Festivals in Amsterdam

Festivals in Amsterdam
*January, if canals are frozen, ‘Eleven Cities Journey’ skating marathon.
mid March, Blues Festival, 2 days.
*April, Orange [Queens] Day, is the city’s biggest street party. May, 2nd Sat, Windmill day end of May, Drum Rythm Festival [indoors]
*June, Holland Festival [varied arts]
mid July, North Sea Jazz Festival [w/e]
Sept, 1st Sat, Flower Parades
Nov, 2nd or 3rd Sat, Sinterklaas Parade
Nov, Cannabis Cup competition
Cuisine in Amsterdam
There is a huge range of restaurants and cafes for every travelller’s taste and budget in Amsterdam. The best weird experience is the Indonesian ‘rijestafel’ [rice table] speciality; Indrapura, Kantjil and de Tijger are highly recommended.
The hippest restaurant is the French-influenced Supper Club, or trendy seafood Inez IPSC.
It’s worth visiting traditional pubs [‘Brown Cafe’] such as De Dokter.
Shopping in Amsterdam
Bijenkorf [dept store] Kalverstraat, Nieuwendijk, Leidsestraat, [boutiques and department stores], Spiegel quarter [books and antiques], Singel Canal [floating flower market, Diamond houses.
Sights/Activities in Amsterdam
This is a great walking city, or biking if you want to go native. Skating is superb – weather permitting, and canal boating is very pleasant [including the bargain price ‘Museumboot’ [boat] that stops at about 40 museums].
Must sees are: Begijnhof [a square of very old and beautiful buildings], Oude Kerk [a stunning 14thC church in the red light district], Koninklijk Paleis [a royal palace you can visit].
And don’t forget to travel around the coffee shops and pretty, interesting red light district. The best place for the coffee shops is Leidseplein.
Arts/Culture in Amsterdam
Museums and Galleries: Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Rembrandt House, Sex Museum, Cannabis Museum and Anne Frank’s House among many others.
Note the bargain price ‘Museumboot’ [boat] stops at about 40 museums.
Classical Music: Concertgebouw, Beurs van Berlage, RAI, Tropenmuseum. Oude Kerk and Nieuwe Kerk hold magnificent organ music concerts.
Dance/Opera: Stadhuis-Muziektheater, Westergasfabriek, Stadsschouwburg.
Theatre: Transformatorhuis, Theater Bellevue, Koninklijk Theater Carre, Soeterijn Theatre, Vondelpark open-air theater for Summer time.
Live Music and Clubs: The three most popular clubs are De Melkweg, Paradico and Naar Boven. Bimhuis, Bourbon Street and Alto Jazz Cafe are the best venues for jazz.
Akhnaton for world music such as African, Arabic or Central and South American.
The main ticket office for entertainment and cultural activities is the AUB, or go to the VVV (tourist information), Nieuwe Muziekhandel and some of the record shops.