Fast Facts

Business Hours -- Banks are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 4 or 5pm (on Thurs, some stay open until 7pm). Offices are generally open Monday to Friday from 9 or 10am to 4 or 5pm. Regular shopping hours are Monday from 10 or 11am to 6pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9am to 6pm; Thursday from 9am to 9pm (Thurs is koopavond/late shopping evening); and Saturday from 9am to 5pm. Some stores are open Sunday from noon to 5pm.

Drinking & Drug Laws -- There is no minimum legal drinking age in the Netherlands -- but other laws may be used against a parent, guardian, or other third party who permits or causes a minor to abuse alcohol. For purchasing drinks that have less than 15% alcohol by volume, the minimum legal age is 16; for drinks with more than 15% alcohol by volume, the minimum legal age is 18. In both cases ID must be produced.

Using narcotic drugs is officially illegal in the Netherlands. Peddling drugs is a serious offense, and buying on the street is illegal. But in licensed premises, Amsterdam allows the sale of up to 5 grams (1/5 oz.), and possession of 30 grams (1 oz.) of hashish or marijuana for personal use (since you are allowed to buy only 5 grams/ bf]1/5 oz. at a time, you might conceivably face questions if you actually have 30 grams/1 oz. on you). Not every municipality in the Netherlands is as liberal-minded as Amsterdam when it comes to smoking pot -- and even Amsterdam isn't so tolerant that you should just light up on the street, in cafes, or on trams and trains (though enough dopey people do). Possessing and using hard drugs like heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy is an offense, and the police have swept most of the downtown heroin-shooters away from the tourist centers. However, drug abusers are considered a medical and social problem here rather than merely a law-enforcement issue.

Electricity -- As in most of Europe, the Netherlands uses 230 (220-240) volts AC (50 cycles), compared to 110-120 volts AC (60 cycles) in the United States and Canada. Upward converters that change 110-120 volts to 220-240 volts are difficult to find in Holland, so bring one with you.

Bring a connection kit of the right power and phone adapters, a spare phone cord, and a spare Ethernet network cable -- or find out whether your hotel supplies them to guests.

Embassies & Consulates -- Both the U.S. and the U.K. have consulates in Amsterdam, and both countries along with other English-speaking countries have embassies in The Hague (Den Haag).

The consulate of the United Kingdom is at Koningslaan 44, 1070 AL Amsterdam (tel. 020/676-4343; www.britain.nl; tram: 2). The embassy of the United Kingdom is at Lange Voorhout 10, 2514 ED Den Haag (tel. 070/427-0427; www.britain.nl).

The consulate of the United States is at Museumplein 19, 1071 DJ Amsterdam (tel. 020/575-5300; http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov; tram: 3, 5, 12, or 16). The embassy of the United States is at Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ Den Haag (tel. 070/310-2209; http://thehague.usembassy.gov).

The embassy of Australia is at Carnegielaan 4, 2517 KH Den Haag (tel. 070/310-8200; www.australian-embassy.nl).

The embassy of Canada is at Sophialaan 7, 2514 JP Den Haag (tel. 070/311-1600; www.canada.nl).

The embassy of Ireland is at Scheveningseweg 112, 2584 AE Den Haag (tel. 070/363-0993; www.irishembassy.nl).

The embassy of New Zealand is at Eisenhowerlaan 77N, 2517 KK Den Haag (tel. 070/346-9324; www.nzembassy.com).

Emergencies -- For police assistance, an emergency doctor or an ambulance with paramedics, and for the fire department, call tel. 112.

Gasoline (Petrol) -- A gas (petrol) station is a benzinestation, a pompstation, or a tankstation in Dutch. Gasoline is lead-free and sold in two varieties: Euro 95 or euro 98 (for its octane number). Diesel is sold in all stations; autogas, also known as LPG (liquid petroleum gas), is sold in many. The Netherlands "boasts" some of the world's highest gasoline prices. Taxes are already included in the printed price. One U.S. gallon equals 3.8 liters, and 1 imperial gallon equals 4.4 liters.

Hospitals -- Two hospitals with an emergency service are the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Gasthuis, Oosterpark 9 (tel. 020/599-9111; www.olvg.nl; tram: 3, 7, or 10), Amsterdam-Oost; and the Academisch Medisch Centrum (AMC), Meibergdreef 9 (tel. 020/566-9111; www.amc.uva.nl; Metro: Holendrecht), Amsterdam-Zuidoost.

Insurance -- For travel overseas, most U.S. health plans (including Medicare and Medicaid) do not provide coverage, and the ones that do often require you to pay for services upfront and reimburse you only after you return home. As a safety net, you may want to buy travel medical insurance.

Canadians should check with their provincial health plan offices or call Health Canada (tel. 866/225-0709; www.hc-sc.gc.ca) to find out the extent of their coverage and what documentation and receipts they must take home in case they are treated overseas.

Travelers from the U.K. and Ireland should carry their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which replaced the E111 form as proof of entitlement to free/reduced cost medical treatment abroad (tel. 0845/606-2030; www.ehic.org.uk). Note that the EHIC covers only "necessary medical treatment."

For information on traveler's insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and medical insurance while traveling, please visit www.frommers.com/tips.

Internet Access -- Many hotels, coffeehouses (note that this doesn't mean pot-selling "coffeeshops"), and other businesses offer Internet access, either Wi-Fi or with online computers. The dedicated Internet cafe business seems to be dying out.

Language -- Dutch people speak Dutch, of course, but English is the second language of the Netherlands and is taught in school from the early grades. The result is that nearly everyone speaks English fluently -- so you may speak English in Amsterdam almost as freely as you do at home, particularly to anyone providing tourist services, whether a hotel receptionist, waitperson, or store clerk (cabdrivers might be another story).

Legal Aid -- The police are allowed to levy on-the-spot fines for traffic offenses, but they are obliged to provide a receipt. Aid may be provided in legal cases that cost more than 180€. If you are accused of a more serious offense, say and do nothing before consulting a lawyer. Here the burden is on the state to prove a person's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and everyone has the right to remain silent, whether he or she is suspected of a crime or actually arrested. Once arrested, a person can ask the police to make a telephone call to a lawyer, or in the case of international visitors, your embassy or consulate.

Mail -- Most offices of the efficient and reliable TNT Post (tel. 076/527-2727; www.tntpost.nl) are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The office at Singel 250, at the corner of Raadhuisstraat (tram: 13, 14, or 17), is open Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 6pm, and Saturday from 7:30 to 9:30am. Standard postage for a postcard or letter to the U.S., Canada, Australia, or New Zealand is .95€; to the U.K. and Ireland, it's .77€. To appear really conversant, address your letters home in Dutch: Verenigde Staten van Amerika, Canada, Groot-Britannië, Ierland, Australië, Nieuw-Zeeland.

Police -- Holland's emergency phone number for the police (politie) -- along with the fire department and the ambulance service -- is tel. 112. For routine matters, visit a district police office. A centrally located one is at Lijnbaansgracht 219 (tel. 0900/8844; tram: 1, 2, 5, 7, or 10), off Leidseplein; calling its number can also provide details about other district police offices.

Smoking -- In a city where smoking hashish is an acceptable use of the public air, it used to be that there was no mercy shown to anyone who squirmed at the thought of mere tobacco. Since July 1, 2008, all that has changed. Smoking is now forbidden in restaurants, bars, cafes, hotel public areas, and most hotel rooms. Exceptions are in separate enclosed areas for smokers, in which staff are not allowed to provide drinks, meals, or other services. Smoking tobacco in "coffeeshops" is likewise forbidden, but smoking the marijuana that is their stock in trade is allowed -- don't ask me to explain it! Trams, buses, and Metro trains are smoke-free.

Taxes -- There's a value-added tax (BTW) in Holland of 6% on hotel and restaurant bills (19% on beer, wine, and liquor), and 6% or 19% (depending on the product) on purchases. This tax is always included in the price. Visitors coming from outside the European Union can shop tax-free in Amsterdam. Stores that offer tax-free shopping advertise with a HOLLAND TAX-FREE SHOPPING sign in the window, and provide the form you need to recover taxes when you leave the European Union. Refunds are available only when you spend more than 50€ in a participating store.

Time -- Amsterdam is on Central European Time (CET), which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), plus 1 hour. Clocks are moved ahead 1 hour for daylight-saving Central European Summer Time (CEST) between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October. For example, when it's 6pm in Amsterdam, it's 9am in Los Angeles (PST), 7am in Honolulu (HST), 10am in Denver (MST), 11am in Chicago (CST), noon in New York City (EST), 5pm in London (GMT), and 2am the next day in Sydney.

For the exact local time from a "speaking clock," dial tel. 0900/8002.

Tipping -- The Dutch government requires that all taxes and service charges be included in the published prices of hotels, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, salons, and sightseeing companies. Even taxi fares include taxes and a standard 15% service charge. To be absolutely sure if a restaurant is including tax and service, look for the words inclusief BTW en service (BTW is the abbreviation for the Dutch words that mean value-added tax) on the bill, or ask the waitstaff.

Dutch waitstaff and hotel staff often "forget" that a service charge and a tip are in effect the same thing. If you query them, they'll likely tell you that the tip isn't included in the bill -- slightly true, since it's not called a tip but a service charge. Customers pay a standard 15% whether they liked the service or not. The VVV tourist office's advice is: "Tips for extra service are always appreciated but not necessary."

To tip like the Dutch in a cafe or snack bar, leave some small change on the counter or table. In a restaurant, leave 1€ to 2€ per person, or to generously reward good service, 5€ per person or 10% of the tab. Since service can tend toward the lackadaisical, you may need to make due allowance for what constitutes "good." If another staffer took the payment, give the tip to your waitperson directly.

In a hotel, tip for a long stay or extra service, if you wish, but don't worry about not tipping -- you're unlikely to be hassled by a bellboy who lights every lamp in your room until he hears the rattle of spare change.

Should you feel an irrational compulsion to tip taxi drivers, round up the fare by a euro or two, or splash out 5% to 10%.

Toilets -- Maybe you better sit down for this one. The most important thing to remember about public toilets in Amsterdam -- apart from calling them toiletten (twa-lett-en) or "WC" (vay say) and not restrooms -- is not the usual male/female (heren/dames) distinction (important though that is), but to pay the person who sits at the entrance to many such places of relief. He or she has a saucer in which you're supposed to deposit your payment. If you don't, you may have a vexed visitor in the inner sanctum while you transact your business. It's tiresome, but toilets usually cost only about .40€, and the attendant makes sure they're clean.

If you have a toilet emergency in the Center, a good place to find relief is the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. Just breeze in as if you own the "Kras," swing left past the front desk and along the corridor, past the Winter Garden restaurant, then up some steps. Another option: The restrooms at the University of Amsterdam's Atrium cafeteria are clean and open to all. Restrooms in department stores are also useful. Try to avoid visiting a urinoir (or pissoir) -- these malodorous, open-air, male-only "comfort stations" are a standing provocation to feminists.

Water -- Faucet water in Amsterdam is safe to drink -- it's referred to locally as gemeente pils (municipal beer). Many people drink bottled mineral water, generically called spa even though it's not all from the Belgian Spa brand.