Thursday, December 20 2007, 1:30PM
A new museum in Amsterdam has opened: Tot Zover, a museum about funerary culture in the Netherlands.
The museum shows various objects and documents relating to funerals in Holland. Objects such as coffins, tombstones, shrouds, masks, funeral carriages and uniforms are [....]
Monday, December 17 2007, 12:40PM
Amsterdam has announced a big clean-up of the old centre, in order to generally upgrade the central area.
Parts of the Red Light District will have to go. The legalization of prostitution in 2000 has not led to the desired results, in the eyes of the city. Smaller [....]
Friday, December 14 2007, 11:43AM
The tradition since the year 2000 of having a large New Year's Eve party on Dam Square in Amsterdam has been saved.
For some time, it looked like there were no sponsors for the big New Year's celebration, but at last one has been found.
The party will start at [....]
Thursday, December 13 2007, 3:59PM
In the new behaviour directive for 2008 for Amsterdam police officers it is forbidden for police staff to use soft drugs in their own spare time.
This is added in the directive because police staff have an example function to the public in general.
The directive does [....]
Friday, December 07 2007, 2:24PM
The Amsterdam police has arrested 100 criminals, in order to prevent problems during the shopping season before Christmas.
About 625 police offers were deployed to arrest pickpockets, robbers, thieves and drug addicts. One third of them were arrested in flagrante [....]
Wednesday, December 05 2007, 4:45PM
A new type of restaurant has opened in Amsterdam, Ctaste (website also in English).
In the restaurant you can not see anything. The idea is that the complete darkness lets you focus on the taste of the food.
Ctaste will seat you in a literally pitch-black dining [....]
Monday, December 03 2007, 5:32PM
Amsterdam is making a special legal arrangement for short-stay rental of serviced apartments and houseboats.
At the moment, officially, rentals of serviced apartments below 2 months are illegal, although the city has already stopped to actively enforce this law. In [....]
Thursday, November 29 2007, 10:47AM
For tomorrow (Friday November 30), a national demonstration has been announced, which will take place on the Museumplein square (where the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are located).
The demonstration is organized by LAKS, an organisation of high school [....]
Tuesday, November 27 2007, 10:51AM
Amsterdam loses one restaurant with a Michelin Star: Restaurant Vermeer.
Ciel Blue gains a star, and now has 2.
Restaurant 'Ciel Bleu' (in the Okura Hotel) gained one star and went to two.
This is the third year in a row that Amsterdam loses a Michelin restaurant. [....]
Tuesday, November 20 2007, 10:50PM
An Amsterdam judge has ruled today that the cutting down of the - now world famous - Anne Frank tree has to be postponed.
The city authorities had planned that the tree was to be cut tomorrow (November 21), but this plan has to be cancelled.
The judge came over to [....]
Saturday, November 17 2007, 6:19PM
The hype about the Anne Frank tree continues. The 'Tree foundation', together with neighbours of the Anne Frank house, have decided to take the Amsterdam City Centre authorities to court about the cutting down of the tree.
The city intends to cut down the tree on [....]
Wednesday, November 14 2007, 10:31AM
The famous Anne Frank tree, the chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see from her hiding place and which she described in her diary, is finally going to be cut down.
The tree - one of the few trees in the world with its
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Monday, November 12 2007, 6:05PM
In the Catharijneconvent museum (also with info in English) in Utrecht unique exhibition of medieval art treasures has opened.
The works, kept from viewing by communism for many years, are brought to Utrecht for a once only exhibition, from the National Museum in [....]
Saturday, November 10 2007, 7:09PM
Since 3.30pm today, a software failure at the traffic system of Schiphol Amsterdam airport causes many planes to be delayed.
The problems mean that about half of the normal number of flights can land or depart.
It is unknown when the problem will be solved.
On [....]
Saturday, November 10 2007, 7:01PM
Starting March 1 2008, only 'quality taxis' are allowed to use the taxi rank in front of the Central Station in Amsterdam.
Taxi drivers who want to pick up passengers at Central Station will need a special license.
One of the most important requirements will be that [....]
Friday, November 09 2007, 12:06AM
Schiphol Amsterdam airport will completely prohibit smoking in 2008, starting January 1.
This also means that in all cafes and restaurants on the airport smoking will not be allowed.
Schiphol is the first big European airport to implement the smoking ban so [....]
Wednesday, November 07 2007, 3:01PM
The yearly arrival in Amsterdam of the childrens' saint Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas) is due on Sunday November 18.
Around 12 noon he will arrive, by boat, at the Scheepvaartmuseum, where he will be [....]
Monday, November 05 2007, 2:53PM
On the famous Leidseplein square, the ice skating rink has been opened again.
Ice skating in the rink is for free. If you don't have skates, you can rent them at the skating rink.
The rink is open until January 7, every day from 10 am to 11 pm.
Friday, November 02 2007, 11:07AM
This weekend, on Saturday night, couples can be married for 1 night in the Film Museum.
During the Museum night you can get married in the The Wed & Walk Chapel’ in the Filmmuseum. Your wedding for 1 night will be surrounded by famous marriage movie scenes. In the [....]
Tuesday, October 30 2007, 10:50PM
The police have announced, on a national level, that the laws for carrying lights on a bicycle will be strictly enforced, this autumn. The Amsterdam police says it will be less strict, though.
The Dutch national Counciel of Commissioners in Chief has called upon all [....]
Saturday, October 27 2007, 6:02PM
This night will be the end of the summertime (daylight saving time).
At 3 AM in the night, the clock will go back 1 hour, so that the night will have 1 extra hour. The summertime always ends in the last weekend of October.
The summertime will start again in the [....]
Friday, October 26 2007, 11:32AM
The croquet producer Van Dobben organizes an attempt the largest croquet in the world. The result can be seen and tasted on Thorbeckeplein square, Saturday October 27 at 4pm.
Van Dobben organizes the event on the occasion of the fact that the croquet has existed for [....]
Thursday, October 25 2007, 10:50AM
The Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren has been voted best DJ of the world, by the British DJ Magazine.
DJ Magazine organizes the election every year, and is considered one of the most prestigious magazines in the field.
DJ Tiësto (also Dutch) came second on this year's list [....]
Tuesday, October 23 2007, 11:13AM
The Dutch Minister of Traffic (Mr Camiel Eurlings) has decided there will be no law against listening to MP3 players while cycling.
Experts had advised that a prohibition will not make much difference in terms of the number of casualties. They estimate that on a [....]
Tuesday, October 23 2007, 9:35AM
Yesterday a woman jumped from the 4th floor in the Bijenkorf department store, together with her 1-year old baby.
The baby died, and the mother has been taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The incident happened on Monday late afternoon.
The department [....]
Thursday, October 18 2007, 10:01AM
Tomorrow the exhibition 'Aanzien van Amsterdam' ('View on Amsterdam') will be opened in the Amsterdam City Archives.
In the 16th and 17th century, thousands of maps and panoramic views on Amsterdam have been produced. After Rome and Venice, Amsterdam has been [....]
Monday, October 15 2007, 10:21PM
An action group has been set up to fight the announced prohibition of the 'magic mushroom'.
With the slogan 'Red de Paddo' ('Save the Magic Mushroom') the group has set up a website (completely in Dutch). On the [....]
Friday, October 12 2007, 7:15PM
The Dutch government has decided today that the sale of so-called 'magic mushrooms' will be prohibited.
The prohibition is instigated by a series of serious incidents in Amsterdam, concerning (mostly young) tourists who used the mushrooms. The mushrooms work as a [....]
Friday, October 12 2007, 12:20AM
Tomorrow (October 12), the exhibition will open about the American artist Andy Warhol.
Forty years after the first major European Warhol exhibition in Amsterdam, the Stedelijk Museum has organised an exhibition to [....]
Wednesday, October 10 2007, 11:25PM
On Saturday October 13 and Monday October 15 you can take free boats to the street markets in Amsterdam.
The boats go every 20 minutes between 9am and 4pm.
You can board and get off the boat at:
- Herenmarkt: this is close to Noordermarkt, Lindengracht market and [....]
Wednesday, October 10 2007, 11:28AM
Amsterdam has moved to 5th position (coming from 6th) of the best places to locate a business, in the yearly European Cities Monitor published by Cushman & Wakefield.
The monitor is based on a survey amongst 500 large European companies.
The list is headed by London, [....]
Tuesday, October 09 2007, 10:45AM
This weekend a German tourist caused a chaos on the Haarlemmerweg in Amsterdam-West, where he ran around naked.
In the end a truck driver picked him up, and handed him over to the police, who brought him to the psychiatric ward of a hospital for treatment.
The German [....]
Monday, October 08 2007, 5:34PM
The singer and photographer Lou Reed will open his photo exhibition on Wednesday October 10.
The exhibition is held in the gallery 'Serieuze Zaken Studioos'. The exhibition is called 'Lou Reeds New York'. The exhibition shows 'landscapes' from New York.
Lou Reed [....]
Thursday, October 04 2007, 10:52PM
Three policemen were wounded during riots that surrounded the soccer match between Ajax and Dinamo Zagreb in the Amsterdam Arena Stadium.
The police arrested 42 supporters, most because of public violence.
The mayor had created a special security zone because of [....]
Monday, October 01 2007, 4:43PM
Ayaan Hirsi Ali returned from the US to the Netherlands this morning, as her safety in the US could no longer be guaranteed.
Hirsi Ali is a prominent and controversial author, film maker, and critic of Islam, who went to the Netherlands as a refugee from Somalia.
She [....]
Thursday, September 27 2007, 11:28PM
The 3-yearly benchmark test of the water companies in the Netherlands shows that the best tap water can be found in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's tap water has a score of 8.4 (on a scale from 1 to 10).
The drinking water in Amsterdam is taken from the river Rhine [....]
Wednesday, September 26 2007, 2:38PM
The Italian Cultural Institute in Amsterdam organizes a commemoration of Luciano Pavarotti.
The commemoration of the famous Italian Singer will be held on October 6, in the Old Church, exactly a month after he [....]
Saturday, September 22 2007, 12:33AM
On Sunday September 23, Amsterdam will be mostly car-free.
The city is car-free from 9am to 5pm.
The entire area of Amsterdam withing the ring road A10 will be free of cars, i.e. cars from outside are not let into the city.
Only the neighbourhood Zeeburg in [....]
Friday, September 21 2007, 2:41PM
On Saturday and Sunday, September 22 and 23, there are less trains around Schiphol.
The reduced service is due to maintenance work and planned security tests.
Travellers to and from Schiphol are advised to check the timetables on the Dutch Railways website.
Wednesday, September 12 2007, 12:19PM
The average hotel room prices have gone up considerably over the last year, and will continue to rise in 2008.
The average hotel room price of E 116 (in 2005) rose to E 134 in one year, up 15%. This is partially caused by the Rembrandt year 2006, which attracted a lot [....]
Sunday, September 09 2007, 6:27PM
Amsterdam has 4 so-called P+R (park and ride) locations, parking places outside the centre, where you can park your car for E 5.50 per 24 hours.
Normally, if you park your car on one of these locations, you get a maximum of 2 public transport tickets to go the centre [....]
Wednesday, September 05 2007, 10:40PM
Charles Geerts, the biggest owner of the famous prostitution windows in Amsterdam, is about to sell all his properties in the Red Light District.
This is reported by AT5, the local Amsterdam news station. Charles Geerts owns about 20 buildings in the Red Light [....]
Friday, August 31 2007, 10:01AM
The 60th Aalsmeer Flower Parade will be held for the last time, this weekend. On Saturday, the parade will be in Amsterdam.
On Saturday, 1 September, a ribbon of flowers more than a kilometre in length will wend its way for the last time from Aalsmeer through [....]
Monday, August 27 2007, 11:17AM
Sunday night the new public library in Amsterdam was raided, and at 9am the Zoo in Amsterdam was held up.
The public library near Central Station, the biggest library in the Netherlands and just opened to the public a number of weeks ago, was raided by an unknown [....]
Friday, August 24 2007, 11:16AM
The yearly Uitmarkt starts this (Friday) evening. The location is this year the Easter Harbour district.
The Uitmarkt (website in Dutch only) is the yearly presentation of the new cultural season. The 3 day event [....]
Wednesday, August 22 2007, 10:32AM
The inhabitants of Amsterdam have together 177 different nationalities. This is up 1 from 2006.
In the previous year, 1 person from Malawi established himself in Amsterdam, increasing the number of nationalities in Amsterdam by 1.
The most common foreign [....]
Saturday, August 18 2007, 4:47PM
The famous Dutch tv showmaster and entertainer Jos Brink died at the age of 65. He died of cancer.
Jos Brink was very famous in the Netherlands, as a showmaster, but also as entertainer, musical actor, writer (he wrote 40 books) and as pastor.
He hosted several tv [....]
Sunday, August 12 2007, 3:53PM
Yesterday, the yearly Canal Festival was officially opened. Concert locations are not only in the canal area, but the Prinsengracht Concert is still the grand finale.
This year is the 10th anniversary of the festival. What started out as an open air concert on [....]
Friday, August 10 2007, 11:26AM
The City Archives of Amsterdam have moved to another monumental building, De Bazel.
The building is a listed monument, and it was built for a bank in 1923, by architect Karel de Bazel (hence the name of the building).
Before the City Archives moved in, the building [....]
Monday, August 06 2007, 2:58PM
The yearly Amsterdam Gay Pride tour through the canals of Amsterdam was a big success. Some 400,000 spectators were in town, and a record of 72 decorated boats took part.
One of the boats had the theme youngster below 16 years. The point they wanted to make was that [....]
Friday, August 03 2007, 4:00PM
This weekend will be very busy in Amsterdam, due to some large and a few smaller events, plus the nice weather that is expected.
The biggest event is the Gay Canal Pride Parade that will go through the Prinsengracht canal (starting 2pm at the West end of [....]
Wednesday, August 01 2007, 2:05PM
The Tuk Tuk Company starts with 20 tuk-tuks in Amsterdam, starting Friday August 3.
The official 'opening' is on Friday, 5pm, in the Krasnapolsky Hotel on Dam Square. The 20 tuk-tuks that will be used, will be presented to the public. Between 5.30 pm and 8 pm all [....]
Sunday, July 29 2007, 3:46PM
A second British national has turned himself in to the police, saying he is the companion of the arrow shooter arrested yesterday.
The 2 Brits drove around in a white van in the centre of Amsterdam, on Wednesday evening, shooting arrows randomly at pedestrians. [....]
Thursday, July 26 2007, 3:25PM
The street parade of the Rotterdam Summer Carnival will have a record length of 2.6 kilometers. About a million spectators are expected.
The yearly Summer Carnival has grown into one of [....]
Wednesday, July 25 2007, 4:41PM
The most expensive book in print in the world will be on display in the Teylers Museum in Haarlem.
The book is called the 'Birds of America', which was auctioned at Christie's in 2000 for USD [....]
Thursday, July 19 2007, 11:30AM
Saturday July 21 the 'Costa del Soul' festival will be held on the city beach Blijburg.
On 4 stages and a boat, more than a 100 artists will perform.
The festival will take place on the Blijburg beach, from 12 to midnight. The beach is located on the IJburg [....]
Thursday, July 19 2007, 11:13AM
The biggest funfair in the Netherlands, and one of the biggest in Europe, will be opened tomorrow in Tilburg.
'Higher, faster and bigger' is the theme for the funfair in Tilburg, a yearly mega-funfair, attracting about 1,000,000 visitors each year.
This year there [....]
Wednesday, July 18 2007, 7:10PM
The authorities in the centre of Amsterdam will tolerate that inhabitants fly the rainbow flag, the world-wide symbol of gay liberation.
Earlier this year the authorities had ordered several citizens to stop flying the rainbow flag (or else pay a fine of EUR 2500,-), [....]
Tuesday, July 17 2007, 12:28AM
Amsterdam has a new youth hostel, in Amsterdam-East, with 400 beds.
The new hostel is located to the east of the centre in a quiet, typical Amsterdam neighbourhood (called 'Indische Buurt', because most streets are named after Indonesian place names and islands - [....]
Tuesday, July 17 2007, 12:10AM
The French tourist who killed his own dog in a car along the Herengracht canal, a few days ago, was not influenced by 'magic mushrooms'.
Although the Frenchman said himself that he killed his dog under the influence of marihuana and 'magic mushrooms', the GGD (the [....]
Sunday, July 15 2007, 2:11AM
Another 'magic mushrooms' related incident has happened in Amsterdam.
A Frenchman (28) had killed his own dog in his car along the Herengracht, with a knife and scissors, in the centre of Amsterdam, after using 'magic mushrooms' and smoking marihuana. He said he [....]
Friday, July 13 2007, 10:40AM
Another incident has occurred with a tourist in Amsterdam under the influence of so-called magic mushrooms.
This time, a 19-year old tourist from Iceland jumped out of a hotel room (on the first floor in the Lloyd Hotel in the Eastern Harbour district). After eating [....]
Tuesday, July 10 2007, 2:07PM
The GVB has published 2 podcasts about public transport in Amsterdam, especially for tourists.
The podcasts talk about public transport in Amsterdam in general, and about tram line 5. This podcast comments on what you see from tram line 5, while you travel from [....]
Friday, July 06 2007, 9:57PM
Amsterdam is hunting down the increasing number of apartment and housing agencies that operate without a licence.
Especially due to the rise of the internet, the number of apartment agencies has increased dramatically over the past few years.
The city says there [....]
Thursday, July 05 2007, 2:46PM
A video clip made by the Amsterdam English language comedy theater Boom Chicago has caused a busy discussion on YouTube.
The Chinese embassy has reacted negatively on the clip.
The video clip has been watched almost 2.5 million times (at the moment) and more than [....]
Wednesday, July 04 2007, 9:35PM
On Saturday 7/7/7 (July 7 2007) there is a big concert on the Westergasfabriek grounds in Amsterdam (12 noon to 11pm).
Live Earth is an initiative by Al Gore (of the documentary An Inconvenient Truth). It [....]
Tuesday, July 03 2007, 2:22PM
The concert hours of 4 carillons have been extended. Three of the carillons are in churches, one in the Munttoren (Mint Tower).
It is now possible to listen to 3 concerts on a row.
The 4 carillons are played live by various performers ('beiaardiers'), in the [....]
Monday, July 02 2007, 7:09PM
The National Football League in the US has decided that they will no longer invest in the NFL Europa.
This also means the end of the Amsterdam American football club the Amsterdam Admirals. They used to play [....]
Monday, July 02 2007, 6:50PM
The police have arrested 6 teenagers who had attacked 2 gay men last Thursday night.
The 2 men were walking in Reguliersdwarsstraat (one of the streets in Amsterdam centre with several gay bars and clubs), when they were harrassed by the 6 young men. They called them [....]
Thursday, June 28 2007, 10:59AM
The yearly Amsterdam pride week, this year renamed to 'We Are Amsterdam Pride', will lose 5 of its licences because of the soccer match Amsterdam Tournament that takes place simultaneously.
Amsterdam Pride is a yearly gay pride event, of which the main event is the [....]
Tuesday, June 26 2007, 7:16PM
The famous 'Majoor' Bosshardt of the Salvation Army died this week at the age of 94.
The 'Majoor' (her real rank in the Salvation Army was higher), was famous in the Netherlands for her relief work in the Amsterdam Red Light District. After the second world war, she [....]
Sunday, June 24 2007, 12:38PM
On Saturday afternoon, a British tourist has caused problems in a hotel near the Central Station, after using 'magic mushrooms'.
The 25-year old Brit had been using the mushrooms, that are popular for their hallucinogenic effects.
First, he ate some mushrooms, but [....]
Tuesday, June 19 2007, 12:22PM
A new luxury hotel opened this week in Amsterdam, the Amrâth hotel.
The Amrâth is located very close to the Central Station, in one of Amsterdam's landmark buildings, the Scheepvaarthuis.
The Scheepvaarthuis dates from 1913 is one of the most beautiful examples of [....]
Monday, June 18 2007, 2:29PM
Amsterdam has gone up 16 places on the list of most expensive cities for foreigners, to place 25.
The (yearly) investigation was carried out by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. 143 cities were taken into account, that were judged on the prices of 200 goods and [....]
Sunday, June 17 2007, 11:42AM
Yesterday, the police have arrested more than 100 criminal foreigners from (mostly) Nigeria, in a cafe in Amsterdam South-East.
Many of the people arrested are suspected of internet fraud (sending millions of e-mails with attempts to get people to send money on the [....]
Friday, June 15 2007, 9:31PM
Two cinemas of the Pathé chain, in Amsterdam and The Hague, will show live performances on screen by the New York Metropolitan Opera.
A total of 8 productions will be shown, with the help of the High Definition digital projection technique.
The operas can be seen [....]
Thursday, June 14 2007, 10:45AM
Newsphoto has a summer exhibition showing Amsterdam photographs of the 1930, next to pictures shot in 2007 of the same location.
The pictures of 1930 are from a collection of Jacques Koops (all black and white). The Amsterdam photographer Thomas Schlijper made [....]
Wednesday, June 13 2007, 9:49PM
Again a new museum has opened its doors in Amsterdam: the Museum of Bags and Purses.
'New' is actually not the right word: the museum is already 30 years old, and was located in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam.
Because the collection had grown to 3,500 purses [....]
Monday, June 11 2007, 6:33PM
The yearly Open Garden Days of various canal house gardens will be held on June 15, 16 and 17.
Once a year, in the third weekend of June, the public has the unique opportunity to discover Amsterdam’s hidden green side.
The Canal Museums arrange for the opening of [....]
Sunday, June 10 2007, 5:14PM
A man died today, after jumping off the Bijenkorf building, at Dam Square.
At first the police thought of a crime, but it turned out to be a suicide. Reanimation was attempted, but the man died almost instantly.
The area around the Bijenkorf building has been closed [....]
Saturday, June 09 2007, 4:17PM
The Dutch government has announced that smoking will be prohibited in all cafes, pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels, starting July 1 2008.
Although especially the owners of pubs and clubs had hoped for a later date for the smoking ban, the government decided [....]
Saturday, June 09 2007, 4:02PM
The famous Blue Men group will continue to perform its show in Amsterdam. The language of the show is now English.
The Blue Man show started in New York, but has now grown into a world-wide travelling show. The show is a (humorous) spectacle of sound and light [....]
Thursday, June 07 2007, 5:34PM
The Central Public library is going to move to the Oosterdoks-island, just next to the Central Station.
The official opening will be on 7/7/07, and this will mean the opening of the largest public library in the Netherlands.
The library will not only be a place to [....]
Thursday, May 31 2007, 11:23AM
On Saturday and Sunday June 2 and 3, a return train ticket between Amsterdam and Den Bosch will cost only 2 Euro (normally E 23,-)
The reason is that work is carried out on the road A2 (one of the main motorways in Holland, connecting Amsterdam with Maastricht), [....]
Wednesday, May 30 2007, 4:48PM
This year Artis Zoo will be open on Saturday evenings until sundown, during the months June, July and August.
During the Saturday evenings you can dance on live music, have a picknick or take part in a tour.
The Saturday evenings were a success last year, so Artis [....]
Tuesday, May 29 2007, 3:39PM
On Saturday June 2, everyone can have a look behind the scenes at all new metro stations that are being built for the Noord/Zuidlijn.
The Noord/Zuidlijn ('North-South Line') is the new metro line that is under construction at the moment. The line will connect [....]
Thursday, May 24 2007, 9:18PM
Statistics show that the number of coffeeshops in Amsterdam (the ones where you can buy soft drugs) has gone down from 350 in 1995 to 241 now.
The sale of softdrugs is tolerated in the coffeeshops, but the rules are strict. A coffeeshop has to close if the rules are [....]
Thursday, May 24 2007, 9:06PM
A (secret) plan leaked out today to increase the parking rates dramatically in a large part of Amsterdam.
In the plan, the A and A+ rates would apply to the entire Amsterdam area within the ring road A10.
Currently, these rates only apply only in some parts of the [....]
Wednesday, May 23 2007, 3:52PM
On Saturday June 2 there is a Netporn Festival in the Paradiso Theatre, near Leidseplein.
The one day event consists of presentations and discussions about the phenomenon of (commercial) internet pornography. An international group of academics, artists, producers [....]
Wednesday, May 23 2007, 12:11AM
Figures have shown that the most popular attraction of 2006 in the Netherlands was a canal boat trip in Amsterdam.
In 2006, 3.1 million people did a canal trip in Amsterdam, which means the old number 1 on the list had to move to position 2.
This was attraction park [....]
Friday, May 18 2007, 10:08PM
The exhibition 'Spirit of the Wild' displays large pictures of wildlife, outside and illuminated in the evening.
The exhibition has about a 100 pictures and is freely accessible, day and night, until the end of July.
The pictures are taken by Steve Bloom, and were [....]
Wednesday, May 16 2007, 4:25PM
The centre of Amsterdam can now be seen in 3 dimensions on Google Earth.
To make this possible, the City of Amsterdam has released 3-dimensional information of 170,000 buildings. Most of the 3D pictures are rather simple, but some landmarks can be seen in greater [....]
Tuesday, May 15 2007, 9:52PM
On Saturday May 19 there will be a party on and around Nieuwmarkt square, to celebrate the birthday of Buddha.
The celebration is organized by the Chinese community in Amsterdam, and is centered around the
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Thursday, May 10 2007, 12:08AM
Today the Art Amsterdam 2007 fair was opened.
Art Amsterdam is the yearly exhibition of contemporary art in the RAI Centre. This year, the maximum of 125 participating galeries, from various countries, can be found on the fair.
The central exhibion on Art Amsterdam [....]
Friday, May 04 2007, 10:05AM
May 4 is the traditional day of commemoration of the victims of World War II, followed by Liberation Day on May 5. Amsterdam has some of the main events of the country during these days.
The main event on May 4 is the comemmoration ceremony on Dam Square, broadcast [....]
Thursday, May 03 2007, 11:31PM
The monumental 17th century Amstelhof building, along the river Amstel, will change into the Hermitage Amsterdam.
Renovation work will start on May 14, and from Thursday May 10 to Sunday May 13 the building will be open for everyone to get a last chance to see the [....]
Wednesday, May 02 2007, 11:58PM
Amsterdam will receive the largest cruise ship it has ever had in its harbour.
On Thursday, around 12 noon, the 'Navigator of the Sea' will moor at the Passenger Terminal (located at the back side of the Central Station, a 10-minutes' walk to the East-side, next to [....]
Monday, April 30 2007, 11:29PM
Queensday Amsterdam has attracted some 550,000 visitors, about 100,000 more than last year.
Although Queensday is celebrated in the whole country, Amsterdam always attracts the largest crowds (also because of its many foreign vistitors). The number of visitors was [....]
Saturday, April 28 2007, 5:30PM
The VOC ship 'Amsterdam' is open again for the public since yesterday.
The East Indiaman 'Amsterdam' had been towed from the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) to the nearby NEMO building (closer to the Central Station), because the Scheepvaartmuseum is undergoing a [....]
Friday, April 27 2007, 2:17PM
A new cruise boat will start its services on May 5.
The Pancake Boat (website in Dutch only) will tour the Amsterdam harbour regularly, and during the tour you can eat as many pancakes as you like.
The [....]
Friday, April 27 2007, 12:44PM
Queensday 2007 promises to become a very busy day in Amsterdam.
Normally, Queensday attracts about half a million visitors, but with nice weather the number of visitors increases. The
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Wednesday, April 25 2007, 10:45PM
It is one of the popular things to do in Amsterdam by tourists: rent a bicycle.
Bicycles are a main form of transport in Amsterdam (approximately 40% of all traffic movements in Amsterdam is done by bike). Naturally, as a tourist you would also like to cycle around. [....]
Sunday, April 22 2007, 11:49PM
The open air exhibition 'Spirit of the Wild' will be displayed on the Westermarkt square from May 11 to the end of July.
The exhibition consists of 100 extraordinary photos of animals. The exhibition is outside, and freely accessible day and night.
The pictures [....]
Sunday, April 22 2007, 11:38PM
The yearly list of most unsafe cities in the Netherlands is now topped by Eindhoven.
The number 1 on the list used to be Rotterdam, and a year ago Amsterdam was number 6.
The list is published by the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, and based on figures supplied by the 25 [....]
Tuesday, April 17 2007, 6:25PM
The Resistance Museum (http://www.verzetsmuseum.org) will open an exhibition about liberation music that became popular in Holland once World War II was over.
Sixty-eight years after WWII the Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam) brings back to life the [....]
Saturday, April 14 2007, 7:41PM
Today is the earliest day in the year that the official summer temperature of 25 degrees Centigrade has been reached in De Bilt (the place where the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute is located).
The previous record of the first 'summer' day was April 15 in [....]
Monday, April 09 2007, 11:14AM
The 18 entrepreneurs on the famous Amsterdam floating Flower Market have signed a contract that will guarantee the quality of the flower bulbs sold on the market.
An independent quality control service, specializing in flower bulbs, will take samples every 2 to 3 [....]
Monday, April 09 2007, 10:43AM
The exhibition 'Bodies' will be open during the night of April the 13th.
From Friday morning until Saturday afternoon, the exhibition will be continuously open, to accommodate for the expected very busy last days of the exhibition.
On the exhibition you can see the [....]
Wednesday, April 04 2007, 2:12PM
In the centre of Amsterdam are 3 church towers with staircases that you can climb. Two of them opened this weekend, the Westerkerk tower will open later.
The towers can be climbed with a guide, who gives explanation about the tower.
The 3 towers are:
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Tuesday, April 03 2007, 8:14PM
The VOC ship replica (the 'Amsterdam') has been moved to a temporary place next to the NEMO building.
The ship normally is located next to the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum), but this museum is being [....]
Sunday, April 01 2007, 9:59PM
On Saturday March 31 the House of Bols opened its doors.
The House of Bols is a new museum in Amsterdam, about genever (in Dutch 'jenever'), also known as Dutch gin.
The museum is set up by Bols, one of the oldest Dutch companies. The company goes back to 1575, and [....]
Sunday, April 01 2007, 10:56AM
Despite lobbying by the city of Amsterdam, starting today, pubs can no longer both sell soft drugs and alcohol.
The Minister of Justice turned out not be convinced, and consequently all 44 pubs in Amsterdam that still sold a combination of both, have had to choose: [....]
Friday, March 30 2007, 11:37PM
The Leidseplein office of the Amsterdam Tourist Board (locally known as VVV) moves to a different location on April 3.
From April 3 the office can be found on the other side of Leidseplein square, on the corner with Stadhouderskade. It will share a kiosk there with [....]
Tuesday, March 27 2007, 10:09AM
A 17-year old French girl committed suicide last Saturday after using hallucinating mushrooms. Several politicians have called for stricter rules.
The girl was on a school trip to Amsterdam and stayed on a hotel boat in the centre of Amsterdam. After using the [....]
Saturday, March 24 2007, 4:39PM
Today, daylight saving time will start in the Netherlands, and throughout the rest of Europe.
At 2am in the night the clocks are moved forward to 3am. This will happen in all member states of the European Union (except in Britain, where clocks will be moved forward at [....]
Saturday, March 24 2007, 4:24PM
European meteorological organizations have set up a website (Meteoalarm.eu) to warn against extreme weather circumstances.
The website covers more than 20 European countries. The map of Europe on the website is colour-coded to make it easy to see where possible [....]
Saturday, March 24 2007, 4:05PM
The Amsterdamtaxi project has been delayed with a number of months.
The new quality taxis (see also our previous news item) were scheduled to [....]
Thursday, March 22 2007, 12:39PM
A photo exhibition has been opened in the NIOD, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation.
The exhibtion, called Photocari, shows pictures of the funerals of the victims of the fall of Srebrenica (July 1995).
The photographer (Jehanne van Woerkom) says she [....]
Saturday, March 17 2007, 1:19PM
The statue for Theo van Gogh will be unveiled tomorrow, in the Oosterpark in Amsterdam East.
The statue, called 'de Schreeuw' ('the Scream'), was created to commemorate the asassination of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh. He was stabbed to death on November 2, 2004, [....]
Wednesday, March 14 2007, 10:40AM
On Sunday March 18 you can travel for free on all trains in the Netherlands if you have the 'Boekenweekgeschenk'.
The 'Boekenweekgeschenk' is a free book that you get if you buy at least EUR 11.50 worth of books in the Dutch language, during the Boekenweek ('Book [....]
Monday, March 12 2007, 12:09PM
After an extensive renovation, the main hall in the Melkweg theatre has officially been reopened.
The new hall, which is called 'the Max', can now accommodate 1,500 people, in stead of 1,000.
The Melkweg is one of the most (in)famous pop theatres in Amsterdam, [....]
Sunday, March 04 2007, 6:48PM
In the upscale shopping street PC Hooftstraat a valet parking service started last Thursday.
PC Hooftstraat is the most expensive shopping street in Amsterdam, located in Amsterdam-South, near the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum (see the
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Saturday, March 03 2007, 11:35AM
From 11.45pm to 1am there the moon will be completely eclipsed.
The eclipse will start at 10.30pm, and will be complete at 11.45pm. At that point, the earth will be exactly between the sun and the moon.
During the eclipse the moon will not become invisible, it will [....]
Friday, February 23 2007, 3:46PM
The Jewish Historical Museum has re-opened today, after a renovation.
The completely renovated Jewish Historical Museum is open.
This is precisely 75 years after the museum’s foundation in 1932. With the opening of the Print Room and Auditorium, designed by [....]
Wednesday, February 14 2007, 2:53PM
This year, on September 23, Amsterdam will be almost completely car-free.
The entire inner city, everything within the circle road A10, will be closed for incoming car traffic. Exceptions will be the burroughs Zeeburg in Amsterdam East, and Amsterdam North.
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Wednesday, February 14 2007, 2:46PM
Mayor Job Cohen unveiled a plaque today in the City Hall, to commemorate the first gay marriage.
The first gay marriage in the Netherlands took place on April 1, 2001 in Amsterdam.
Mr Cohen noted that he was unhappy with the new policy by the new government regarding [....]
Tuesday, February 13 2007, 3:22PM
The court of Amsterdam has judged that a peep show is a regular play for taxation purposes.
An owner of a peepshow had appealed against a decision by the tax office that the revenue had to be taxed with 19% VAT (Value Added Tax), in stead of the low rate of 6%. The [....]
Friday, February 09 2007, 5:15PM
Three Malaysians have been arrested on Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, on suspicion of credit card fraud.
The 3 men bought luxury items at taxfree shops on the airport, worth possibly hundreds of thousands of Euros.
The police were alerted by a staff member of one [....]
Friday, February 09 2007, 4:38PM
The famous Amsterdam shoe maker Jan Jansen will put up a few hundred of his shoes for auction.
The auction is on the occasion of his 45th anniversary as a shoe designer. His designs have always been innovative and one-of-a-kind. His revolutionary ideas have been [....]
Friday, February 09 2007, 4:14PM
The boat for gay boys and girls between 11 and 16 years of age, that is to take part in the Amsterdam gay pride canal parade, will be allowed after all.
This became clear after talks between the mayor Job Cohen and the chairman of the COC (one of the organizing [....]
Thursday, February 08 2007, 10:11AM
An official weather warning has been issued for the Netherlands. Up to 10 centimeter (4 inch) of snow is expected today.
The Dutch railways have announced that they will operate less trains after the morning rush [....]
Wednesday, February 07 2007, 1:39PM
Today, the results of the formation negotiations for a new government in the Netherlands have been officially presented.
One of the measures that will be taken is a ban on smoking in cafes and restaurants before 2011. The exact date is yet unknown. Anti-smoking [....]
Saturday, February 03 2007, 11:08AM
The windmill 'De Otter' is not to be moved out of Amsterdam. First, a new investigation about the wind situation around the windmill has to be carried out.
This has been decided by the Raad van State (Council of State, the country's highest administrative [....]
Thursday, February 01 2007, 6:31PM
Starting today, inspectors will check whether taxi drivers on the taxi stand at Central Station obey the rules.
The most important rule the inspectors check is that taxi drivers can not refuse short rides. As most incoming tourists have booked hotels in the centre, [....]
Thursday, February 01 2007, 10:04AM
The month of January has seen the highest temperatures ever measured in the Netherlands.
The old record of 6.2 degrees Centigrade (held by the years 1921, 1975 and 1983) is now broken with 7.1 degrees in January 2007. The normal average temperature in our climate is [....]
Wednesday, January 31 2007, 2:29PM
The city authorities of Amsterdam have declared themselves against the participation of a boat for youths below 17 years of age.
The boat is supposed to take part in the yearly Canal Parade, Amsterdams gay pride tour through the Prinsengracht canal on the first [....]
Sunday, January 28 2007, 6:38PM
The Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (WNT) is now online, for free.
The dictionary (Dutch only) is the biggest dictionary in the world: it has about 400,000 words, and the printed version has about 45,000 pages.
The dictionary covers the Dutch language as used [....]
Thursday, January 25 2007, 1:09PM
The good old days have returned: NS (the Dutch Railways) have opened a first class lounge in the Central Station in Amsterdam.
The NS Lounge (site in Dutch only) is a luxurious waiting [....]
Wednesday, January 24 2007, 3:15PM
Amsterdam has signed the last contracts to start the building of a new skyscraper, which will be the tallest tower in Amsterdam.
The tower will be built at the end of the Arena Boulevard, next to the Amsterdam Arena Stadium in Amsterdam South-East. It will have 47 [....]
Wednesday, January 24 2007, 2:55PM
The Englishman who was thought to be in Amsterdam, with a broken neck, has been found.
The 29-year old Brit had been involved in a car accident in the UK and had been treated in a hospital. After his release, the hospital found out (on his X-rays) that he had broken [....]
Tuesday, January 23 2007, 7:31PM
The police in Amsterdam are trying to locate a British visitor, named Benjamin William O'Connor, because he has a broken neck and does not know this.
Benjamin William O'Connor, 29 years, had an accident in Suffolk, in Great Britain.
After treatment in the hospital he [....]
Tuesday, January 23 2007, 7:13PM
Nine clubs in Amsterdam will require a photo id pass for entry, starting on Friday January 26.
The 9 clubs are Ministry, Party Crew, La Rumba, The News, Bubbles, Het Feest van Joop, Sinners, Club Royalty and Jantjes Verjaardag.
The card will cost E 5.-, and is [....]
Tuesday, January 23 2007, 6:39PM
The statues on Rembrandtplein square, representing the famous painting 'The Nightwatch' by Rembrandt, will stay there for at least one more year.
The bronze statues were placed on the occasion of the Rembrandt 400 year, commemorating Rembrandt's 400th birthday.
The [....]
Monday, January 22 2007, 3:10PM
The 33 prostitution companies in the Amsterdam Red Light District have won a court case, enabling them to remain open until all details of the forced closures have been sorted out.
The City of Amsterdam wants to close the 33 companies on suspicion of being involved in [....]
Friday, January 19 2007, 11:30AM
The trains in Holland operate normally again, after all lines had been closed in yesterday's heavy storm.
The Central Station in Amsterdam is open again. Tickets bought for yesterday can be used today.
The situation on the roads is also back to normal.
A total [....]
Thursday, January 18 2007, 3:11PM
An unusually heavy causes problems in Amsterdam. The Central Station has been closed down and evacuated by the police.
Because of the strong winds there was so much material of the nearby construction site flying around, that the entire station was evacuated and [....]
Thursday, January 18 2007, 2:55PM
The well-known yearly gay pride tour through the canals of Amsterdam will this year have a special boat for young gays and lesbian: the maximum age is 16 years.
The Amsterdam pride tour consists of a parade of about a 100 decorated boats, each with its own theme. This [....]
Wednesday, January 17 2007, 12:16AM
The city of Amsterdam has given a license to place a bronze statue of a prostitute.
The statue is an initiative of Mariska Majoor of the Prostitutie Informatie Centrum.
The statue is a tribute to all [....]
Tuesday, January 16 2007, 12:27AM
Queen Elizabeth will visit Amsterdam on February 5.
Her visit is to mark the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the English Reformed Church in Amsterdam.
She will attend a normal church service, accompanied by [....]
Thursday, January 11 2007, 7:13PM
Amsterdam's newest concert venue will be opened on January 20, by mayor Job Cohen. The Orgelpark is to become a permanent stage for organ music.
The Orgelpark (literally 'Organ Park') will be located in the recently restored Parkkerk (church), near the [....]
Thursday, January 11 2007, 6:41PM
The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam has received 820,000 visitors in 2006.
This is 6,000 more than in 2005. A spokesman said that this means that the Concertgebouw remains the best visited concert hall for classical music in the world.
The number of younger visitors [....]
Friday, January 05 2007, 7:14PM
The Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam will close on Sunday, for a major renovation lasting 2.5 years.
The building needs to be prepared for the increasing number of visitors it receives.
The inner court of the 350 year old building will be covered by a [....]
Wednesday, January 03 2007, 3:15PM
As of January 1, all Amsterdam city departments and organizations will start using sustainable electricity.
The electricity will be produced from waste, by the Amsterdam Waste and Energy Company.
By doing so, the city of Amsterdam hopes to contribute to the [....]
