DK Travel : Amsterdam : History & Culture

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Artis

If you want to give human culture a break, the zoological garden makes a terrific contrast. About 900 species are kept in reasonably naturalistic surroundings, including a recently created African landscape. Watch the Japanese monkeys grooming one another, the reptiles slithering in their steamy jungle, or the polar bears lazing with menacing unconcern. There are plenty of places where you can shelter from the rain, including the Planetarium, Geological and Zoological museums, and the Aquarium, home to more than 2,000 mesmerizing fish.
Baruch Spinoza

Philosopher (1632–77) expelled by Amsterdam’s Jewish community for his secular beliefs.
Begijnhof

A charming and secluded courtyard of houses surrounding a tranquil garden in the centre of the city, the Begijnhof was established in the 14th century as a sanctuary for a lay Catholic sisterhood (see Begijnhof).
Bell Gable

Fashionable in the late 17th and 18th centuries, bellshaped gables can be flamboyant (Prinsengracht 126) or unadorned (Leliegracht 57).
Beurs van Berlage

The innovative Stock Exchange building was derided when it was unveiled in 1903, but is now considered a key work of the period and almost universally admired. Designed by the pioneer of Dutch modern architecture, H P Berlage, its functional lines are softened by ornamental ironwork and tiled mosaics. The Stock Exchange has now moved next door, and Beurs van Berlage is home to the Nederlands Philharmonic Orchestra. It is used for concerts and exhibitions, and contains a permanent display on the history of the Stock Exchange. Try to get a look at the amazingly light and spacious interior.
Bijbels Museum

Far lovelier than the Golden Bend is the stretch of Herengracht between Huidenstraat and Leidsestraat, particularly Nos 364–70, four houses built by Philips Vingboons in 1662. Two of them house the Bible Museum, where apart from biblical artifacts you can admire the early-18th-century interior.
Bloemenmarkt

Undoubtedly one of Amsterdam’s most picturesque sights, the flower market is a magnet for tourists. There are local shoppers too, buying armfuls for their houses, while visitors arrange for bulbs to be mailed home. Vendors once sailed up the Amstel from their nurseries to this spot on the Singel, selling their wares directly from their boats. Nowadays the stalls are still floating, though you wouldn’t know it as they feel firmly fixed.
Boom Chicago

On a daily basis, this US comedy crew puts on satirical shows whose targets are anything from Dutch “quirks” to topical news issues. Big on laughs and big on beer. The latter, served in huge pitchers, is a welcome respite from the tiny frothy-headedpilsjes . Starwatchers note: Burt Reynolds once popped in.
Brouwersgracht

If you stand at the breezy junction of Brouwersgracht and Prinsengracht you will get terrific views in all directions, and a sense of the sea not far away. Today, Brouwersgracht, with its pretty bridges and picturesque houseboats, is a romantic delight, but a 17th-century brewery (brouwer ) worker would be astonished to find that the spout-gabled warehouses of this once reeking industrial canal had now been converted into the smartest of private housing – particularly fine examples of which you can see at Nos 188–194.
c.1125: First Settlers

Fishermen settled at the mouth of the Amstel river, building huts on man-made mounds calledterps for flood protection. With the growth of the new settlement came feudal conflict between the self-made Counts of Holland and Lords van Amstel.