Addresses are written as, for example, “Kerkstr.79 II”, which means the second-floor apartment at Kerstraat 79. The ground floor is indicated by hs (huis, house) after the number; the basement is sous (souterrain). In some cases 1e, 2e, 3e and even occasionally 4e are placed in front; these are abbreviations for Eersete (first), Tweede (second), Derde (third) and Vierde (fourth). Many side streets take the name of the street they run off, with the addition of the word dwars, meaning ‘”crossing”– for instance, Palmdwarsstraat is a side street off Palmstraat. The main Grachtengordel canals begin their numbering at Brouwersgracht and increase as they progress anticlockwise. T/O (tegenover or “opposite”) in an address shows that the address is a boat.
Most of Amsterdam’s commercial cinemas are multiplexes showing general releases, but there’s also a scattering of film houses showing revival and art films and occasional retrospectives. The Kriterion at Roeterstraat 170 (020/623 1708 www.kriterion.nl) is a stylish cinema close to Weesperplein metro that shows arthouse and quality commercial films, while the beautiful Art Deco cinema The Movies at Haarlemmerdijk 161 (020/63806016 www.themovies.nl), shows independent films.
All soft drugs – as well as hard – are technically illegal, but possession and consumption have been partly decriminalized. Under no circumstances should you take cannabis out of the country. “Space cakes” (cakes baked with hashish and sold by the slice), although widely available, count as hard drugs and are illegal.
The Dutch electricity supply runs at 220V AC. British equipment needs only a plug adaptor; American apparatus requires a transformer and an adaptor.
Australia Carnegielaan 4, The Hague 070/310 8200; Canada Sophialaan 2514 JP The Hague 070/311 1600; Ireland Dr Kuijperstraat 9, 2514 BA The Hague 070/363 0993; New Zealand Eisenhowerlaan 77, 2517 KK The Hague 070/346 9324; South Africa Wassenaarseweg 40, 2596 CJ The Hague 070/392 4501; UK Lange Voorhout 10, 2514 ED The Hague 070/427 0427; USA Lange Voorhout 102, 2514 EJ The Hague 070/310 2209.
Amsterdam is one of the top gay destinations in Europe: attitudes are tolerant, bars are excellent and plentiful, and support groups and facilities are unequalled. The age of consent is 16. For help and advice contact the Gay & Lesbian Switchboard 020/623 6565 www.switchboard.nl (Mon–Fri noon–10pm, Sat & Sun 4–8pm). Consider timing your visit to coincide with Amsterdam Pride (www.amsterdamgapride.nl) on the first weekend of August or Leather Pride (www.leatherpride.nl) in late October and November.
Your hotel or the VVV should be able to provide the address of an English-speaking doctor or dentist if you need one. Otherwise call the emergency number 112. Minor ailments can be remedied at a drugstore (drogist). These sell non-prescription drugs as well as toiletries, tampons, condoms and the like. A pharmacy or apotheek (usually open Mon–Fri 9.30am–6pm, but often closed Mon mornings) also handles prescriptions; centrally located pharmacies includes Dam Apotheek (Damstraat 2 020/624 4331), Lairesse Apotheek (De Lairessestraat 40 020/662 1022) and Apotheek Koek, Schaeffer & Van Tijen (Vijzelgracht 19 020/623 5949).
Most hotels provide internet access or wi-fi to guests either free, or at a minimal charge. A central internet café is Internetcafe at Martelaarsgracht 11 (daily 9am–1am, Fri & Sat until 3am www.internetcafe.nl), just 200m from Centraal Station.
Centraal Station has coin-operated luggage lockers (daily 7am–11pm) and a staffed left-luggage office (daily 7am–11pm).
For items lost on the trams, buses or metro, contact GVB Head Office, Prins Hendrikkade 108–114 (Mon–Fri 6.30am–11pm, Sat & Sun 8am–11pm 0900/8011). For property lost on a train, go to the Gevonden Voorwerpen office at the nearest station; Amsterdam’s is at Centraal Station, near the left-luggage lockers.
By 2012, all postal transactions will be carried out at the new TNT stores or places with the TNT logo. Stamps are sold at supermarkets, shops and hotels.
Debit cards are now the norm, and most shops and restaurants accept these and all major credit cards. You’ll find ATMs throughout the city. Bureaux de change are also scattered around town – GWK has 24-hour branches at Centraal Station and Schiphol airport. The VVV tourist office also changes money. For lost and stolen credit cards and travellers’ cheques the relevant numbers are: American Express 020/504 8666; Mastercard 0800 200 5821; Visa 0800 022 3110.
The Dutch weekend fades painlessly into the working week, with many smaller shops and businesses staying closed on Monday mornings til noon. Normal opening hours are, however, Monday to Friday 8.30am/9am to 5.30/6pm and Saturday 8.30/9am to 4/5pm. Many places also open late on Thursday or Friday evenings. Sunday opening is becoming increasingly common, especially within the city centre, where most shops are now open between noon and 5pm.
Most restaurants are open for dinner from about 6 or 7pm, and though many close as early as 9.30pm, a few stay open past 11pm. Bars, cafés and coffeeshops are either open all day from around 10am or don’t open until about 5pm; all close at 1am during the week and 2am at weekends. Nightclubs generally open their doors from 11pm to 4am during the week, though a few open every night, and some stay open until 5am at the weekend. Museums are usually open from Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and from 11am to 5pm on weekends. Galleries tend to be open from Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 5pm.
The international phone code for the Netherlands is 31. Numbers prefixed 0800 are free; those prefixed 0900 are premium-rate – a (Dutch) message before you’re connected tells you how much you will be paying for the call, and you can only call them from within the Netherlands. Phone booths are rapidly disappearing but there is a light scattering at major locations, like Centraal Station. Phone cards can be bought at outlets like tobacconists and VVV offices, and in several denominations, beginning at €5. The cheap-rate period for international calls is between 8pm and 8am during the week and all day at weekends. There is good coverage for mobile phones/cell phones all over Amsterdam. Pre-paid SIM cards are available in telephone shops (on the Rokin and around Kalverstraat) and in some supermarkets. To speak to the operator (domestic and international), call 0800 0410; for directory enquiries, dial 0900 8008 (domestic), 0900 8418 (international). The Dutch phone directory is available (in Dutch) at www.detelefoongids.nl.
For the police, fire service and ambulance call 112.
Smoking (tobacco) is banned in all public places as well as in all restaurants, cafés and bars and even coffeshops.
The Netherlands is one hour behind UK time and 6 hours behind EST in the USA.
You are expected to leave a tip if you have enjoyed good service – up to around ten percent of the bill should suffice in most restaurants, while hotel porters and taxi drivers may expect a euro or two on top of the fare.
There are two tourist offices – VVVs (pronounced “fay-fay-fay”) – one on platform 2 at Centraal Station (daily 9am–7pm), and a second larger one across from the main station entrance on Stationsplein (Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm). The two offices share one website at www.iamsterdam.com. They sell a range of maps and guide books as well as tickets and passes for public transport. They also take in-person bookings for canal cruises and other organized excursions, sell theatre and concert tickets, and operate an accommodation reservation service.
Tourist passes include the Iamsterdam Card (iamsterdam.com) which provides free and unlimited use of the city’s public transport network, a complimentary canal cruise and free admission to the bulk of the city’s museums and attractions. It costs €38 for one day, €48 for two consecutive days and €58 for three consecutive days. It’s not a bad deal, but you have to work fairly hard to make it worthwhile. It’s available from any branch of the VVV.
An alternative if you’re staying for more than a couple of days is the Museumkaart (museumkart.nl), which gives free entry to almost every museum in the whole of the Netherlands for a year; it costs €35, or €17.50 for under-25s.
For information about what’s on in the city, there’s either the VVV or the Amsterdam Uitburo, the cultural office of the city council, housed in a corner of the Stadsschouwburg theatre on Leidseplein (Mon–Sat 10am–7.30pm, Sun noon–7.30pm 020/795 9950). Listings magazines include the AUB’s own monthly Uitkrant, which is comprehensive and free but in Dutch, or the VVV’s Day by Day in Amsterdam.