"Amsterdam - not just for the ..." a Amsterdam Travel Page by Robin922

Many would say that Amsterdam is a wonderful city, but I would call it a wonderful town. If you go by numbers it is technically a city, if you go by personality it’s a town. Its rich history mixed with modern diversity, accented with unique location makes it a one of kind place.

Most people’s first sight of the city will be the train station. It is a perfect example of Amsterdam. A mature building, ever changing yet remaining the same. Right now the only way you will see the entire front of the building, is by someone’s older photograph, for right now it’s major construction site. Knowing which way to go is no problem, just follow the crowd. From this point you will have endless opportunities to experience.

Many people have the false illusion that Amsterdam is full of drug users, and ladies of the night. To tell the truth I’ve seen less here than I’ve seen in many U.S. cities. Yes they do have ‘coffee shops’ however most part it’s localized. They are also regulated. While I’ve never stepped foot in one, I’ve walked past them and couldn’t tell the difference in passing a coffee shop and passing a bar.

As for the red-light district, the store windows could make some people blush. However, I found it to be more of a tourist area. Yes, you can buy services there, again it a regulated business.

To put things in perspective, if you put all of the coffee shops and the red light district together, it would only be a drop in the bucket. It is truly a very small part of the city.
What you will see a lot of is water, boats, trams, bikes, flowers and beautiful old buildings that contain great places to visit.

The layout of the city can appear a little confusing at first, there are NO square blocks, names of places are not always easy to pronounce. This can be easily over came, most hotels will give you a map of the city, and if you forgot to bring your copy, the tourist information building in front of the train station has them. Don’t worry about getting lost, you are never far from a tram and all but one tram ends up at central station. Not to mention, locals are more than happy to point you in the right direction.

One of the things I enjoyed most, was that you can spend a whole day in the city and spend very little money. You don’t have to look hard to find discount tickets to the many museums, and many things are free. For more on this subject see my tips.