Amsterdam
In Amsterdam you'll find an interesting combination of past and present. Together this forms a unique image of the capital of Holland. Amsterdam is a picturesque town, which is also great for shopping. Large department stores can be found in the centre of the town, smaller and exclusive shops in the outskirts where well known designers are situated. In "De Jordaan", originally a working-class-neighbourhood that is wonderfully restored, you can browse the most divergent shops. If you are not blown away by just walking the streets of Amsterdam and soaking up the athmosphere while enjoying a coffee and being wowed by the architechture, you could view things like 'de Amsterdam diamonteers' - known for their exclusive diamond workmanship. Every year a million visitors amaze themselves about the way they cut raw stones into highgraded and expensive diamonds. Enough to make you mouth water. Amsterdam is the town with the most museums per square-meter in the world. There are forty museums with diverse collections. "Het Spiegelkwartier", de access to the "Rijksmuseum", is the place where you'll find art, antiques, paintings, ceramic, glass, jewellery, furniture, coins, books, Art Deco, to name a few things. To see the Nightwatch from Rembrandt you have to go to the Rijksmuseum. This artwork is an absolute highlight for millions of people. Amsterdam has many special museums like the Van Gogh museum which is along the recently renovated Museumplein, the Tropenmuseum, the Dutch Shippingmuseum, the Jewish Historical Museum, the Rembrandthouse and the Amsterdam Historic Museum. In smaller museums real treasure can be found and are worth the time to visit. In Amstelveen, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, you can see art in Museum van der Togt en the Cobra Musuem for Modern Art.
From this day on thousands of merchant houses along the canals testify the Golden Century. Sauntering along the canals is an amazing voyage. Many century-old monuments fill the sides of the canals, which are refreshed nightly. You can also make a roundtrip on a boat trough the canals, which are beautifully lit at night. In winter, if there's ice on the canals, you can eve skate over the canals.
At night you won't be bored for a second in Amsterdam. A large number of bars, cafe's, disco's and nightclubs provide a broad choice of entertainment.
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Amsterdam's main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, its red-light district and its many cannabis coffee shops, draw 4.2 million tourists annually. For a full list of tourist attractions please 
Culture, history and water are for centuries connected top Amsterdam. Where the river Amstel discharges into Het Ij, the first inhabitants established around the year 1200. In the beginning fishing was the main income but was later replaced by trade. At the end of the sixteenth century Amsterdam was Europe's richest town.
The Waterloopleinmarket is a fleamarket known far across the boundaries. A feeling of pleasantness and kindness come across you when you enter the market. Along the Singel you'll the only floating flowermarket in the world. Weekly there are markets for stamp collectors and lovers of old books and prints.
