Lonely Planet Asia August 2017

MINI GUIDE

Culture in Amsterdam

COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM KARLA ZIMMERMAN AND CATHERINE LE NEVEZ. PHOTOGRAPHS: DANILOVA/GETTY IMAGES, HANS ZAGLITSCH, FRANCESCO LACOBELLI/AWL, JAN KEES STEENMAN

Amsterdam essentials The know-how

FURTHER READING

Lonely Planet’s

Amsterdam

(£13.99) is an

in-depth city

guide, or try

Pocket

Amsterdam (£7.99) for a

compact travel companion;

both include maps and

reviews by neighbourhood.

Amsterdam features on

Lonely Planet’s Guides

app, available for free on

app stores. The moving

Diary of A Young Girl by

Anne Frank (£7.99 ; Puffin)

is classic reading. Go

further back in time with

Jessie Burton’s bestselling

historical novel The

Miniaturist (£8.99 ;

Picador), set in 17th-

century Amsterdam.

BROWN CAFÉ CULTURE

For the quintessential bite of

Amsterdam, pull up a stool in

one of the city’s famed brown

cafés (traditional Dutch pubs).

Hoppe A medieval centre icon of

drinking history, beloved

by journalists, bums and

raconteurs (cafehoppe.com).

De Sluyswacht Swig in the

lock-keeper’s quarters across

from Rembrandt’s house in

Nieuwmarkt (sluyswacht.nl).

In ‘t Aepjen Candles burn all

day long in this time-warped,

500-year-old house in the

Red Light District (Zeedijk 1).

Café Pieper Antique Delft beer

mugs hang in this Jordaan café

(Prinsengracht 424).

Café de Dokter

Amsterdam’s teeniest

pub pours whiskeys

galore, in the medieval

centre (cafe-de-dokter.nl).

Eijlders A stained-glass

artists’ favourite

just off Leidseplein

(cafeeijlders.com).

MS Luctor, a 1913 houseboat,

is moored in a quiet waterway

10 minutes’ walk from Centraal

Station, and comes with two bikes,

organic breakfasts and

a canoe for canal explorations

(boatbedandbreakfast.nl;

Westerdok 103; from £115).

A 19th-century diamond

factory houses glitzy design hotel

Sir Albert. Its 90 creative rooms

have soaring ceilings and large

windows, plus custom-made

linens and Illy espresso machines

(siralberthotel.com; Albert

Cuypstraat 2–6; from £200).

WHERE TO STAY

The Collector is a spotless

b&b near the Concertgebouw,

furnished with museum-style

displays of clocks, wooden clogs

and ice skates. The three rooms

have balcony access, breakfast

is make-your-own, and there are

free bikes (the-collector.nl/en;

De Lairessestraat 46; from £95).

TRANSPORT

KLM flies a direct 13-hour route

from Singapore and Kuala

Lumpur to Amsterdam (from

£622; klm.com). Emirates is

cheaper but includes a stop in

Dubai (from £381; emirates.

com). The airport is eight miles

from Amsterdam city centre;

trains run 24 hours a day from

the airport to Centraal Station

(£4 one way; 17 minutes). Most

public city transport is by tram

(single/day ticket £2.50/6).

Central Amsterdam is easy to

explore on foot, or hire a bike

local-style (from about £9

for 24 hours).

The Sir Deluxe room at Sir Albert

offers views of the city centre

Tours Activities Shopping Sights Sleeping

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