Amsterdam is only one of the northern European cities that is considered as Venice of the north due to their canals. Not that any of them make up to the canals of Venice but each of them have their own beauty and Amsterdam definitely has a lot of it.
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It may not be the canals but Amsterdam has one thing that makes it exceptional between all the European cities: Bikes! Amsterdam is probably the most bike friendly city I have ever seen! All the roads are designed to have a special line for bicycles and the wide sidewalk with bike parking racks in every few meters make it possible to park your bike wherever you need.

DSC03103Amsterdam has something to offer to everyone, wether you want to go rebel and head to the red light district or cafes that offer you all sorts of drugs, or you’re there to enjoy the amazing Dutch art, culture and street performances you’ll find loads to do and see here.

On the down side I found Amsterdam to be fairly expensive comparing to other cities. Entrance fees to museums and other attractions are mostly above 10€ and there’s almost no discounts for anyone! But here’s a video to find out 5 free things you can do in the capital of fun!

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Holland is a country full of culture, art and history. There’s all sorts of memorials and museums to keep  these memories alive and to remind the Dutch people of the sacrifices that were made to bring this country to stage it’s in now.

Beyond Amsterdam:
Holland is a tiny country. It’s easy to get around and you can see so much in a day. 2 Full days will be enough to see the majority of Amsterdam’s main attractions. So if you’re staying a bit longer try going beyond the capital. There are great tour companies that offer day trips to a few cities with quite reasonable prices. Here is the most famous company and the one we traveled with. They have a few different options of the Dutch countryside but we decided to go with one of its most popular tours which was Delft-The Hague-Modurodam for 41€ per person.
It took around 5.5 hours and we got to see the beautiful royal town of Delft, the political capital of Holland (The Hague) and the amazing miniature city of Modurodam which is in The Hague (or Den Haag as the Dutch call it).

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During our short visit to Delft we also got to visit The Delftse Pauw, a small factory where the famous Delft pottery is made.

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By making a purchase here at the factory you will be given a certificate that verifies the originality of your purchase, as there are so many Chinese ones in the market!

Modurodam is where you’ll get to see all of Holland in an hour. Here you’ll find all the famous Dutch buildings carefully remade at 1:25 scale.

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Best time to visit:
While our visit was in August and we had a few days of clear sky and beautiful weather which is apparently rare in Holland, yet we didn’t get to see much of the famous Dutch tulips. So according to our guide the best time to visit Holland would be around April-May when you’ll get to see the countryside filled with flowers. Although keep in mind that springs in Holland are not going to be that mild.
Getting to Amsterdam:
The two main ways of traveling to Amsterdam are either by plane or train. If you’re traveling with the train you’ll eventually arrive at Amsterdam Central Station which is right in downtown. If you’re catching a plane, you’ll probably be arriving at Schiphol airport which is around 18km from Amsterdam. From Schiphol there are trains to all over holland and even other cities in Europe. You can buy your tickets directly at the airport from either the machines or the office. A one way ticket from Schiphol to Amsterdam central station will cost you 4.40€. Here is a link where you can find more information about these trains.DSC03110Public Transportation:
The best way to get around Amsterdam is either to rent a bike or to take the tram. You can rent a bike either at your hotel or other bike rental places which are easy to find.
Tram tickets cost 2.50€ that you can reuse within one hour which is quite expensive I guess! However you can also buy 24h tickets for 7.50€ or 48h tickets for 12€ and save yourself some money. These tickets can be used on all public transportation, including the bus and the metro.
There are also other options which you can check out here!where to get your info:
Here are a few links where you’ll find all the necessary information you need to know before you head off to this beautiful country:

Happy Travels,

Matin

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