Have you ever asked yourself: Where is Amsterdam?
Here is what you need to know and if you are planning a trip to this place, take a look at the tips and reasons why you might want to add this city to your bucket list.
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🇳🇱 What country is Amsterdam in?
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands, which is a country bordering Belgium in the south and Germany to the west.
The country is in Europe, and it’s part of the European Union and Schengen Area. So, if you have a European Union Schengen Visa, you can visit the Netherlands and Amsterdam.
The country was also called Holland up to 2019. The state government of the Netherlands set the name to the Netherlands from now on.
Amsterdam is located in the North-Holland province, one of the 12 provinces in the country.
To locate Amsterdam on a map, look for the European continent, then the British Island and main land of Europe to the right. The Netherlands is situated between Germany and Belgium. Amsterdam is located in the north of the country.
🌷 What is Amsterdam known for?
The city of Amsterdam has a long history. People like to visit it for various reasons. Here is a quick overview, check out the detailed list of things to do in Amsterdam.
- Tulips and Flowers—large colorful fields
- Cheese—Gouda and Edam cheese are local specialties
- Beer—well-known beer brands such as Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel are Dutch beers.
- Windmills—picture perfect just in the outskirts of Amsterdam
- Nightlife-electronic Music Events, Coffeeshop Culture and more
- Canals and Boats—just as Venice in Italy
- Dutch Painters and Museums—such as the Van Gogh Museum
- Free thinkers, liberals, avant-gardist
- Cycling—they have high-speed cycling lanes
- Anne Frank—a young Jewish girl wartime victim
- Shopping—well known global stores and luxury brands have brick and mortar stores
✈️ Getting there
You can get to Amsterdam by flight, train, or road.
Flight
Most folks will choose to fly into Amsterdam. The Schiphol airport is one of the most important airports in Europe.
The national airline is called KLM and they have a collaboration with Air France, called Flying Blue.
Getting connections to Amsterdam is fairly easy from Europe, America, Africa, and Asia.
Train
All trains lead to Amsterdam, and this is quite true.
You will easily find trains connecting to and from all major European capitals.
Daily trains are traveling from Paris to Amsterdam, London to Amsterdam, Berlin to Amsterdam, and now too from Innsbruck (Austria) to Amsterdam via nightjet.
Road
Traveling by car to Amsterdam might not be the best option because the city is full of canals and parking is somewhat impossible if you are not a resident.
We traveled by car from Switzerland to Amsterdam, but we stayed in Zaandam. To get to Zaandam you need to take the periphery around the city, and it can get a bit stressful on those roads.
But the plus point is that you can’t go more than 100 kilometers per hour on the Dutch highways, due to a new Environment-friendly order.
Just don’t drive too fast because the fines start at 45 Euros. We got one for driving 2 km/h too fast.
Traveling by car is your choice if you want to visit other places up in the north. That way, you access some lesser-known villages and towns in this beautiful country.
The bus is a much better option, especially if you are looking to stick around Amsterdam only and travel in your means. Flixbus offers affordable bus tickets from all over Europe to Amsterdam.
The Amsterdam Flixbus stations are Sloterdijk, Schiphol Airport, Amstel and Bijelmer Flixbus.
💡 FAQs
Is Amsterdam near to London?
London is located in Great Britain. It’s an island near main land Europe, near France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. A flight from London to Amsterdam takes about 1 1/2 hours. Flights are frequent between both cities.
What part of Germany is closest to Amsterdam?
Cities in the Ruhr area (Ruhrpott) in Germany are the closest to Amsterdam. This includes cities such as Düsseldorf, Essen, Osnabrück, Dortmund and Münster. That’s about 2 1/2 hours distance by road.
How far is Amsterdam from the US?
A nonstop flight from New York to Amsterdam takes about 7 1/2 hours. That’s about 3600 miles or 5800 kilometers.
What language do they speak in the Netherlands, and what are the locals called?
The people in the Netherlands speak the Dutch language, and the locals are also known as the Dutch.
