Whatever your vacation needs and interests may be, city breaks to Amsterdam are an ideal option for everyone. Especially those that want no-frills sex and inexpensive dope. While young people come here to enjoy great parties and nightlife, beautiful art galleries and museums appeal to people of all ages, since the city is steeped in history and culture. This makes city breaks to Amsterdam exciting and eagerly awaited.
The city's historic center is one of the largest and oldest in Europe, dating back to the 17th century, the Golden Age of Netherlands. This is the time when a number of concentric canals were constructed around the city center, still defining its appearance today.
The city is home to many outstanding museums, notably the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt House Museum, the Stedelijk Museum and the Anne Frank House, as well as its world-famous symphony orchestra Concertgebouw. Prominent are also its de Wallen - the red-light district, and plentiful coffee shops offering cannabis.
Located on the Museumplein, the Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, dedicated to history, crafts and arts and featuring an extensive collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, as well as a large collection of Asian art. Founded in The Hague in 1800, the museum was originally known as the National Art Gallery until it moved to its current location in Amsterdam.
Located conveniently between the Stedelijk Museum and the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum is decorated with references to the history of the Dutch art. Included into the paintings collection are works by such artists as Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruysdael, Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer. Wonderful decorations and renowned collection place the Rijksmuseum among the most outstanding attractions of the city that must be visited by all means during your city breaks to Amsterdam.
One of the greatest attractions, the Anne Frank House is a museum dedicated to Anne Frank - the Jewish wartime diarist who took refuge in the hidden rooms of the building to temporarily escape the horrors of Nazi Germany and anti-Jewish persecution. In addition to displaying exhibits on the life of Anne Frank, the museum highlights all forms of discrimination and persecution.
The Anne Frank House opened in May 1960 with the help of public subscription it attracted a huge amount of interest after translations of Anne Frank's diary had made her famous throughout the world. In its first year the museum was visited by more than 9,000 tourists, and in less than a decade there were nearly 20,000 visitors. As of 2004 the number of visitors totaled one million. Whether you are on a city break in Amsterdam or a longer vacation, the Anne Frank Museum is a must on your list of attractions.
Regarded as one of the world's three most beautiful concert halls along with the Musikverein in Vienna and Boston's Symphony Hall, the Concertgebouw is a great concert hall of Amsterdam, famous for its superb acoustics. It opened in April 1888 with the inaugural concert featuring a chorus of 500 singers and an orchestra of 120 musicians, performing works of Handel, Wagner, Beethoven and Bach. A great number of art connoisseurs on city breaks to Amsterdam consider the Concertgebouw to be the most prominent attraction and is worth a visit.