Finding your way
Finding your way around is remarkably easy as long as you keep
Amsterdam’s unique structure in mind. The city centre has a crescent
shape, beginning at the central station and ending with the last canal:
the Stadhouderskade. The Amstel River flows south to north and divides
this canal belt. The western section is the oldest, contains the most
beautiful houses and is known as the canal ring. The most fashionable
area here, ‘the Golden Bend’, is home to the double wide mansions,
inner gardens and coach houses of the Herengracht, the dwellings of the
utterly rich.
East of the Amstel, the canals continue on,
bearing the same names as their western counterparts but with the word
nieuwe (new) added. You can remember the order of canals by memorizing
the following sentence: “Piet koopt hoge schoenen” meaning:
Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Singel.
Getting around
Unfortunately, Amsterdam’s public transport system is time
consuming, inefficient and relatively expensive. It is also not as
extensive as it could be, but Amsterdam city planners are working to
add another metro line; the north south line. As unlimited trips on all
public transport are included in the Amsterdam Card, this pass might be
an attractive option nonetheless. www.amsterdam.info/pass/
Another
alternative is the Opstapper, a minibus serving the canal belt. This
bus travels between the Central Station, the Waterlooplein and
Prinsengracht. Stops are not fixed so just raise your hand. Public
transport tickets are also valid on the Opstapper.
By far the
best, easiest and fastest way to explore Amsterdam is by bike. There
are bike rental locations all over the city and as general rule you can
rent a normal town bicycle for 10 euros per day.
