Travel advice & practical information for travelogue:

'City Trip Amsterdam'

Useful addresses

New York

The Netherlands Consulate General
1 Rockefeller Plaza, 11th Floor
New York, 10020 NY
Tel: 877-388 2443
Fax: 212-333 3603
E-mail: nyc@minbuza.nl
Web site: The Netherlands Consulate General in New York

London

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
38 Hyde Park Gate
London SW7 5DP
Tel : 020 7590 3200
Fax : 020 7225 0947
E-mail: lon@minbuza.nlk
Web site: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Paris

Ambassade du Royaume de Pays-Bas
7 Rue Eblé
75007 Paris
Tel.: 01 4062 3300
Fax: 01 4062 3456
Web site: http://www.amb-pays-bas.fr/

Money

The Netherlands is part of the Euro zone. If you know in advance which places you're going to visit, you can find out online if and where there are ATM's where you can use your MasterCard and Cirrus or Visa to withdraw money.

Food and Drinks

Food and beverages are expensive in Amsterdam, especially in the tourist district. It may be worthwhile to explore neighborhoods just outside the historic city center, like De Pijp which has hundreds of interesting (ethnic) restaurants. Having drinks in an outdoor café is also very expensive. A cheaper alternative is to buy drinks at a grocery or supermarket and find one of the many parks in the city. Please, don't litter, Amsterdam is too beautiful to be used as a trashcan.

Coffee Shops: Dutch soft drugs policies

First a warning: even if you are familiar with soft drugs (that is, hashish or marijuana), take it easy with Dutch weed. It is stronger than what you are used to. Lots of tourists get panic attacks, or just sit apathetically on the sidewalk after smoking their first Dutch joints...

That being said, take notice that only soft drugs are legal in The Netherlands. Whatever someone may tell you, ecstasy and mushrooms are not, because they have dangerous side effects.

Dutch soft drugs policies are changing for the worse: in coffee shops near the borders, only Dutch citizens with 'coffee shop IDs' can buy weed there. Amsterdam still hasn't introduced the new rules, so tourists are still welcome in its coffee shops.

Plan your trip to Netherlands online

Through online reservation systems like À la Carte Vacations you can book airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and holiday houses. You can build a fly-drive itinerary with maximum flexibility, book a flight plus a hotel hotel for a night or weekend. Without the limitations of package deals from travel organisations and most times for a much better price.