Amsterdam Things to Do

There is plenty to do in Amsterdam over winter. The climate in the capital city of The Netherlands is not always at its most welcoming but if you’re lucky the sun will come out, the crowds will have disappeared, and you’ll have the place virtually to yourself.

Amsterdam in The Netherlands has its party reputation to maintain and the city certainly erupts on New Year’s Eve to celebrate Oudejaarsavondwith fireworks and fun for residents and a multitude of hard-partying Euro-revellers alike. Stores close in the early afternoon on New Year’s Eve and reopen on January 2; most of Amsterdam’s street parties are accessible on foot in the largely pedestrianized city center.

Christmas preparations kick off in mid-November in Amsterdam, when the streets are adorned with Christmas lights and store windows decorated with festive scenes. On the third weekend in November, Sinterklaas and his helpers arrive in The Netherlands and sail down the Amstel River before parading through Amsterdam’s streets to check on the behavior of the city’s youngsters.

Amsterdam in 2012 celebrates Christmas with a Light Festival—The Netherlands’ capital city comes alive with magical laser shows piercing the night sky and glinting off the canals over the Christmas season.

In a city that knows how to party, this is the biggest and best party of the year: the Canal Parade, part of Gay Pride.

Saturday August 4, 2012 will see people lining along the canals and riverside to watch the parade of decorated barges pass by, topped with flamboyant costumed revellers, happy dancing and loud music.

Here is a list of six events happening in Amsterdam this summer:

1) Vondelpark

Amsterdam’s largest and favorite park, Vondelpark, comes alive during the summer. You will see people picnicking under the trees, feeding the ducks in the pond or joining the Friday night skate through town, which starts outside the Filmmusuem in Vondelpark at 8:30pm every Friday. The Film Museum based in the Vondelparkpaviljoen has outdoor screenings and the Open Air Theater has productions running from June through August. You can also simply sit on the balcony at the café/bar, Blauwe Theehuis, and enjoy those long twilight evenings when it stays light until 9 or 10pm.

One of my favorite things visiting any city is feeling that I’ve discovered some of its secrets. Often there are particular festivals or open days which let you into buildings and gardens that are normally inaccessible to the public. During the third weekend every June in Amsterdam around 30 of the large, private canal houses open their doors and gardens. Walking past these grand facades it’s difficult to guess at the greenery hidden behind them.

The Netherlands has historically been a very religious country with many different strands of Christianity represented. This has declined in the 21st century with many fewer people attending church, but the magnificent religious buildings constructed during past centuries still dot the city and are worth visiting.

Winter can be long and cold in The Netherlands so when spring comes there is cause for celebration. Put this together with the importance of flower and bulb cultivation in the country’s history and it’s no surprise that the way the Dutch celebrate spring is with a massive parade of flowers.

For one weekend only, on April 14-15 2012, more than 500 museums around The Netherlands will waive their often-high entrance prices and allow free or discounted entry. Many of them will charge a symbolic ticket price of €1. This is the annual National Museums Weekend. It includes such important galleries as the Rijksmuseum which houses Rembrandt’s famous Night Watch painting; the Van Gogh Museum which also has a rich program of events including a creativity studio for children; and Anne Frank’s House which is one of the city’s most popular visitor attractions.