Numbers, trivia and basic facts about Amsterdam as from March 2014
Numbers, Trivia and Interesting Facts About Amsterdam
Basic facts About Amsterdam & The Netherlands
Amsterdam is the largest city in The Netherlands.
The Netherlands is also known as “Holland” >> Holland and the Netherlands are the same country.
The Netherlands always has a coalition government, so it’s a country of compromise and tolerance.
The Netherlands was one of the six founding members of the European Union.
Amsterdam is officially the capital of the Netherlands but the political capital is The Hague where you will find all the government buildings.
The name Amsterdam comes from the river Amstel and the Dam that they built to be able to construct the city.
Amsterdam has a rich history. Two fishermen found the city of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is on Central European Time (CET), which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), plus 1 hour. Check out the actual time in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam has an oceanic climate, similar to that of Great Britain. The warmest months are from June to August, with temperatures between 20 – 27 degrees Celsius. The weather in Amsterdam is fairly mild during wintertime. However temperatures can drop below freezing.
As in most of Europe, the Netherlands uses 230 (220-240) volts AC (50 cycles), compared to 110-120 volts AC (60 cycles) in the United States and Canada. Upward converters that change 110-120 volts to 220-240 volts are difficult to find in Holland, so bring one with you.
Tap water is safe to drink. The Netherlands (and especially Amsterdam which has the best water in the country) has the safest en cleanest tap water in Europe.
The European euro (€) is the currency in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and in the rest of Europe. There are 100 euro cents to each euro.
The Dutch law requires that all taxes and service charges be included in the published prices of hotels, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, salons, and sightseeing companies. The VVV tourist office’s advice on tipping is: “Tips for extra service are always appreciated but not necessary.”
Regular shopping hours in Amsterdam are:
- Monday from 10 or 11am to 6pm
- Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9am to 6pm
- Thursday from 9am to 9pm
- Saturday from 9am to 5pm
- Sunday stores are open from noon to 5pm
Facts About Amsterdam – The Numbers
Population
805,166 inhabitants (Municipality & City)
2,349,870 inhabitants (Metropolitan Area)
3,506/km2 (9,080/sq mi) population density
176 different nationalities
1 Mayor
86% of Amsterdam residents are bilingual persons, speaking English & Dutch fluency
10 Neighborhoods in Amsterdam
Getting around
20 km Distance to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
880,000 bicycles in Amsterdam
12,000 bicycle wrecks are fished out of the canals per year
58% of the people cycle daily
30 minute walk or 10 minute tram ride to get from one end of the city centre to the other
16 tram lines
236 double articulated trams
200 km of tram tracks
4 metro lines
108 metro units
120 km of metro tracks
4 ferry lines
9 ferry vessels
49 bus lines
215 busses
206,000,000 public transport passengers carried per year
800,000,000 public transport passenger kilometers per year
3,000 taxis
313,020 cars and company vehicles
550 Electric vehicle charging points
53,000 scooters
Flora and Fauna
1 Flower Market
400,000 trees across the city
600,000 flower bulbs in parks and public gardens
45 city parks
75% of the population visits the Vondelpark at least once a year
26,000 dogs in Amsterdam
€ 103,18 dog tax per dog per year
6,100 animals at the Artis Zoo
Canals and Canal belt
165 canals
1,281 bridges
8 wooden drawbridges
1 Skinny Bridge
110 glass-topped canal boats
2,500 houseboats
Houses & Buildings
6,800 buildings from the 16th, 17th and 18th century
654 stone gables
1 Royal Palace
302 statues and sculptures
Things to do & see
51 museums
101 attractions
4 ways to save money on museums and attractions
141 art galleries
22 Rembrandt paintings
1 Nightwatch in the Rijksmuseum
206 Van Gogh paintings
140 wax statues at Madame Tussaud
4 barrel organs
9 carillons
42 historical church organs
16,000 concerts and theatrical performances
40 concerts and theatrical performances per day
55 theaters and concert halls
1 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
61 cinemas
Eat, Sleep, Drink in Amsterdam
1,402 cafe’s and bars
36 discotheques
755 restaurants
52,184 hotel beds
52 hostels
5 camping sites
Video “On a Normal Day” – More Numbers & Facts about Amsterdam & The Netherlands
Facts About Amsterdam – Trivia
The city has been ranked among one of the top 25 safest cities in the world. The crime rate here is much less than any other European capital.
Amsterdam residents are the second largest consumers of coffee in the world. Usually, an Amsterdam local consumes about 3.2 cups of coffee per day.
During World War II, at the time of the so called ‘Hongerwinter’ (winter of hunger) in 1944, people were so starving that they had to eat tulip bulbs.
Amsterdam is the first city to allow gay marriage with regular rituals.
Amsterdam was built on long wooden piles that had to be driven into the ground and this is the reason so many buildings lean to one side. The Central station has 6000 of them keeping it up.
Amsterdam has more canals & bridges than Venice. While Venice is the most famous for is canals, this isn’t because of quantity. Amsterdam (a.k.a “Venice of the North”) boasts over 165 canals that compose a widespread network throughout the entire city. And Amsterdam actually has 1281 bridges, three times as many as Venice!
The majority of Amsterdam is below sea level. At its lowest point, it is 6.7 meters below sea level.
Gin was invented in the Netherlands. It was – and still is – called “jenever” (pronounced yeh-NAY-ver) and was originally used for medicinal purposes in the 16th century.
Amsterdam is ranked 2nd in the Top 10 cities to live
Amsterdam has more museums per square meter than any other city in the world. Amongst them is the world famous Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum as well as the house of Anne Frank.
Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange in the world. It is located in the old city center.
The Nickname of Amsterdam is Mokum, which is Hebrew for city or a place. This is due to the large Jewish inhabitants that lived around the old Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam.
The Netherlands is the world’s biggest exporter of beer. Twice as much beer is exported from the Netherlands than the United States, the second biggest exporter. Approximately 1.3 billion liters of beer are exported each year, and the number is growing
Dutch people are the tallest in Europe and the world’s 2nd tallest.
Many of the Dutch eat raw herring with onions using only their hands.
Coffeeshops are not what you think they are: Coffeeshops are alcohol-free establishments where soft drugs legally are sold and consumed. One of the principles of the coffeeshop policy is that the sale of alcohol and the sale of soft drugs is separated.
Oude Kerk (Old Church) forms the oldest building in Amsterdam. Situated in the heart of the Wallen area, it was consecrated in 1306.
Amsterdam has one of the most famous Red Light Districts in the world with window prostitution. There are almost 500 such windows in Amsterdam, next to brothels etc. Daily, about 1,000 prostitutes are working in Amsterdam and in a given year, the city sees about 8,000 different prostitutes.
Amsterdam is the city of houseboats, with over 3,000 situated along its complex canal structure. It also has one cat boat or ‘Poezenboot’ as it is referred to, which homes stray cats. This boat has become a tourist attraction now.
Do you know some other interesting facts about Amsterdam? Let us know!
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