Amsterdam

Amsterdam is our current series and will run until the end of October 2025. A new episode will be published on the last Wednesday of each month.

Welkom in Amsterdam! There’s nowhere quite like this lovely city, with its network of canals, pretty humpback bridges, top notch art and laid-back atmosphere. Of course, we’ll visit the stand-out sights such as the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseums and ‘meet’ the famous people whose stories inform the city as it is today. But we’ll also delve into the quirkier side, from hidden churches to tulips and diamonds, not forgetting stroopwafel and bitterballen. And we’ll find out what some of the writers who have loved the city had to say.

The 12 episodes in our City Break Amsterdam series bring you all the background history and culture you need to fully understand this charming city. In short, here is all the research you’d do yourself if only you had the time.

Each episode centres around a podcast, available here or on all the usual providers. The blog posts here on the website include a summary of the main information, plus pictures, useful links and ideas for further reading. So, let’s go. Or, as the Dutch phrase it, Laten we gaan.

aMSTERDAM : HISTORY & CULTURE

Episode 1: Introduction to Amsterdam

February 25, 2025

Welkom in Amsterdam! This introduction to our Amsterdam series brings you information to help you get your bearings and pick up the basic facts which underpin everything. Below you will also find a list of … Read more

Episode 02 5 Walks Around Amsterdam

March 12, 2025

Here are 5 suggestions for walks around Amsterdam. They include possible stopping places and between them they offer a way to see something of all of the main parts of the city. We give enough … Read more

Episode 03 The Canals of Amsterdam

March 26, 2025

The canals ARE Amsterdam and Amsterdam IS its canals. They were awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status as ‘a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering and town-planning’, so yes, part of it is about admiring their sheet … Read more

Episode 04 Amsterdam’s Churches

April 9, 2025

Amsterdam’s churches are not always what they seem. One is more of a national memorial, another is an art gallery and concert venue. A third is a museum where you can learn the story of … Read more

Episode 05 Amsterdam’s Golden Age

April 23, 2025

This episode takes you to Amsterdam’s Golden Age, the era when, as the Encyclopaedia Britannica puts it, ‘the little nation on the North Sea was one of the most powerful countries in the world, dominating … Read more

Episode 06 Jewish Amsterdam

May 6, 2025

The history of Jewish Amsterdam goes right back to the 16th century. It starts as a story of Jews fleeing from other parts of Europe and taking refuge in Amsterdam and it ends in today’s … Read more

Episode 07 Anne Frank and World War II in Amsterdam

June 1, 2025

This post on Anne Frank and Amsterdam in World War II looks at how 5 years of German occupation affected everyone living there and suggests places to visit to find out more. We start with … Read more

Episode 08 Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Rijksmuseum

June 25, 2025

Rembrandt and Vermeer are the artists whom travellers first name when thinking of Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum, the world-class gallery where some of their work hangs, is the most-visited site in the city. This episode … Read more

Episode 09 Van Gogh, the Man and the Museum

August 8, 2025

Rembrandt may be all over Amsterdam (see last episode!), but so is Vincent Van Gogh and he has a museum all to himself! This episode is all about him: some biographical details, plus an introduction … Read more

MORE READING ABOUT AMSTERDAM

4 Useful websites for tourists
I Amsterdam
Amsterdam Info
Holland.com / Amsterdam
Introducing Amsterdam

Useful guidebooks
Lonely Planet Pocket Amsterdam Guide
Eyewitness Guide Top 10 Amsterdam
Pocket Rough Guide to Amsterdam
Marco Polo Pocket Travel Guide to Amsterdam
Amsterdam Like a Local
The Invention of Amsterdam A History of Europe’s Greatest City in 10 Walks by Ben Coates

History
Amsterdam A Brief Life of the City by Geert Mak
Amsterdam A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto
The Embarrassment of Riches Dutch Culture in the Golden Age by Simon Schama
The Tulip by Anna Pavord

2 Anthologies
Amsterdam City-Pick edited by Heather Reyes and Victor Schiferli
Amsterdam Tales Edited by Helen Constantine

Biography and Autobiography
Rembrandt by Michael Bockermuhl
Van Gogh by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White-Smith
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Many Lives of Jan Six by Geert Mak
My ‘Dam Life by Sean Condon

Fiction set in Amsterdam
Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
The Coffee Trader by David Liss
Amsterdam Stories by Nescio

PODCASTS TO GET YOU STARTED

OTHER CITY BREAK IDEAS

AMSTERDAM

BATH

BERLIN

BORDEAUX

EDINBURGH

FLORENCE

LONDON

MARSEILLE

MUNICH

PARIS

SEVILLE

ST PETERSBURG

TOULOUSE

VALLETTA

LATEST ARTICLES

Amsterdam

Episode 09 Van Gogh, the Man and the Museum

Marian Jones

August 8, 2025

Amsterdam

Episode 08 Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Rijksmuseum

Marian Jones

August 8, 2025

Amsterdam

Episode 07 Anne Frank and World War II in Amsterdam

Marian Jones

June 25, 2025

Amsterdam

Episode 06 Jewish Amsterdam

Marian Jones

June 9, 2025

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