Winter activities in Amsterdam 2013

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Amsterdam has become one of the most popular coach holiday destinations in Europe since companies started offering ridiculously low prices that go from under £10. For this reason, there is a much younger audience looking to go into coach holidays and off to explore the most popular city in the Netherlands. If you’re one of the people who have never visited before, or you’re a regular looking to visit again this winter, here are some particular highlights from Amsterdam that are soon to arrive.

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Shopping

Like any big city, Amsterdam has its markets, boutique stores and speciality food shops. Haarlemmerstraat & Haarlemmerdijk have over 200 different stores, selling everything from jewellery to cheese and host to a number of bars, with the oldest cinema in the city plonked right in the middle.

Christmas markets crop up across the whole city so even if you don’t visit the Haarlemmerstraat there will be plenty of chances to grab some Christmas shopping. 

Food and drink

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The bakeries are magnificent, the beer is Amstel and the Edam is Made backwards. There are so many culinary delights that you’ll probably feel like the long weekend (which most people choose to go for) is not enough to explore everything you can consume. The colorful patisseries that sit on the street corners are difficult to walk past without sampling, and there are food cruises along the canals at all points in the year.

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Visit the museums

This is a must, especially if you haven’t visited the city before. The Anne Frank House gives an emotional look at the WWII past of Europe, the Van Gogh museum holds some of his most prized originals and there is even the Heineken Experience for if you’re historical interests are more hoppy than the rest. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam I the largest of all the museums, holding artwork, cultural artefacts and photography, and is considered one of the best art museums in the world.

Get involved in local tradition

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There are more than a few odd traditions in Amsterdam. One of the most odd is the habit of eating raw herring. The Dutch eat 12,000,000 kilograms of the stuff every year and it’s considered to be a national delicacy. Probably one of the less gracious culinary habits of the world, it involves throwing your head back and swallowing it in one. Served with raw onions and garlic. Tasty.

 

Photo credits: mau_ry  MarcelGermain  an untrained eye  leliebloem  Orreaga




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