FACTS & FIGURES ABOUT AMSTERDAM

Did you know Amsterdam has: 1 million bikes - 165 Canals - 1,281 Bridges - 206 Van Gogh paintings - 220,000 trees - 42 Museums - 65 Theatres and concerthalls - 40 Cinemas - 15.000 performances yearly - 1,500 Cafés & bars - 743,000 residents - 170 nationalities - 260 gardens - 21 city trams - 10,334 markets - 165 shops

AMSTERDAM HIDDEN TREASURES, through 2008

A wealth of culture is revealed in 2008 with the theme year, ‘Amsterdam Hidden Treasures’. Discover Amsterdam’s historic secrets and contemporary treasures. From unique museums, feats of architecture, modern design to special concerts, creative festivals, and the best places to shop.

Museums: Our Lord in the attic (Ons Lieve Heer op solder)
Music: Monday match at jazz club Bimhuis
City history: opening of Ets Haim, oldest Jewish library
Fashion: Amsterdam Fashion Week, september 2008


AMSTERDAM DIAMOND CITY

Are you visiting Amsterdam and in for an interesting experience? Come to the Gassan Diamonds factory. Here you will see diamond cutters and diamond polishers at work. Numerous diamonds and jewels may be admired from up close.

Gassan Diamonds is located near the Waterlooplein in a splendid monumental, former steam-driven diamond-cutting factory that dates back to 1878.
You will be given a free, one-hour-long, guided tour and you will also have the opportunity to buy diamonds and jewels and you will understand the saying ‘Diamonds are forever...’.



HEINEKEN EXPERIENCE

The Heineken Experience is a multimedia event which acquaints you with the world of Heineken, the world’s largest beer exporter.

The best example of this mix of entertainment and instruction is, no doubt, the 'Bottle Ride'. It makes you feel what it is like to be a beer bottle. Each room in the historic brewery has retained its own atmosphere. In the original brewing room, for instance, the impressive hop boilers have been preserved.

In addition to guided group tours, individual visitors can map out their own route. But the tour always ends with some glasses of this world famous golden beer. Cheers!


MUSEUM VAN LOON

Museum Van Loon: a home on the canal, proudly invites you to visit the house and its collection.

Museum Van Loon is situated on the Keizersgracht 672, in Amsterdam. The double-sized canal house dates from 1672. The first resident was the painter Ferdinand Bol, one of Rembandt's most famous pupils.

In the nineteenth century, the Van Loon family came to live in the house. The last resident of the house, before it became a museum, was Thora van Loon - Egidius. She was Dame du Palais of Queen Wilhelmina for forty years, and as such invited important royal guest to the house. Throughout time, the interior and exterior have remained practically intact. Today they form a fascinating historical monument.


THE MASTERPIECES in RIJKSMUSEUM
Until: 2008
The Rijksmuseum holds the largest collection of art and artefacts in the Netherlands including 40 Rembrandts and four Vermeers. However most of these million objects will be out of the public eye until 2008 while the Rijksmuseum gets a remarkable €200 million facelift. But for many this is in fact a blessing in disguise: as opposed to getting overdosed by the vastness of the building, visitors will now only be able to see the 400 top 'Masterpieces' in the Philips Wing. Including the best paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jan Steen and Ferdinand Bol, the exhibition will also feature decorative arts and artefacts from the Golden Age.



IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD:

REMBRANDTPLEIN
The Rembrandtplein is the major 'entertainment' area for rowdy Amsterdammers and out-of-towners. Bars chock-a-block with people singing along to Dutch folk songs at the top of their voices, and a few large disco's with heavy security at the door. Because all bars and disco's close at the same moment, sometimes things get out of hand a bit.
At the moment municipal laws are being sharpened and uncivilized behaviour will be heavily penalized. Just off the square is the Halvemaansteeg, a small street packed with gay bars. No problems here, so maybe Amsterdam really is a tolerant city. Also nearby is Reguliersdwarsstraat, currently the hippest nightlife street of Amsterdam.

REGULIERSDWARSSTRAAT
Despite the fact that it's close to the somewhat seedy Rembrandtplein, the Reguliersdwarsstraat is definitely the hippest street in Amsterdam, as far as nightlife is concerned.
The street is a mixture of upmarket gay bars, restaurants serving expensive French cuisine, and assorted night clubs all catering to a slightly older crowd of media buffs, businessmen and local celebrities.

WATERLOOPLEIN
After a temporary relocation the Waterlooplein in the center of the former Jewish neighborhood is again host to Amsterdam's largest flea-market.
In the old days the merchants on this square used to sell everything from bric-a-brac to genuine antiques, genuine junk, goods of dubious origin and second-hand clothes. Since the reinstatement of the flea market on its original location the merchandise has become more geared towards visiting tourists with lots of second-hand apparel and smoking paraphernalia, but for cheap clothes it's still hard to beat.