﻿Amsterdam is one of the great cities of the world. There's no question about it.
It certainly belongs in Europe's top-10. You'll find it endlessly fascinating. Just walking around
in the little streets, the canals, the bridges, thousands of shops, dozens of museums. This is
the big city of the Netherlands, of course, number one in the country -- the economic center,
population center and cultural center of the Netherlands. Amsterdam today is certainly one
of the most popular cities in the world. They get something like 5 million overnight tourists
every year plus another 16 million day-trippers who come in, say on a bus tour for a day, which
is very unfortunate to only stay here for one day. You should spend at least three days, maybe four,
five, even six days. You could spend a week in Amsterdam. While the museums and historic
landmarks and traditional architecture are among the great sites of Amsterdam,
you'll also enjoy walking along those quaint streets and admiring the magnificent canals,
then sit back and relax at a sidewalk café. There are thousands of things to see in Amsterdam. In
this episode we're focusing on how delightful the very center of town is, all around the Dam Square
and nearby neighborhoods, including the West Church, where we take you up inside the belltower
for a carillon concert. (music) We'll even show you a bit of an evening horse carriage parade.
Many visitors first arrive here at the train station, and then walking out front, one of
the first things you'll see is the boat harbor, called the Damrak. It's a marina for the canal
boat tours, with buildings seemingly floating on their reflections. It's a photogenic spot,
so even if you're walking by loaded down with two backpacks and some booklet stuck in your mouth,
you'll still want to stop and take a picture. Canal tours start at this scenic location and
bring you on a one-hour ride through the waterways of town. The boat tours usually get started about
10 AM with frequent departures throughout the day and into the evening. You can buy the ticket right
here. Damrak is the name of the marina and this busy main street running right next to it that
connects the train station with Dam Square, just one kilometer away. This little marina was part
of the original main harbor, and the street was the major canal going into the center of town.
Trams come by every couple of minutes, so hop on, check in with your O-V chip card, have a seat or
stand. It's only a few minutes ride and you'll soon be arriving and the heart of Amsterdam at
Dam Square. It's the center of action in the city, equivalent to Piccadilly Circus in London are a
little Times Square. Streets around it are a busy mix of pedestrians and traffic, looking back down
Damrak towards the train station, where we came from. Then Damrak boat marina and the Dam Square.
We will be looking at the central part of town just around the neighborhood surrounding the Dam
Square. The Royal Palace was originally built as Europe's largest Town Hall in the mid-17th
century. For a while it became the royal residence, now it's a historic monument open
to the public. This Kingdom of the Netherlands still has a royal family, but the monarchs never
played much of a role in running the country. Instead, it was controlled by the merchants.
The plaza is always like a three-ring circus with lots of street performers doing all kinds
of tricks for you. There is never any charge for this free entertainment, but as always,
if you like the show, and especially if you're taking pictures, it's nice to give them a tip.
You'll also want to take care of your guide on that free walking tour.
The white obelisk is the National Monument, dedicated to the victims of the second world war
and to peace. From above, we see the Dam Square framed by that obelisk, and the Royal Palace,
and many other fine buildings. The Dam is also a popular gathering place for pigeons,
and they're so used to people they love to sit on your arm, if you're going to feed them. Or
you could drop in on Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. One of the fascinating streets leading out from
the Dam is Damstraat, just 200 meters long. It's a lively, fun place, mostly pedestrian and bicycle,
but a few cars might come through. The people and bicycles pretty much controlled the street,
which is lined by a huge variety of fast food and sitdown restaurants.
The street can get a little crowded because Amsterdam gets 20 million visitors
every year and it seems like every one of them wants to come walking on Damstraat. The resident
population of the city is only 1 million, so the locals are really outnumbered by the visitors.
Here you can stock up on your psychedelic supplies, especially magic truffles. Our street
continues across this lovely canal, then changes names a few times as it gets into an older part
of town, which we will save for another show. For now we're heading briefly back to the Dam
and to some streets beyond it. Another way you can do your sightseeing is in a horse-carriage
ride around town. The Dam is a good place to flag him down because it's always so busy here.
One evening I walked over to Dam Square to have a look around and ran into a long lineup of very
large horses and black carriages. Something most unusual is going on here, so I asked one of the
drivers if she could explain. “This evening is once in a year, one evening in a year, there is an
evening that all carriages, and in the carriages we have guests, and the guests are the ambassadors
of the whole world. All the ambassadors who live in Amsterdam and in den Haag are here now
and they are our guests. Within a few minutes they will come in the carriages, and then we
make the next step for the tour. So it will be a parade of carriages. And we drive them through
all Amsterdam.” This was a most unusual event that you will probably never see in your visit,
so I'm happy to share it with you and I'll have more of it at the end of the program. Here's
another way to get around town – on a beer bike, or a pedal bar, guided by your designated driver.
We are just behind the Dam Square, looking at the back of the Royal Palace and the New Church.
The church dates back to 1408. It was rebuilt in the beautiful brick and stone we see today.
Across the street, another building looking like a church is actually now a shopping
mall. Originally it was the main post office in Amsterdam. The central hall of the interior has
galleries on two upper floors surrounded by arcades. This magnificent building was constructed
at the end of the 19th century in the neo-Gothic style similar to that of the main train station
and the Rijksmuseum, but something unique and very special in itself. It was built as the main post
office over 100 years ago, but in the 1990s it was converted into this luxurious shopping mall.
Then it was added to the list of 10 Most Valuable Monuments of the
city of Amsterdam. They even have a pottery shop where you can paint your own designs.
For the visitor it's a great place to look for souvenirs and knickknacks of all kinds,
maybe a backpack or perhaps you're looking for designer clothing and fashion accessories.
Even if you're not doing any shopping, the building itself is so beautiful to see on
the inside that you really must come on in that front door and have a look around.
One block behind it brings you to the Singel canal and a most unusual bridge. Torensluis,
one of the oldest and widest in town, 42 meters wide. So large, it provides a terrace for an
outdoor café and has rooms underneath it that are remnants of a former prison
and the old city wall. In recent years, those rooms were open to the public as a jazz club
and art exhibit area, and there used to be a tower on top in the 17th century.
Now we are walking a few blocks west along this charming side street, with some cafés – you can
get a falafel – and shops like jewelry and gifts, and there's an up-to-date modern computer store.
This city is a mix of new and old, such as this outdoor toilet, you might say pissoir.
They call it the Iron Curl. There are more than 100 of these public urinals scattered around town,
providing a much-needed service since 1880. We have reached the Prince's Canal,
built in the 16th century, and named after the Prince of Orange.
Recap the walk route, starting from the Dam to the Magna stores, onto that wide bridge and
along the canals, and then over to the Prince's Canal, and we will be continuing along that canal
and circling back to the Dam. As usual the side streets in this neighborhood are always
worth taking a look. Perhaps walk up one side and turn around and come back down the other,
and then continue by walking alongside the canal. Notice the street and its canal have the same
name. Taking that canalboat tour is highly recommended, a very relaxing and easy way to
enjoy the sights of these beautiful buildings going by. Sitting at a sidewalk restaurant
alongside the canal is another perfect way to enjoy these sights and have a relaxing time.
There are more than a thousand restaurants in town, and many of them have these lovely
outdoor tables – it's a beautiful atmosphere. And this was filmed during the month of October
when the weather was still quite mild. Now we've gone just beyond the Prince's Canal into what's
called the Jordaan district. We have a separate movie all about that beautiful neighborhood that
you can find in our collection. This is one of four main canals that form a concentric belt
around the city. Because of their significant history and good preservation, this canal ring
area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are many houseboats permanently tied up
along the banks of the canal, a great place to live, some available as vacation rentals.
We are crossing over the canal now and heading back in the direction towards the Dam Square, and
along the way there are some very tempting cafés and restaurants. This bistro has a typical lunch
menu of baguettes, croquettes, toasted sandwiches, hamburger, fried eggs, Dutch soup or French fries,
with mostly local customers. Rondo strut is noted for its curved arcade shopping gallery,
built in 1899, influenced by similar modernistic developments in Paris in Vienna at that time.
Nearby is the Anne Frank house and Westerkerk, the world's largest Protestant church when built
in the early 17th century. The church was built in the 1620s in the Renaissance style,
with the town's highest church tower at 87 meters. Some years ago I walked up inside
the tower on a regular tour and was lucky enough to come upon a carillon concert.
(music) "A little wood stairs leads to the second, so if you wait for me, that's
where the tour starts. From there we will make our way slowly up to the top of the tower. OK?"
There are 42 bells inside the tower,
played in that old-fashioned way with mechanical keys and pulleys. (music)
When you climb up in the tower, you're also welcome to go outside for this stupendous
view looking over the entire city. The tower has been open to the public on these regular tours,
but hardly ever would you find somebody inside playing the carillon. We got extremely lucky
because the student was practicing for an exam later that afternoon, with his teacher standing
outside the church listening and grading him. So she is just standing outside, so I little
nervous (laughter). And then you have an audience, besides. Ya, ya (laughter).
It requires a special training, I think it is five years. I'm in the seventh year. (Laughter).
Classical music or rock 'n' roll. Every kind of music you can play. (music)
That brings us back to the Dam, where as promised we're going to enjoy a horse-carriage parade.
It's a special event for ambassadors to the Netherlands,
a unique celebration you will likely not see in person, so here it is for your enjoyment as we
wind down the program. The Royal Palace makes an appropriate background for this elegant parade.
This program is ending in a minute. So let me remind you I have a couple of dozen more movies
about the Netherlands and Amsterdam. Look for them in my collection and thanks for watching.