Taxis are to be found in front of the Arrivals hall. They charge around Euro35 for the 25-min journey to the centre, although it can take up to 50 mins during rush hour. The quickest and cheapest way of getting to the city centre is by train, which will take 16-20 mins from Schiphol station, below the arrivals hall. The costs about Euro2.90 and operates 24 hrs a day. Trains leave hourly between 0200 and 0500 then at frequent intervals until 0107. Trains from Schiphol also go to Rotterdam, The Hague and other Dutch towns. There is a KLM bus service, which drops passengers off at the main hotels in Amsterdam. The service operates along two routes: Route A stops include the Pulitzer, Krasnapolsky, Jolly Carlton and Okura, which is central Amsterdam; Route B focuses more on southern Amsterdam, stopping at such hotels as the Hilton, Beethoven and Apollo.

Central Station, lying on the southern bank of the Ij, is the focus of the city. From here canals and roads loop south in semi-circles. Damrak leads south from Central Station to the Dam, the square which marks the site of the original dam on the river Amstel. East of Damrak is Oude Zijde, including a picturesque part of the old town, De Walletjes, now the centre of the red light district. To the west of Damrak is Nieuwe Zijde – a more up market and a popular residential area. Further west is the Jordaan district, formerly a working-class area, home to Amsterdam’s cockneys, but now increasingly gentrified with fashionable boutiques and trendy restaurants. The banking and insurance area stretches along the Herengracht and Utrechtsestraat in the south. New business parks are growing in the Amsterdam Zuid Oost, and in Sloterdijk ,which is becoming a specialist point for call-centers and new ventures in telecommunications. A prestigious new development, the Zuidas is planned for the area around the World Trade Centre. Singelgracht, the outermost canal, and marks the boundary between the old city, and the suburbs built in the 19c. To the south-west of this canal is Vondelpark, a large, 120-acre park. Just east of the entrance to Vondelpark is Museumplein, a vast city square around which several major museums and art galleries are clustered. Moving further south-west you come to another business area including the World Trade Centre and the RAI Congress Centrum, which are 9km south-west of Central Station. The area becomes industrial before finally reaching Schiphol.

If your appointments are in the compact central district, it is best to walk. Amsterdam suffers the usual city problems of parking and congestion, so avoid using a car unless business takes you to the suburbs. Taxis wait outside hotels and in the main streets or squares, but are not usually hailed in the street.

Rijksmuseum: The national museum houses what is perhaps the most impressive collection of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters in the world, including Rembrandt’s ‘Night Watch’ and renowned works by Frans Hals, Jan Steen and Vermeer. Room upon room of antique furniture, Delft porcelain, textiles and other objects d’art add to the attraction. The collection of prints is especially worth a look, although only a tiny part of it goes on view at any one time.

Anne Frank House: Visit the annexe where Anne Frank, her family and several friends remained hidden for over two years before being sent to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The new wing alongside Anne Frank House is now complete, and it has eased the queues. It contains a museum that focuses on racial repression, a café and other facilities. During the course of 2000 the house and secret attic will gradually be restored to the appearance it had when the Frank family was hiding there, so parts will be closed from time to time.

Van Gogh Museum: A modern museum housing around 600 examples of Van Gogh’s work along with exhibitions by other painters. This is an outstanding example of how much easier it is to enjoy paintings in a purpose-built gallery. There is now a stunning new wing by Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, which is used for temporary exhibitions, thus giving the main collection in the old building more breathing space.

Museum Amstelkring: Up creaky wooden stairs, in a converted attic, you’ll find a schuilkerk, a hidden Roman Catholic church dating back to the 17c, when tolerant Amsterdam (unlike other Protestant cities) allowed Catholics to worship – as long as they weren’t too obvious about it. Downstairs are various rooms fitted out with 17c and 18c furniture.

Rembrandthuis: Rembrandt’s house has been faithfully restored to its 17c glory. In a spanking new wing next door there’s a good selection of the Master’s etchings.

The canals are the obvious place to start, so take a boat tour for the best view. Trips take up to 2 hrs. Look out for the decorations on the front of the houses alongside the canals, which became more ornate with Amsterdam’s increasing prosperity during the Golden Age. Afterwards wander along the canals and over the bridges, enjoying more of the atmosphere of old Amsterdam. The most attractive canal areas are around the Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, where well-kept houses border the canals. The Tourist Office, outside Central Station, offers maps with walking tours.  

• The name ‘Netherlands’ means ‘ Low Countries’. The highest point in the Netherlands is the Vaalserberg hill in the south-east (321m high).
• It is not correct to call the country Holland, as this was the name of just one of the provinces of the Netherlands. As, however, the area around Dordrecht was a so prosperous and influential, foreigners started to call the entire country ‘ Holland’. Even gin, when it was imported into England used to be known as ‘Hollands’.
• Amsterdam lies to the north of that area bounded by Utrecht, Rotterdam and The Hague, which is known as the Randstad. Here 10% of the country’s area houses 45% of the population. It is the industrial and economic heart of the nation.
• The population density is the highest in Europe – except for Malta – with 450 people per sq km (the UK has 237 per sq km). As a result, immigration is tightly controlled – except for family reunions, and a small number of asylum-seekers.
• Dutch law is based on Roman law. Unlike the British system there is no trial by jury.
• The Netherlands is the world’s fourth largest gas producer. 95% of homes use Dutch natural gas.
• The Netherlands is still the world’s No 1 exporter of floricultural products – 59% of all cut flowers sold worldwide and almost 50% of all potted plants come from the Netherlands.
• The Netherlands has the oldest existing lottery in Europe – developed in 1726.
• Statistics now say that the young people of the Netherlands are the tallest of their generation in the world – and they are getting taller. The downside is they are also putting on weight to match.
• Prince Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand is the first male heir to the throne of the Netherlands since 1884.
• Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of the busiest airports in Europe, is reaching capacity. But there is no room for expansion. A plan has been put forward however to build new terminals on reclaimed land. According to preliminary plans for the new airport, passengers would check in at Schiphol Airport and catch a high-speed train to the new island airport via an undersea tunnel.
• The Dutch love their bicycles, but with that comes the problem of bike theft. In late 1999, one Chiel van Zelst confessed to the theft of over 50,000 bikes since the early 80s. His story is told in his memoir 100,000 Bike Valves.