Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country.

Amsterdam was originally founded as "Aemstelredamme", which meant nothing more or less than "dam in the Amstel". The Amstel was, and still is the river that comes floating from the south as the sum of the rivers the "Drecht" and the "Kromme Mijdrecht" and ends its course in the "IJ", the water right behind the Central Station. In 1275 the Amstelredamme dwellers were granted the right of transport of goods and merchandise throughout the Netherlands, free of toll.

Amsterdam has a mild, damp climate but the weather is variable and changes can occur quite quickly. Spring and autumn especially bring changeable, unsettled weather. Winter is generally crisp and frosty, with temperatures averaging around 5°C (41°F) between December and February. Amsterdam is in a coastal region so there are frequent rain showers; however torrential downpours like the tropics are very rare.

The Golden Age of the 17th century sparked Amsterdam's affinity with world trade. Nowadays, as a major gateway to Europe, Amsterdam continues to stimulate the same dynamism in the infrastructure and projects across the region. A major port, Amsterdam is also the seat of one of the world's chief stock exchanges, a center of the diamond-cutting industry, and one of the great commercial, intellectual, and artistic capitals of Europe. Its manufactures include clothing, printed materials and metal goods. Amsterdam is connected with the North Sea by the North Sea Canal, which can accommodate large oceangoing vessels, and by the older North Holland Canal. Amsterdam is a major road and rail hub and is served by nearby Schiphol airport. Tourism is an important industry. The Amsterdam Area continues to move forward with developments in the fields such as urban extension, internet traffic, tunnelling and engineering techniques.

Amsterdam has an extensive public transport system that includes busses, trams (trolleys), metro (underground), and ferries. The GVB public transport office at Central Station has route maps and a guide to the ticketing system, which is based on zones with the same ticket valid on buses, metros and trams. The thirty bus lines connect the Central Station to neighbourhoods which are further from the city centre and to Amsterdam North. The tram network consists of 17 tramlines that connect the Central Station to the neighbourhoods in the south, east, west and between the neighbourhoods. Taxis are among the most expensive in Europe and renting a car or driving one's own to Amsterdam is not recommended; it is better to park it outside the city and use public transport to get into the centre and around. The best way to get around the city is by bicycle, there are several rental agencies around town.

The city boasts of a strong educational system with great number of schools and colleges. It has a wide range of educational institutes ranging from primary schools to international ones. The city is also home to many tertiary education that provide vocational training. Many higher learning institutions including scientific and art schools are present in Amsterdam. Various universities include or support a number of research institutes for different and novel subjects.

Museums are the main tourist attraction in Amsterdam. Two of the city's museums are each dedicated to a world famous Dutch painter, the Van Gogh Museum and Rembrandt House. The Rijksmuseum was opened in 1885 and has grown steadily ever since, it hosts a collection of 17th century Dutch artists including Rembrandt, Vermeer and Frans Hals.

The Red Light District is somewhat of a sexual amusement park and often not taken too seriously by the hordes of tourist who frequent it. The famous red window lights are striking against the quaint, old canal houses and even the fairy lights that line the bridges at night are coloured red.

The Grachtenfestival is one of Amsterdam's most unique annual events, The nine-day celebration of classical music and water used to center around the city's grachten (canals), with performances on boats and in canal-side buildings. The way in which the program is presented makes the Grachtenfestival one of the world's most unique music festivals.

For a couple of years now the first weekend in August is Gay Pride with numerous parties and a Pride parade on the canals, drawing enormous crowds to see the Queens and Dykes float along in a colourful spectacle!