Amsterdam’s historic grachtengordel (literally, belt of canals) around the city’s center will be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July, a spokesman for the organization has said.

But not everyone is pleased with the decision. »

Rental rates for retail space in one quarter of Amsterdam’s shopping streets have gone down this year, Amsterdam daily Het Parool reports.

The crisis is to blame, but in some streets so are the much-delayed construction activities surrounding the problem-plagued new metro line.

Meanwhile, shop keepers in one popular shopping district are being priced out of their stores. »

An Irish drug dealer whose remains have been found in an Amsterdam canal had fled Ireland to avoid imprisonment and to escape gang members who held him responsible for revealing information that led to discovery of their drugs factory.

Amsterdam police found his remains three weeks ago in the water near Diemerzeedijk.

The body of Keith Ennis (30), from Clondalkin, Dublin, had been dismembered and stuffed into bags, suitcases and trash bags. »

Radio Netherlands reports that rubbish is dredged from Amsterdam’s waterways at the rate of 18,000 cubic metres per year, including beds, couches, small boats, stethoscopes, guns and even a dead body. Not to mention hundreds of discarded bicycles.

Ashleigh Elson goes out on patrol with Waternet’s dredging team. [video] »

Started nine years ago, Fabchannel webcasts shows from Paradiso and Melkweg — the best two music venues in Amsterdam.

Recalcitrant record companies and a drop in advertising revenue are forcing the Amsterdam-based web broadcaster offline. »

Amsterdam may be known as Europe’s bicycling capital, but it is also home to a fast-growing fleet of pleasure crafts.

Over the past ten years the number of pleasure boats using Amsterdam’s canals has double to 14.000 vessels — anything from small sloops to converted military landing crafts, and from water bikes to larger-than-life floating wooden shoes.

The city is now introducing new traffic rules for its busy waterways. »

We’ve given the two Starbucks stores at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport a fair try — nine times, actually. But we’re still not impressed, and we’ll tell you why.

We’ll also point you to some alternative Schiphol stores that serve excellent coffee drinks. »

The Netherlands is among a handful of countries where — under certain circumstances — squatting is not forbidden by law. If a building has not been used for a period of twelve months, and the owner can not demonstrate that he plans to ’soon’ start using the building again, squatting is tolerated.

The squatters movements gained much sympathy during the seventies and early eighties, but in recent years the increasingly anarchistic nature of these groups has had politicians calling for changes to the squatting laws. »

The City of Amsterdam has announced it will close 43 of its 228 coffeeshops because they are located too close to schools.

In doing so, Amsterdam mayor Job Cohen “reluctantly” follows up a federal government directive to establish ‘distance criteria’ between schools and coffeeshops. »

A national ban on the sale of fresh hallucinogenic ‘magic’ mushrooms will take effect in the Netherlands on December 1, 2008. In dried form those mushrooms already were banned under Dutch Opiate Laws.

The ban was first proposed in October 2007, after as series of high-profile deaths and injuries linked to magic mushroom trips — most of them involving tourists in Amsterdam. »

Amsterdam’s medieval core is divided in an ‘Old Side’ and a ‘New Side.’ We’ll show you which is which, and tell you how these terms came into use. And yes, the Old Side is actually slightly newer than the New Side.

Included in this entry: the oldest known city map of Amsterdam, painted in 1538. »

The Oudezijds Kolk is a narrow sluice that runs from the Oosterdok — the water to the north of Prins Hendrikkade — to the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, in one of the oldest parts of Amsterdam.

While even many Amsterdam locals don’t know what ‘Oudezijds Kolk’ actually means, understanding the name of this narrow canal will give you more insight into the life and history of old Amsterdam. »

When considering Amsterdam, its famous red-light district and the coffee shops where cannabis is smoked, you may assume it’s less than an ideal city to visit with young children. You would be wrong. »

Tomorrow an expected 350.000 spectators will line Amsterdam’s canals and bridges for this year’s Gay Pride Canal Parade. »

What is your favorite tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Vote here… »

Dutch policies on recreational drugs, prostitution, same-sex marriage and euthanasia, are among the most liberal in the world. Amsterdam is seen as the world capital of relativism. How come? »

Amsterdam has over 400.000 trees. By comparison, Paris has only 95.000 trees. »

Amsterdam’s Red Light District will soon be home to a bronze statue in honor of prostitutes around the world. »

Things to know about Amsterdam’s Coffeeshops »

Coffeeshops and coffeehouses in Amsterdam »

Google Earth has recently been updated to include more-detailed satellite pictures of the Netherlands. Previously only a small section of Amsterdam was visible in detail. Now you can zoom in to any place in and around the city. Westerkerk and Anne Frank House (Top of picture. You can see the people line up to [...] »

A huge tourist draw, Amsterdam’s notorious Red Light district is under scrunity by Dutch authorities »

Amsterdam is famous for a lot of things, not the least of which are its more than two dozen world-class museums. A house-sitting gig meant I had a month to tour them, try the cafes, peek at the Red Light District and, most importantly, attempt to live as if I were a local — the way I always prefer to experience new destinations, versus 8-cities-in-10-days tours. »

The 750,000 people who live in Amsterdam own approximately 600,000 bicycles »

Last week, it was my pleasure to travel to the Netherlands and spend most of my trip getting lost in this wonderful city. Getting lost in cities seems to be what I do best on vacation. Since I always travel with a couple of cameras in tow, my exact daytime locale isn’t all that important. I prefer to meet up with my traveling companions later to sample the local cuisine. By the evening, I usually have my bearings. »