aMStERdaM - In Your Pocket

From historic canal houses and royal palaces to worldclass
museums, Amsterdam’s city centre won’t disappoint.
Centrum attractions
Ajax Experience B-3, Utrechtsestraat 9, www.ajax.nl.
The Ajax Experience takes visitors on a journey through time.
Obviously, much emphasis has been placed on its international
successes and its record 31 league titles. Every eight minutes
a group departs under the guidance of an employee in club
colours. The first highlight is the life sized portraits of heroes
from the glory days accompanied by important facts from the
past. All kinds of high-tech interactive devices bombard each
visitor with a sensory overload of information and if you think
you’re good with a ball, you can test your skill in several different
rooms where your technical ability and the speed of your shot
are measured. Needless to say the tour ends in a shop filled
to the brim with all kinds of football souvenirs. QOpen 10:00
- 18:00, Fri 10:00 - 21:00. Closed Mon. Admission: adults
€17.50, children 4 - 12 €12.50.
Craft & History Experience H-4, Piet Heinkade 4-6-8,
tel. (+31) 208 11 03 81, www.crafthistoryexperience.nl.
Ever wondered how the Dutch make those crazy clogs or even
the cheese that seems to be sold on every Amsterdam street
corner? Curious why the locals love their chocolate so much or
why they’re obsessed with pancakes? Visit the Craft & History
Experience on the water just beyond the Central Station and
you can watch local craftsmen plying their trade. Yes, it’s very
touristy, but there are actually very few places in the Dutch
capital where you can see these traditional souvenirs being
made. You can also participate in the history experience for
only €4, which is a fun way to learn about the evolution of this
iconic city. You can take a short tour of the place with a Lovers
canal tour or you can just walk over on your own and spend as
much time as you like here. QOpen 09:00 - 18:00.
Madame Tussauds Amsterdam A-2, Dam 20, tel.
(+31) 205 22 10 10, www.madametussauds.com.
Queues at the Madame Tussauds can be a bit long at lunchtime,
but that’s because everyone is photographed with a ‘celeb’
before taking the lift upstairs where you’ll be entertained
by a light and sound show dedicated to the Golden Age of the
city in the 17th century. This is followed by a maze of rooms
featuring life size wax figures of your favourite heads of state,
actors, rock gods, artists and footballers. Have your photo
taken with the Dalai Lama, Gandhi, Madonna, Pablo Picasso
or Winston Churchill. You’ll no doubt also be blown away by
what a tiny pip-squeak Lenin was or that Ronaldinho’s teeth
really are that big! QOpen 10:00 - 17:30. Admission: adults
€19 - 21, children 5 - 15 years €14 - 16, children 4 and under
free. Last admission at 17:30. AU
www.amsterdam.inyourpocket.com
centrum: sightseeing
Torture Museum A-3, Singel 449, tel. (+31) 203 20
66 42, www.torturemuseum.nl. All major European cities
seem to have a torture museum, so it comes as no surprise
that Amsterdam also has a place since 1985 where tourists
can see how human beings were humiliated and tormented in
past centuries. Many of the agony-inflicting devices on display
have clever monikers like the neck violin, the Spanish horse
and the infamous iron maiden, while others have much more
commonplace names like the rack, the guillotine, the garrotte
or thumbscrews. Although not an implement of torture per se,
the chastity belt exhibit could certainly put a crimp in a young
lady’s lifestyle and is definitely not something you’ll be seeing
in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue any time soon. The grill, the
stake and the gallows need no explanation. QOpen 10:00
- 23:00. Admission: €7.50, children €4. TJA
Buildings
Het Funenpark K-5, Funenpark. If you're into eco-friendly,
modern architecture, you shouldn't pass up a chance to take
a look at Het Funenpark in the eastern part of the centre.
One of the buildings of this new ‘private' neighbourhood was
recently awarded the best new building project of 2011 in
Amsterdam. The area contains roughly 550 apartments
spread over 16 buildings and residents with a talent for
gardening can eat their own organic veggies grown on the
rooftops of their buildings. Q
The Weigh Station (De Waag) B-2, Nieuwmarkt
4, www.indewaag.nl. This is the most magnificent of
the city’s remaining medieval gates. Built in 1488, St.
Anthony’s Gate (Sint Anthonispoort) eventually became an
official weigh station for merchants, its original purpose as
a defensive structure having become obsolete. A number
of local guilds also moved into the building and each one
had its own entrance. One of the halls was occupied by
the Surgeons’ Guild that occasionally dissected a freshly
executed criminal, a popular event that was open to the
public. Weigh stations and guilds also fell out of fashion
over time and the building was used for several different
purposes over the years, but since 1996 it has housed a
swanky Dutch restaurant with a great summer terrace on
the Nieuwmarkt. QOpen 09:00 - 23:00.
Summer 2012
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