CAPITAL AMSTERDAM - POPULATION 18 MILLION - AREA 41,526 SQ KM - OFFICIAL LANGUAGE DUTCH
Is Amsterdam losing its edge? Recent legislation has closed a third of the infamous Red Light District's brothels and the 2008 smoking ban has hit the city's coffee shops' (though you can still toke in designated rooms). But the capital is as vibrant as ever, its cultural side – as well as that of nearby Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague – surging to the fore as part of the Holland Art Cities initiative, which will showcase Dutch art throughout 2009. There’s plenty of outdoors fun too – despite the Netherlands’ compact proportions hidden corners remain. Try canoeing around Wieringen, an island-turned-mainland with Viking intrigue, or waddling (messing about on mudflats) off the West Frisian Islands.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Purists may feel bikes are the best way to access Amsterdam's nooks and crannies. That's fine in the sunshine, but for all those damper Dutch days, the tram rules this slender-streeted city. Centraal Station is the obvious start-point - from this domineering Neo-Renaissance terminus, myriad lines wriggle outwards. The most traveler- friendly is Line2 - glide between the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), a fragrant flower market, Van Gogh Museum and vast Vondelpark, the city's green lungs. However, true trolleybus junkies need a different route to reach the Electrisch Tram Museum, where rides on vintage streetcars recapture a flavor of old-school Amsterdam.
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