Amsterdam Netherlands Hotels
Hotels in the city of Amsterdam often provide many people with much needed accommodation when they visit the city. Some people want to use a hotel because they want to have a vacation in the city. Some want to work or study in the city. Some may want to attend a sports or entertainment venue in the city. Some may want to attend to the culture, the historic sites the scenery the art the structures of the city. Some may want a luxury or cheap hotel in the city.
Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country.
Being part of the province North Holland, Amsterdam is located in the northwest of the Netherlands next to the provinces Utrecht and Flevoland. The river Amstel terminates in the city center into a large number of canals that eventually terminate in the IJ. Amsterdam is situated 2 meters above sea level. The surrounding land is flat as it is formed of large polders. To the southwest of the city lies a man-made forest called het Amsterdamse Bos. Amsterdam is connected to the North Sea through the long North Sea Canal.
Cityscape
and architecture
Amsterdam fans out south from the Amsterdam Centraal railway station. The Damrak is the main street and leads into the street Rokin. The oldest area of the town is known as de Wallen (the quays, this does not refer to the old city walls, the Dutch word for wall being 'muur'). It lies to the east of Damrak and contains the city's famous red light district. To the south of de Wallen is the old Jewish quarter of Waterlooplein. The 17th century girdle of concentric canals, known as the Grachtengordel, embraces the heart of the city. Beyond the Grachtengordel are the formerly working class areas of Jordaan and de Pijp. The Museumplein with the city's major museums, the Vondelpark, a 19th century park named after the Dutch writer Joost van den Vondel, and the Plantage neighborhood, with the zoo, are also located outside the Grachtengordel.
Several parts of the city and the surrounding urban area are polders. This can be recognized by the suffix -meer which means lake, as in Aalsmeer, Bijlmermeer, Haarlemmermeer, and Watergraafsmeer.
During the later part of the 16th century Amsterdam's Rederijkerskamer (Chamber of Rhetoric) organized contests between different Chambers in the reading of poetry and drama. In 1638 Amsterdam got its first theatre. Ballet performances were given in this theatre as early as 1642. In the 18th century French theatre became popular. Opera could be seen in Amsterdam from 1677, first only Italian and French operas, but in the 18th century German operas. In the 19th century popular culture was centred around the Nes area in Amsterdam (mainly vaudeville and music-hall). The metronome, one of the most important advances in European classical music was invented here in 1812 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel. At the end of this century the Rijksmuseum and Gemeentelijk Museum were built. In 1888 the Concertgebouworkest was established. With the 20th century came cinema, radio and television. Though the studios are in Hilversum and Aalsmeer, Amsterdam's influence on programming is very strong. Many people who work for television broadcasters live in Amsterdam. Also, the headquarters of SBS 6 are located in Amsterdam.
Find a Villa from Across Europe
Grand World Villas - Find a Villa from anywhere in the world
Grand Global Villas - Find Villas from Around the Globe
An Index with links to almost all our sites
Holiday
to - Great places to go on Holiday to
Holiday
to 2 - More Great places to go on Holiday to
Holiday to 3 - More places to go on Holiday to
Holiday to 4 - More places to go on Holiday to
Find some Cottages in Britain or Ireland and the world
A site stating what have been the world's largest empires ever
Find a Cottage in Britain or Ireland
Find more Cottages in Britain, Ireland, North America or the world
Banks - A page on Financial Affairs
The
History Lounge - A place with 100s of Historical articles.