Amsterdam, Netherlands
Table of contents
DutchAmsterdam.nl is primarily a tourist guide to Amsterdam. But along with basic tourist information we also provide lots of extras, such as personal tips from Amsterdam locals (along with some comments and critiques you wouldn’t find in tourist office promotional material)
From time to time we include news reports as well because we think they offer tourists, business travelers, and expats more insight into the life of this great city.
But if you are looking for more news and information in English about Amsterdam (and the Netherlands), here goes:
Amsterdam Newspapers
There are ten national newspapers in the Netherlands. Six of them have their headquarters in Amsterdam.
However, just one of those papers, Het Parool, is considered “The Newspaper of Amsterdam.” Born as an illegal, stenciled newsletter in July 1940 – shortly after the Nazi criminals attacked and overran the Netherlands – it was first printed as ‘Het Parool‘ on February 10, 1941.
While the paper is now available throughout the Netherlands, it has a primary focus on Amsterdam.
Parool is a Dutch-language newspaper, but nowadays many of its articles are available in English as well. The articles are “translated with the assistance of AI,” but checked by the paper’s editorial team.
Amsterdam News in English
Other than Het Parool, two online publications publish news from the Netherlands in English:
- DutchNews.nl. Skip to its Amsterdam related news stories
- NL Times. Has a more extensive Amsterdam news section
Amsterdam Television AT5
Amsterdam has one local commercial television station: AT5. It is considered an important source of news and information for locals.
AT5, along with SALTO, FunX, and Concertzender, is part of the Amsterdam Public Broadcasting (POA). We operate jointly with NH Media, the regional broadcaster of North Holland. Together, we inform, inspire, and connect the city and region. NH Nieuws and AT5 are the primary news sources for and in North Holland and Amsterdam.
Source: AT5
While AT5 is hugely popular among Amsterdammers, most Amsterdammer do not know what the name actually stands for: Amstel Television 5. ‘Amstel’ as a reference to the river that is said to have given Amsterdam its name. The ‘5’ was an effort to get people to program the station under the ‘5’ button on their remote controls.
You can watch the live stream of AT5 online. The station broadcasts in Dutch, but on AT5’s YouTube channel you can select an auto-dubbed English audio track (plus subtitles).
Automatic dubbing is a feature provided by YouTube. Not perfect, but it works. Here’s a sample report from September 2025, about a young seal spotted in the river Amstel.
NH Nieuws
NH Nieuws provides Dutch-language news and entertainment programs via live radio, TV, websites, and social media channels with a focus on the province of Noord Holland (North Holland).
Note: Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, is in the province of North Holland. The capital of North Holland is Haarlem. Most people around the world think about the Netherlands as “Holland.” But the two are not the same: Discover the difference between Holland and the Netherlands.
Amsterdam Radio in English
BRAM is Broadcast Amsterdam – an independent, non-profit, English language media producer for Amsterdam.
You can listen live or on demand. There is news, talk, and lots of good music as well. You can even listen to talk-only podcasts with highlights from their shows.
Something Else Entirely: Our favorite radio station
If you want to know what we listen to in the DutchAmsterdam offices (well, our individual homes, actually), here goes:
- Radio Paradise (yes, from California). An eclictic mix of handpicked music.
- Radio Mi Amigo International – a throwback to the offshore radio stations of the sixties and seventies. For more about those popular stations, see parts 6 – 9 of History of DJ (YouTube)
- Red Light Jazz Radio – from the Red Light District in Amsterdam. Meant to show that Red Light is more than just what the neighborhood is known for. Lots of good music, plus programs that focus on the old city center, “but we also cover broad current and Amsterdam topics.” In Dutch. The studio is at Zeedijk 44.
- Dance Radio Amsterdam. Based at NDSM, home of (among other things) many music festivals
Plan your Amsterdam trip:
- Save on accommodation from hostels and apartments to luxury hotels
- Pick your hotel on this map of Amsterdam and surroundings
- Cheap flights to Amsterdam
- Unlimited Public Transport 1-7 days
- Things to do in Amsterdam
- Key to the City: I Amsterdam City Card (Big Value)
- Visitor’s Guide
