Hotels in Amsterdam

Exploring the hidden treasures of Amsterdam

Amsterdam has amazing and wonderful opportunities offering many places of visit right from heritage buildings, museums and gardens to marijuana bars and of course the city’s Red Light District area. However, the best part of the city is the fact that everything comes as an easy reach with lots of discounts and sometimes for free.

Travel options are many ranging from the canals which criss-cross the city to scenic urban pathways for walking or biking. As about 40 per cent of Amsterdam traffic is on two wheels, biking makes you feel like a true local and helps you explore various gardens and places to visit which are hidden and would otherwise require guidance or tips to find.

Some gardens, tucked away in courtyards or behind stately apartments, are open to the public any time, while others open on a special day of the year. The Rijksmuseum, with its Rembrandts and Vermeers, costs 11 euro ($A18.86) entry, but its garden is open year-round for free.

The Begijnhof is a grassy courtyard surrounded by 14th century cottages. Nearby is a small chapel which often stages musical recitals. Near the Begijnhof is a covered passageway known as the Civics Guard Gallery, with 15 huge group portraits – from the same time as Rembrandt’s Night Watch – of leading citizens from the Dutch Golden Age.

The city also has some lesser known sections which are worth visitng anyway. One is the Nine Lanes, lined with tiny specialty establishments like the handmade soap shop, the spectacles museum and a store dedicated to toothbrushes. The Jordaan, once the working class district, has been revived with boutiques, tapas bars and ethnic restaurants.

The city’s 26 open-air markets offer knick-knacks, antiques, farmers’ produce, artworks, clothing and just about anything else you can think of. The largest and most popular with Dutch food shoppers is the Albert Cuyp Market, where everything is fresh and cheap.

On the southern side of the city is the 2500-acre Amsterdam forest, the city’s largest park with more than 50 kms of bike paths. It is onlt through bikes that one can get a taste of the town’s pastureland, windmills and more canals.

Tourists can rent a bike for about 10 euro ($A17.15) a day, with special weekly rates. Also available are tandems for two, cargo bikes for hauling groceries or toddlers, and bikes with child seats.