DutchAmsterdam — We’re the Locals, Amsterdam Experts
Table of contents
- DutchAmsterdam — We’re the Locals, Amsterdam Experts
- DutchAmsterdam’s Publishers
- Amsterdam Is Joined at the Hip With Serendipity
- Why Planning Your Amsterdam Trip is Worth the Effort
- Basic, No-Nonsense Information About Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Is People
- Why ‘Dutch Amsterdam’?
- By the way: is DutchAmsterdam free?
- DutchAmsterdam Company Information
- Suggested reading:
This travel and visitors guide to Amsterdam, Netherlands (Holland, if you insist), is a website hand-written and operated by a handful of Amsterdam locals – not by paid professionals, tourist office officials, or any other agency.
People who have used this website in planning their visit, or whom we have met and guided around in person, do refer to us as “The Amsterdam Experts.”
Fact is, we love this city and enjoy sharing our knowledge and enthusiasm with others.
Amsterdam is truly the world’s most unique city — a thriving, world-class metropolis in pocket format.
DutchAmsterdam’s Publishers
Anton and Janet Hein, the publishers of DutchAmsterdam, live and work in Amsterdam.
Anton was born on a houseboat in the center of Amsterdam, right across from the iconic Westertoren, and what later became the Anne Frank House museum.
Having lived in nearly every district since then, he knows the city like his own back pocket.
Janet was born in England and raised in Ireland before moving to Amsterdam 42 years ago. Even to date she brings an expat’s perspective to the DutchAmsterdam website.
We started publishing our Amsterdam information on DutchAmsterdam.nl on December 13, 2004.
A handful of friends help us with fact checking and updates to various articles, as well as with social media goodness. They’re Amsterdam locals as well, including expats from the USA, Iran, Turkey, Spain, England, and Ireland.
Amsterdam Is Joined at the Hip With Serendipity
We could easily fill this page with tourist-brochure prose describing what Amsterdam is all about. But Amsterdam is best experienced in person, and experience shows that the best way to enjoy this city is to simply wander around, browsing and sampling all that it has to offer.
There is so much to see, do, taste and otherwise enjoy around every corner that you’ll soon find yourself adopting Amsterdam’s laid-back attitude.
Most first-time tourists try and plan their trip to the minute — only to find out once they are here that Amsterdam is joined at the hip with serendipity. This is a city where you discover and enjoy things by happy chance.
We do the same! Though we have our go-to spots, we frequently venture off the beaten track to find hidden gems.
It’s the same way we approach this web site. You’ll find that using DutchAmsterdam is much like wandering through Amsterdam itself: you’ll enjoy the sights, discover unique shops, decide to sample the food and drink at a local cafe or two, and happen upon lots of other things to see and do.
Still, taking the time to plan your Amsterdam trip is well worth it:
Why Planning Your Amsterdam Trip is Worth the Effort
Planning ahead pays off. Big time. Even for “last-minute” trips.
For instance, there are nearly always hotel and apartment deals to be had. Like so:
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
Basic, No-Nonsense Information About Amsterdam
Anyway, our aim is to provide basic, no-nonsense information about Amsterdam. Quick facts you can use in planning your visit. For instance:
- The best way to get to and from the airport
- How to buy public transport tickets ahead of your visit
- Where to stay: hotels, youth hostels, bed and breakfast, campings…
- Places to see (tourist attractions, museums, unique sights)
- Where to shop (We’ll guide you to Amsterdam’s best-loved stores and boutiques)
- Things to do and Tourist traps to avoid
- Eating and Drinking (from ‘brown cafes’ and coffee shops to restaurants)
- Things to do, and lots of other stuff, including:
- And much more Practical information about transportation, the weather, the money, safety, churches, and so on…
In writing and publishing this web site we rely on our own experience as well as the input of friends, family members and acquaintances. We also love to hear from you.
Amsterdam Is People
Oh, here’s something else we’d like you to know: Amsterdam is all about people. All kinds of people, from all manner of backgrounds — with a wide variety of skin colors, beliefs, hopes and dreams. Rich, poor, and everything in-between.
Did you know that Amsterdam is home to people of 180 nationalities?
Regardless of what you normally pack when traveling, when you visit Amsterdam the one thing you cannot do without is an open mind.
As locals, we’re proud of our city. And we’re proud of all the people who make it Amsterdam ‘Amsterdam’:
Why ‘Dutch Amsterdam’?
No big story, really. When we started to look for a suitable domain name the plain ‘Amsterdam-dot-something’ sites were already taken — some of them by people who wanted to sell them for more money than we’ve ever even seen.
So we looked for alternatives, and since a number of cities are called ‘Amsterdam’ (mostly in the U.S.), we thought it would be a good idea to show that this site is about the only original Amsterdam — the Dutch one: Dutch Amsterdam — or DutchAmsterdam, if you will.
The DutchAmsterdam Team — The Amsterdam Experts
And yes, you can contact us.
One last thing:
By the way: is DutchAmsterdam free?
Not for us. Running a website like this is an expensive hobby.
But for you, yes – you can use DutchAmsterdam free of charge. No subscription fees, no bothersome ads, no need to sign up, or anything.
That is because of our affiliate links:
We do, of course, get paid for our work. Our articles include some affiliate links: If you book a hotel, or buy a tour or ticket, we earn a small commission – at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this site running and saves us from having to busk for stroopwafels on Dam Square.
That is why DutchAmsterdam is registered as a business with the Kamer van Koophandel (Chamber of Commerce) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. But nobody tells and/or pays us to write what we write. Opinions expressed, and facts shared, are not influenced by advertisers, affiliate programs, or any other person or entity.
What’s more: We do not accept grants or sponsorships. We also do not publish sponsored guest articles. We’re independent — just like Amsterdam itself.
DutchAmsterdam Company Information
DutchAmsterdam is located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
We do not have a visiting address, since our offices are located in a private residence.
However, you can contact us by email via a Google Form, or by mail.
We are registered with the Kamer van Koophandel (Chamber of Commerce): 62798995.
Suggested reading:
- Amsterdam street food delicacy: Herring
- Amsterdam Webcams
- Amsterdam King’s Day 2026: All-Day Citywide Street Party!
- Keukenhof 2026: seven million tulips and other flowers
- National Tulip Day Amsterdam – Free Tulips
- Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo
Anton and Janet Hein live and work in Amsterdam. We are the publishers of DutchAmsterdam.
Anton was born on a houseboat in the center of Amsterdam, right across from the iconic Westertoren and what later became the Anne Frank House museum. Having lived in nearly every district since then, he knows the city like his own back pocket.
Janet was born in England and raised in Ireland before moving to Amsterdam 42 years ago. Even to date she brings an expat’s perspective to the DutchAmsterdam website.
Last updated Friday, March 27, 2026 CET (Central European Time)
Do not republish or repost.
