Category: About

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.

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.

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.

Things to know about Amsterdam’s Coffeeshops