Amsterdam Travel Guide

Amsterdam Travel & Tourism Guide

Bridge Herengracht Amsterdam

In the Netherlands, Amsterdam is not only a seaport but it is also the largest city. Amsterdam serves as the commercial, financial and cultural center of the Netherlands as well as being the official capital of the country. Amsterdam is pretty flat compared to most cities. Most of the city sits on piles that have been driven down into the earth so that the city is divided into about ninety islands by over 160 canals which are all connected through about a thousand bridges. It is these canals that make the city a famed attraction for many visitors in addition to the historic buildings, world-class museums and lax social customs.

As of 2004 Amsterdam had a population of over seven hundred thousand with the entire metropolitan area have over one million people. Most individuals speak the national language, Dutch, but there are other widely spoken languages as well such as English and German. The city has a temperate climate with winter temperatures rarely dropping below zero. Their summers are warm but not usually hot. There will be days with measurable precipitation, but their annual average is under 760 mm. The cooler months are October through March which you may have cloudy and damp days.