"The Defense Line of Amsterdam" a Amsterdam Travel Page by Pijlmans

A not-so-well-known attraction of Amsterdam is itīs former defense line. The UNESCO World Heritage Site "Defense Line of Amsterdam" (Stelling van Amsterdam) is a 135 km long ring of fortifications around Amsterdam, consisting of 42 fortresses situated 10-15 km from the center of Amsterdam. In combination with lowlands that could easily be flooded with water, these fortresses were build to protect Amsterdam in times of war. On the picture, the black circles represent these fortresses. For more info, see here.

For other tips, just check out the tip-section below about Amsterdam, or about my home-town Amstelveen, the green suburb of Amsterdam, and the village Ouderkerk aan de Amstel with its many restaurants.

For walks in the neighborhood of Amsterdam, see my page about hiking in the Netherlands.

In my Amstelveen tip section, there are several (mainly outdoor and often free) things to do for families with children, and short hikes in the green environment of Amsterdam. But also the CoBrA and Jan van der Toght museums for modern art and e.g. a Wooden Shoe Factory! The CoBrA Museum has been elected as the "Best Museum of 2008" by a Dutch newspaper.

In addition, Amstelveen has the biggest shopping center in the region, which can easily be reached by tram, metro or bus from Amsterdam.