Best Amsterdam Facts

To many tourists Amsterdam means bicycles, tulips and clogs, this city attracts thousands of visitors every year. Surrounded by romantic canals, you might feel as if you are strolling through an open-air museum. Hanging out at a sidewalk café and people watching is fun. Sniffing up culture is easy because Amsterdam has over forty-two museums; Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum and Anne Frank House are the top three. Offbeat choices are the Hash Marihuana and Hemp Museum and the Sex Museum. Did you know that the Dutch favourite sweet is salty licorice called drop? Stroopwafels (syrup waffles) are made in Gouda, the same city of the famous Gouda cheese.

Amazing Facts

Impress your family and friends with ten more amazing facts about Amsterdam:

1. Schiphol Airport is 4.5 metres below sea level.
2. Amsterdam is built on piles driven into the marshy soil, wooden ones for old houses and concrete for modern buildings.
3. The Dutch drink coffee in cafés. Coffeeshops are places to smoke pot.

4. Most Amsterdammers own two bikes. Of the 600,000 bikes in Amsterdam, 80,000 are stolen each year.
5. World’s first same sex marriage took place in Amsterdam in 2002.
6. Visiting the Dutch Parliament building in Amsterdam is not possible. Although Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands, all government functions are in The Hague.
7. Amsterdam has 3,000 houseboats and one cat boat known as Poezenboot, home for stray cats.
8.The distance to New York, NY, is 5867 kilometres or 3646 miles.

9. The XXX symbol on the flag of does not stand for pornography but are three St Andrew Crosses. St Andrew was a fisherman who was martyred on an X-shaped cross. Amsterdam originated as a fishing town.
10. Amsterdam is a city of water – 1,281 bridges span 165 canals.

                      Poezenboot (Cat Boat), Singel 38 G, Amsterdam