Amsterdam has so many assets that it has long been one of France's favorite getaway destinations. Its network of seventeenth century channels is delicately drawn in the heart of one of Europe's finest heralds, its size with human size and the tranquility of its green, biking or pedestrian spaces seduce, the exceptional richness of its museums and the multitude of its small vintage or decking boutiques attract.
Major Museums Capital
The Battered Capital has undergone a small revolution over the last two years, so much so that the new and the opening of weight have succeeded in high speed. Local culture requires a quiet revolution, but all these profound changes in the city's urban and tourist landscape are good reasons to discover or rediscover this port city to none else. April 14, 2013 will remain as a memorable date. It is that day that the Rijksmuseum, the largest museum in the Netherlands, and one of the most beautiful in Europe, reopened its doors after… almost 10 years of closure for renovation! Expensive, laborious and controversial work that aroused the ire of most Dutch people. The expectation was excessively long, but the result is absolutely sumptuous. The 80 rooms and almost 10,000 works can now be visited 365 days a year. A museum that alone justifies a visit to Amsterdam. In order to admire in real life La Ronde de Nuit de Rembrandt, La Laitière de Vermeer and rich masterpieces of the great masters of the Dutch school.
Six months before the Rijks and next to the Van Gogh Museum, it was the Stedelijk Museum that opened its doors after 9 years of renovation work. The municipal museum of modern and contemporary art now attracts as much for its bold modern architecture as its master paintings. He took his quarters in a vast neo-Renaissance building built in 1895 and presents an impressive collection of twentieth century works. The visit goes along with works by Braque, Cézanne, Chagall, Ernst, Mondrian, Picasso, Pollock, Kokoschka and Kandinsky. With the nearby Van Gogh Museum, which has been offering many new features, Amsterdam and its Museumplein have a first-class museum concentration.
The World's Cycling Capital
Once on site, apart from walking, the two most recommended means of locomotion are public transport and cycling. With 17 tram lines and close to 30 buses that effectively cross the city, the surface transport network is very developed. But Amsterdam is perhaps the world's capital of cycling! Rental shops are innumerable and can be renamed to the day. Beware, and this applies to cyclists as well as pedestrians, bicycle paths are everywhere, on all streets of the city, and alternate alternately from road to sidewalks.
And a capital that reinvents itself…
Along with its great return to the stage in the head of European cultural destinations, Amsterdam has endeavored to channel two phenomena that are too identified in the city: prostitution and the trade in cannabis. The Amstellodamois, attached to a certain elegance and discretion, began to be tired of seeing each weekend hordes of visitors coming into more than reason in the city's sulfurous reins. The area of the station, epicenter of Amsterdam striated with canals, has been secured and serves as magnet for those who wish to spend their stay in a coffee shop. Even if this neighborhood is no longer really frequented by the premises, it will be interesting at some point to wander there to smell the fragrance of Amsterdam scandalous. As for the clothed houses of the Red Light District, the city has implemented a policy of systematic replacement by the installation of young designers and designers, modern art galleries and boutique hotels. It's the Red Light Fashion project that gradually changes the face of the neighborhood and makes it happy for shopping! Nestled between the trendy and bohemian district of Jordaan to the west and the majestic Grand Canal district with its delicious nine streets, the Red Quarter is now the new piece of a vast territory where you can stroll, eat, drink coffee and shop at leisure.
And what a joy to walk down the night down these canals, warm but timidly illuminated by light lamps that strike in the evening and the nascent haze. It is a pleasure to warm up or relax in one of the many «brown cafes» that characterize the city with their sieved lighting, their wooded interior and the cozy heat of their furniture. What a delight to wander in the Albert Cuypmart (large open-air market from De Pijp to the south of the Great Canals) in a haring broodstock (small fresh herring sandwich) bought on a stand or in a staircase on the fly. Amsterdam is the eternal, the harbor, the elegant, the peaceful and the shopping.
Then a multiform and connected fauna takes possession of the city in search of new aesthetic experiences. An incredible number of small, often warm rooms compete for the local music scene, while theaters and cinemas offer lively and bold programming, most often from the underground environment. The nightlife is organized mainly around three centers: the Leidseplein, with its theaters and jazz clubs; The Red Quarter, rich in its countless sex shops and more or less famous bars; The Rembrandtplein, finally, a true heart of night activity amstellodamoise, with its fashionable bars, nightclubs and gay clubs. For who would love to have fun in the evening, the difficulty is therefore essentially practical and lies mainly in the painful choice that it is about operating. But fortunately for us, in addition to the numerous flyers and other flying papers available everywhere (bars, coffee shops, shops…), a number of magazines propose to help us make the right choice in the midst of this frenzy of agitation. Most do not confine themselves to a particular area, and thus overlook most of the artistic and cultural events of the moment.
Smart News
When is it? Amsterdam is visiting every season very well. In the fall and winter, weather can be cool and humid, but photoengineering and the ambiances in the city are unique and untenable. Spring is probably the ideal season to visit the city, but as everyone seems to share this opinion, the city is then crowded and the attractions very requested. Book your transport, accommodation and tours in advance.
Go there. By plane, train or bus, everything is possible.
AIR FRANCE - More information on the site
THALYS-SNCF - More information on the site
IDBUS - More information on the site
Useful. To prepare his getaway best.
AMSTERDAM TOURIST OFFICE (VVV) - More information on the site
