With an estimated 18 million visitors a year, and up to 300,000 tourists and residents on hand during any given night in the relatively small heart of the city, Amsterdam in the Netherlands is probably one of the best people-watching venues that you might visit, as others have noted. Most locals are friendly and speak English.

The canal city of Amsterdam is a lot fun, and the energy on the street is palpable.

[Should Live PD cameras travel to Amsterdam? See below.]

Getting to Central (or Centraal) Station by the area’s excellent public transportation is a generally simple matter, and then you can walk to many attractions from there, or hop back on the Metro subway to get closer to your destination to make it a little easier on your feet. You can purchase a multiple-day subway ticket at Metro kiosks and at Schiphol Airport.

Tip: Day or night, you need to stay on alert, especially when crossing over bike paths on Amsterdam’s narrow streets to avoid unpleasant encounters with oncoming bicycles and mopeds.

Here is a bike parking lot near Central Station to give you an idea of the magnitude of the popularity of bike riding, which is probably why you’ll see relatively few obese people in Amsterdam apart from some tourists. You can also rent a bike if you are bold enough.

Incidentally, vehicles tend to much smaller in Europe, in part owing to higher gas prices, and some of them also need bike locks!

Similar to Paris, the signage in Amsterdam is limited by our standards, and the streets aren’t laid out in an American-style grid, so navigating around the city admittedly by foot takes getting used to.

As an international city, Amsterdam offers an incredible number of cafes and drinking establishments offering cuisines of all kinds.

Live PD Amsterdam?

A recent report from an Amsterdam official that the downtown area of the city has become a lawless jungle late at night, particularly after 2 a.m., has created lots of international headlines.

From AFP:

“‘The city centre becomes an urban jungle at night,’ Amsterdam’s official ombudsman Arre Zuurmond told Dutch daily Trouw, warning of illegal car and bike races zooming through the streets, open drugs sales and general mayhem. ‘Criminal money flourishes, there is no authority and the police can no longer handle the situation,’ he warned…’One night we counted 900 offences, mainly between the hours of 2:00 am and 4:00 am. The atmosphere is grim, and there is an air of lawlessness,’ he said.”

While it’s obvious that there are pub crawls going on, and, for example, boisterous soccer teams out and about, the area – while congested with massive numbers of pedestrians of all age groups, including families — seemed safe.

Since the Metro shuts down at about 12:30 a.m. if you exit the city center prior to midnight, you should be fine. But, as always, your mileage may vary, and use your own best judgment.

Given the six-hour time difference which would be just about perfect for the real-time or near-real-time broadcast, however, it would seem to be an ideal scenario for the hit A&E show Live PD to send over a camera crew to Amsterdam to follow along with officers on patrol there in the early morning hours, if things get as bad as the ombudsman claims.

What to See in Amsterdam

In addition to people watching, which is free, and the obvious canal cruise, you might consider the following recommendations when visiting Amsterdam.

  • Anne Frank House in the Jordaan neighborhood.

  • The Van Gough Museum, the Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum (all located in the same enclave). Note that your Van Gough Museum ticket will require you to queue up at a specific entry time.

  • Vodelpark, the largest city park in Amsterdam in the southwest part of the city, is roughly walking distance from the above three museums.
  • The Artis Zoo, the National Holocaust Museum, and the Dutch Resistance Museum (all located on the same street).

  • The Rembrandt House, plus  various other fascinating museums.

  • The Red Light District, where female entrepreneurs engage in direct marketing behind street-level windows (no photos allowed).
  • So-called coffee shops that sell weed, if you are into that.

Try the famous Amsterdam thin pancakes, French fries with a variety of sauces, and the stroopwaffel (available at the Albert Cuyp street market among other venues).

Pro tip about the must-see Anne Frank House:

Most tickets are sold months in in advance. However, on the day of, the Anne Frank House periodically releases additional tickets on its website. With thtat in mind, keep checking the website multiple times (make sure your phone is charged) over the course the day and you will likely be able to purchase tickets online as they are sprinkled out.

As the website indicates, “The Anne Frank House can only be visited with an online ticket for a specific date and time.” Once inside, the Anne Frank House provides a self-guided tour in the language of your choice. Pictures aren’t allowed, but not everyone seems to abide by the rule.

Dam Square

Dam Square near Central Station and Damrak Street is a major gathering place. On different days, you might see a sword-swallower, a demonstration by Falun Gong (a group that practices an internal art similar to Tai Chi and Qi Gong that is being oppressed by the Chinese government), and pro-open borders activists who want more third-world immigration from migrants and refugees into the Netherlands.

Please check back because additional images of Amsterdam will be added as this blog post is updated with more information.