Amsterdam Travel Blog

Amsterdam's Artis Zoo by Night July 2 and 16 On a few special days during the summer months Amsterdam’s Royal Artis Zoo opens its doors until sunset (around 22:30). During these extended opening hours, not only do you get to the see the animals bedding down for the night during special tours (including...

Fela 1-26 June, 2011 The Holland Festival has been a trend-setting performing arts festival in the Netherlands since 1947, annually presenting exceptional and sometimes ground-breaking work at an international level. This year its 51 different productions offer a cross-section of all the performing arts...

Views are for Free from the Central Library, Amsterdam By Scott Roane Wherever you are in the world, recent headlines have been dominated by rising food prices, rising inflation and fuel prices on the up. It’s enough to put anyone off taking a well deserved break. But there is good news.  In my...

The Kompasszaal Amsterdam By Scott Roane De Kompaszaal (The Compass Hall) is a Grand Café and restaurant located in the historic 1950s departure hall of the former KNSM (Royal Dutch Shipping Company). The hall offers fantastic views over the IJ river and the terrace is said to be the most spectacular...

Urban Art Amsterdam By Scott Roane Amsterdam’s tradition of producing great artists might have started in the Golden Ags of the 17th century, but it’s something that the city still takes very seriously to this day. In addition to the hundreds of studios, art museums and permanent galleries, this...

BadBuiten - Amsterdam's Floating Pool on the Amstel By Scott Roane Don’t forget to pack your swimming costume; Amsterdam’s BadBuiten has re-opened for business after its winter break! BadBuiten meaning ‘outside bath’ is an18 x 5 meter swimming pool which floats on a wide part of the Amstel...

Museum Square, Amsterdam, Queens Day 2010 Koninginnedag, the Queen’s birthday celebration on April 30 is a national holiday in the Netherlands. Officially it’s the birthday of the previous Queen Juliana, the mother of the current Queen Beatrix. Her birthday on January 31 isn’t exactly...

Bloemencorso Flower Parade By Scott Roane The bulb-region (bollenstreek) flower parade (bloemencorso), one of the largest and most spectacular flower parades of the year, starts on Saturday April 21, in the city of Noordwijk, around 20 kilometres from Amsterdam. Departing at 9.30 a.m. it winds its way...

By Scott Roane A new metro line, the Noord/Zuidlijn is currently being built from the North to the South of Amsterdam, directly under the old centre. As the ground is mostly sand, Amsterdam’s buildings are all built on long (up to 20 metres) wooden poles in the ground. This makes building the tunnels...

By Scott Roane The combination of a huge expat population in Amsterdam and the Amsterdammer’s ethos of ‘any excuse for a party’ should put Amsterdam at the top of anyone’s list as a destination to celebrate St Patrick’s day. Calling it a day might in fact be slightly misleading, as...