. Unsurprisingly, this number causes a slight logistical problem. The attic, as you will likely know, is only big enough for eight people. […]

As far as cities can be photogenic, Amsterdam is easily a top contender in any beauty contest. The city has featured in various movies and if you look at the spots that were filmed, you will realise that those scout locators who do the groundwork for the film industry are as human as you and […]

Amsterdam, with over 400 museums, boasts more culture per square inch than any other city in the world. Tourists have a dazzling choice of options. Must-see museums are the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh museum and the CoBrA museum, all of which have recently undergone major refurbishments, hence the need for this update. Let’s hope this […]

Technically, a pancake is just a bit of thinly-spread egg-infused batter, baked on an oiled-up griddle, featuring in many cultures. But until you have tasted a pancake, or pannenkoek, in Amsterdam, you won’t have experienced the real thing, if you believe most Amsterdam tour guides. And when you see the extensive list of pancake eateries […]

Whether you visit Amsterdam for the first time or are on a repeat visit, chances are that you will want to go on a water venture. You might take a regular tourist boat, rent a water bicycle, charter a smaller boat, or you could even book a table in a floating restaurant. The very first […]

So you hit Amsterdam to do a spot of, well, smoking, and are already guffawing at the mere thought of doing it in public, when it hits you…. the same smoking ban that might rule with iron fist in your country, will also put a spoiler on the bars of Amsterdam…This is after all Europe.  […]