Amsterdam

ACCOMMODATIONS

Hotel: Amsterdam Novotel. By public transport (train, subway 50 or 51 or tram 4), get off at RAI Station. Follow the signs to Amstel Park (5 min walk). On Europaboulevard, near intersection of De Boelelaan. Tram 4 from Station RAI goes downtown.

We will be getting breakfast both days and dinner on Monday.

This site lists the top 10 tourist sites in Amsterdam.

GLOBUS ITINERARY

Monday, May 19...London to Brussels, Belgium to Amsterdam, Holland

Meet your Tour Director and traveling companions and transfer to the railway station to board the EUROSTAR TRAIN to Brussels, Belgium. From here a comfortable drive will bring you to Amsterdam, Holland. Tonight enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel. (FB,D)

Tuesday, May 20...Amsterdam

A Local Guide shows you the 700-year-old capital, and the highlight is a CANAL CRUISE to see the patrician mansions, gabled façades, and humpback bridges. Next visit a major DIAMOND CENTER and appreciate how a rough mineral is transformed into a sparkling jewel. Balance of the day is at leisure, and later you may wish to join an optional excursion to Volendam. (BB)

ITINERARY

Monday May 19.

The train leaves London St. Pancras International, which is in a part of London we wouldn't have gotten to. Video of the station.

The train travels through the Channel Tunnel. It gets into Brussels Midi/Zuid. The train could leave as early as 7am, and it takes 2 hours. There is a one hour time change. It doesn't sound like we will do anything but get on a bus and leave Brussels for Amsterdam. If there is time in Brussels, we will wing it.

It takes 2 hours to drive the 211km (131 miles) from Brussels to Amsterdam. We will skirt Antwerp.

We are uncertain when we will be getting into Amsterdam. The tour doesn't talk about free time, and it does have a group dinner. The last Tram 4 back from Downtown leaves Central Station at 12:30am.

If we have time, we may just want to wander around downtown, maybe do the red light district. There are three Red Light Districts in Amsterdam: the main area is in the Walletjes area (between Central Station and Nieuwenmarkt), and the other two, in Singel (between Raadhuistraat and Centraal Station) and de Pijp (behind the Rijsmuseum).

Tuesday, May 20

We will be going on the canal cruise, but not to the diamond center or the optional evening tour to Volendam.

Rijksmuseum...the National museum. Address: Jan Luijkenstraat 1. Tickets for the collection, called "The Masterpieces," are € 10.00 each and can be ordered and printed on the internet. Open from 9:00 to 18:00; ticket window closes at 17.30. Museum has wheelchairs. From Central Station: tram 2 or 5 (to Hobbemastraat). From Zuid/WTC Station: tram 5 (to Hobbemastraat). No eatery; Café Cobra on the Museumplein offers visitors who show their ticket a 15% discount.
There is an audio tour for €4. There is a publication of the collection for €5.

Van Gogh Museum...Paulus Potterstraat 7 . A couple block walk from the National Museum. Open 10.00 to 18.00; ticket office until 17.30. Tickets €10. No online sales. Wheelchairs available. Audiotour: €4.

From Central Station in Amsterdam, take tram 2 (towards Nieuw Sloten) or 5 (towards Amstelveen Binnenhof) to the Van Baerlestraat stop. You can also take tram 3 or 12 to the Van Baerlestraat stop or bus 145, 170 or 172 to the Museumplein stop. From hotel, take Metro 50 from Station RAI west to the next station, Ringweg-Zuid, and get tram 5 to the Van Baerlestraat stop.

Anne Frank House...Downtown at the Westermarkt stop. 9am to 9pm. € 7.50. Visit takes about 1 hour. Not friendly to the handicapped.

Magere Breg...a traditional double-leaf Dutch draw-bridge connecting sides of river Amstel. About every 20 minutes the bridge opens, as the bridge master lets boats through. Where Kerkstraat/Nieuwe Kerkstraat cross the Amstel.

Oude Kerk (Old Church). The present Gothic structure is 14th-century and it has grown from a single-aisled church into a basilica. Open until 5pm. In the red light district. On the museum and I Amsterdam cards.

There is a same-day, half-price ticket shop: Last Minute Ticket Shop. Tickets go on sale at noon. You must go the the shop, at Leidseplein 26. Trams 1, 2, 5, 7, 10. Theater, comedy shows, etc.

TRANSPORTATION

General information about transportation...

The I amsterdam Card consists of a card, a public transport ticket, and a full color guide. 24, 48 or 72-hours pass. The card covers use of all public transport in Amsterdam, a canal tour, and entry to various Amsterdam museums, including the 3 listed above. A discount of 25% on attractions and restaurants is also included. 24 hours = € 33,00; 48 hours = € 43,00. Time starts when first used.

Buy at Tourist Bureaus. One inside and one outside Central Station. Open until 7pm. One on the line for Tram 5 at the Leidseplein station. Open until 5pm. Also buy at the GVB ticket offices. Zuid Station open until 6pm; Stationsplein, opposite Central Station, open until 9pm.

GVB Ticket. Public transport ticket. 24 hours, € 7,00. Buy from the ticket machines in the metro stations (24-, 48- and 72-hours tickets), from tram- and busdrivers and conductors (24-hours ticket), from the ticket machines on tram 5 and metro 51 (24-hours ticket).

Could also use an 8-strip ticket from GVB as a one-day ticket for €6.40.

Canalbus sells an All-Amsterdam Transport Pass that includes the canalbus and all public transport, and some museum and attraction discounts for €24/day. (for example, BOGO for the National museum.) Canalboat ticket locations: Rijksmuseum, Leidseplein, Anne Frank House, hotels, the Amsterdam Tourist Information Offices, and the NZ Hollands Koffiehuis (opposite Central Station). Canalbus runs from 10.00 am till 07.00 pm. I can't tell the hours of the Canalboat offices. The canalbuses run every 40 minutes.

There is a Stop and Go line of minibus service around the downtown area. No fixed stops. Every 12 minutes, 9am to 5:30pm.

Train, bus, subway, ferry maps.

Taxi info. Expensive; hard to get. A few stands around town, including in the Dam and at the Van Gogh museum. €1.80 per km regardless of the time of day and a 5%-10% tip is expected. Dam to RAI Station ~€12. Taxis displaying an exemption card (inside the passenger side of the front windscreen) may use the tram and bus lanes.

Bike taxis: three-wheeled post-modern style rickshaws with open windows and fluorescent sides that carry up to two passengers. 11 in the city. 10am to 3am. 1 € for 3 minutes per person.