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Questions tagged [amsterdam]

The capital and largest city of the Netherlands.

amsterdam at night

Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the . The city is located in the province of in the west of the country. With more than one million inhabitants in its urban area, it is the country's largest city and its financial, cultural, and creative centre.

As of 2013 many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters in amsterdam, and 7 of the world's top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in this city.

Amsterdam is colloquially known as Venice of the North, because of its lovely canals that criss-cross the city, its impressive architecture and more than 1,500 bridges.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amsterdam

Wikitravel: http://wikitravel.org/en/Amsterdam

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Is weed still legal for tourists in Amsterdam?

I have heard it's not legal starting from 2013. I also heard they postponed applying this? So what's the deal? Allowed or not?
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Legalities and safety concerns of visiting prostitutes in Amsterdam

A friend of mine left his girlfriend after a long (~5 years) relationship. To cheer him up a little bit, we decided to go to Amsterdam, as they have liberal prostitution and drug consuming laws. We're planning to get him laid every day while over…
RoflcoptrException
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Can I skip my train leg booked with a KLM flight?

I have a flight booked form Cairo to Amsterdam Schiphol via KLM and then a Thalys train from Amsterdam Schiphol to Brussels. As Brussels is not my final destination anyway I want to intentionally skip the train from Amsterdam airport to Brussels…
M Ha
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What are these hooks on Amsterdam's buildings?

Im in Amsterdam for the first time and I noticed these weird hooks on the top of nearly every building. My initial idea was that they are used to hold flags during during national holidays etc. What are these used for?
Jacob
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Where is this building in Amsterdam with a façade looking like a bookshelf?

A friend of mine was in Amsterdam this weekend, and he made an awesome photo of a building with a wall that looks like a book shelf: Unfortunately he has no idea of the address and he doesn't have a picture of the building as a whole, nor its…
mindcorrosive
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Languages spoken in the Netherlands

I'm preparing a trip to Amsterdam. I know that the official language is Dutch but I have read that 90% of population speak English. So, Is it enough to speak English or should I learn some basic expressions for communicating on restaurant, shop, and…
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Are Schiphol airport hotels noisy?

We are visiting Amsterdam for 2 nights and will try to stay somewhere near Schiphol (if possible) to catch the 10 A.M. flight. We can see quite a lot of marquee hotels near Schiphol with good weekend rates, but couldn't imagine how the noise level…
ha9u63a7
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5 hours in Amsterdam

I have a 5-hour layover at AMS on a Saturday evening (16:00-21:00), on an intra-EU itinerary to the UK. I'd like to leave the airport and have dinner in town. Is this reasonable? (From reading the travel wiki article, it looks like this is…
nibot
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Smoking weed in Amsterdam as a tourist

I read the following question and all its answers: Is weed still legal for tourists in Amsterdam? I am not even a weed smoker, but since I am going to Amsterdam, I thought I'd give it a try. I would just like to know how to be able to do it, since I…
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How to get to Schiphol Airport at 5am using public transport from Amsterdam?

How can you get to Schiphol using public transport at 5 a.m.? I understand public transport starts at 6 am. I heard about some night buses but can't find their routes or which to take. I'm leaving from inside Amsterdam.
ryudice
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What areas to avoid in Amsterdam for a family-friendly visit

I will be traveling to Amsterdam with elderly parents. They/we have a different "comfort zone" and would like to avoid walking through some liberal areas (such as the red light district or cannabis cafes) in Amsterdam. No disrespect meant to the…
dearN
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Why do people scan their Intercity / Sprinter tickets twice (on entry and exit) in Amsterdam?

I notice that people seem to scan their tickets twice, on entry and exit, on the NS system (Intercity / Sprinter) in Amsterdam. Since the officials scan your ticket on the train, what's the purpose of scanning on the platform? I've tried with my…
Andrew Cheong
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What's a cheap, convenient way to get from Amsterdam to Brussels?

Since Fyra stopped transportation between Amsterdam and Brussels I was wondering if there is way to get there cheaper and convenient than usual NS trains with two over stops. I found that megabus has connection between cities. But I've never…
Eugen Martynov
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3 days in Amsterdam: What to see?

In a few days I'm flying to Amsterdam. We will spend there a fun weekend as I repeatedly mentioned in previous questions. But nevertheless a little bit of sightseeing is also necessary. I don't know a lot about Amsterdam, so I'm looking forward for…
RoflcoptrException
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Can a single 'OV-chipkaart' be used for multiple people from Eindhoven to Amsterdam, and then locally in Amsterdam?

I'll be in the Netherlands between 2/12/2016 and 07/12/16, arriving at Eindhoven airport with two friends. We want to stay for 2 days at Eindhoven , and then take the train/bus to Amsterdam, staying there for three days. The last day we will go back…
Nicole Stanley
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