Getting to Know Amsterdam

Amsterdam's Center is small enough for its residents to think of it as a village, but it can be one confusing village until you get the hang of it. It's easy to think you're headed in one direction along the canal belt, only to discover that you're going completely the other way. Those concentric rings of canals, along with several important squares, are the city's defining focal points. This section explains the city's layout, introduces its neighborhoods, tells you how to get around, and squeezes in other useful knowledge.

Visitor Information

Tourist information offices in the Netherlands, from big city- and province-wide offices down to the tiniest village booth, are called "VVV." Those letters are followed by the destination's name: VVV Amsterdam, VVV Den Haag, VVV Haarlem, VVV Leiden, and so on. The triangular blue-and-white VVV sign is a common sight around the country. The letters stand for a tongue-twisting name: Vereniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer (Association for Foreigner Travel) -- even the Dutch don't much like saying that every time so they call it simply the VVV (pronounced vay-vay-vay; it'll sound more like fay-fay-fay when spoken in an Amsterdam accent). VVV offices are efficient and have multilingual attendants on duty. They can reserve local accommodations for you, help with travel arrangements, tell you what's on where, and lots more.

Amsterdam's tourist information organization is officially called the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board, P.O. Box 3901, 1001 AS Amsterdam (tel. 0900/400-4040, or 31-20/551-2525 from outside the Netherlands; fax 020/201-8850; www.amsterdamtourist.nl), and is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. This umbrella organization operates four VVV Amsterdam tourist offices: one inside Centraal Station, on platform 2B, open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and Sundays and holidays from 9am to 5pm. Another one is right in front of the station, at Stationsplein 10, open daily from 9am to 5pm (trams for both offices: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 13, 16, 17, 24, 25, and 26). The third office is at Leidseplein 1 (tram: 1, 2, 5, 7, or 10), on the corner of Leidsestraat, open Sunday to Thursday from 9:15am to 5pm, and Friday to Saturday from 9:15am to 7pm. The office inside Passenger Terminal Amsterdam, the cruise-liner dock on Oostelijke Handelskade (tram: 25 or 26) just east of Centraal Station, is open only when cruise ships are docked alongside.

In addition, there's the Holland Tourist Information office at Schiphol Airport. All of these offices are extremely busy -- don't visit a VVV office to purchase tickets for public transportation, unless you're also going there for something else only the VVV can supply. VVV offices can help you with almost any question about the city. They also provide brochures and maps, reserve last-minute hotel rooms and tours, and sell reduced-rate tickets for attractions, public transportation, theater and concerts.

Handle the VVV's 0900 phone number with caution; it costs .40€ (50¢) per minute, which is tolerable if you get a fast response and not so good if you have to hold. Calls made from outside the Netherlands are at the usual international rate.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the VVV's Amsterdam Day by Day, for 1.50€ ($1.90). This monthly magazine is full of details about the month's art exhibits, concerts, and theater performances, and lists restaurants, bars, dance clubs, and more. Or get a free copy of the yellow Visitors Guide, like a miniature Yellow Pages with a wealth of addresses and phone numbers from any tourist office and some hotels.

In addition, the free Amsterdam Weekly newspaper is available from cultural outlets and some hotels and restaurants. The Times, also free, covers Amsterdam, The Hague, and Rotterdam and is available from select outlets like the American Book Center.

Your Passport to Amsterdam -- To get the most out of your trip, avail yourself of the I amsterdam Card. The card, valid for 1 day for 33€ ($41), 2 days for 43€ ($54), and 3 days for 53€ ($66), affords free travel on public transportation, free admission to more than 20 museums and attractions, including the Rijksmuseum or the van Gogh Museum (but not both), and the Stedelijk Museum. The card also provides for discounted admission to additional museums and attractions, a free canal boat cruise, discounted excursions, including reduced rates on the Museum Boat and the Canal Bus, and discounts in certain restaurants and stores. The card comes with a public transportation ticket and a color information booklet. Total possible savings: about 150€ ($188).

Before purchasing, though, consider carefully whether you'll get your money's worth out of this card. Remember, this is Holland, where local fondness for the coin of the realm is proverbial, and killer bargains are thin on the ground. You'll have to work pretty hard to come out ahead on the cost of the card, jumping on and off trams, buses and canal boats, and running in and out of museums that fall mostly into the culture class.

Some of Amsterdam's most memorable experiences come from idle strolling, hanging out on cafe terraces, and visiting offbeat stores and attractions. But if a cram course of solid culture is what you're here for, and you're ready to work to achieve it, the card could be a sound investment.

The I amsterdam Card is available from Holland Tourist Information at Schiphol Airport and from VVV tourist information offices in the city. Note that only the person who signs the card can use it.