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The buildings themselves are striking because they are both narrow and tall, stacked next to each other along the canals.  They lean out of necessity, since they tend to sink in the soft, soggy soil and a building standing by itself is like a man in quicksand.

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They tend to be skinny since a tax law based the amount of property tax on how wide a building was, not how big.  In the spirit of avoiding taxes that is the lowest common denominator among all cultures, people began building thin homes, but going all out as far as height, and length, going as far back as space will allow.

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The canals are as much a part of the city as the unique buildings, and boats are a common mode of transportation.

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Bikes, however, are the most popular way of getting around.  The flat streets make it easy and the narrow roads make it practical.

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Since buildings are tall and narrow, so are other things such as staircases.  These are typical of what you’ll find in Amsterdam.

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If you need to get out of the buildings because you’re feeling a little claustrophobic, you won’t get much relief in the lanes and allies outside.

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The inner city sits on 1729 acres.  The majority was built in the 17th century when Amsterdam was the center of economics and learning in Europe.

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Below are modern pilings keeping up housing buildings.

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Although houses are packed together and all have the same tall, thin style, most have unique facades, roofs, and windows to keep them individual.

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Amsterdam has a temperate climate mainly due to it’s proximity to the North Sea which lies directly to the west.  Only on rare occurrences does the temperature fall below the freezing point.  Summers are warm with the average temperature around 30 degrees Celsius.  It does however rain very frequently in Amsterdam.  Most years it rains about 175 days.  The rain is usually drizzle and the total rainfall is only about 760 millimeters.

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Canals

In the early 17th century when immigration was reaching sits peak a series of canal were built throughout the city for defense, water management, and transportation.  The three inner canals were mainly used for residential transportation and are shaped in half circles, they are known as the Emperors, Prince, and Gentleman’s canals. The fourth canal known as the Singelgracht run around the city and was built mainly for defense.  Since their completion in 1656, parts of the canals have been filled in to make room for high end buildings.

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Economy

Amsterdam is the business and financial capital of the Netherlands and ranks fifth in best European cities to locate an international business.  Many large corporations are located in Amsterdam including Heineken international, ING group, and Tom-Tom.  Amsterdam is also the 5th busiest tourist destination in Europe with over 4.2 million visitors each year.  The largest non European visitors come from the United States which makes up 14 percent of the total number of visitors.

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Transportation

Amsterdam is known as the most bicycle friendly country in the world.  In 2006 there was an estimated 465,000 bicycles in Amsterdam.  Due to the city’s small size and flat terrain bicycles are used by all socio-economic groups.  Due to their popularity many bike path were created as well as bike racks in order to prevent theft which is wide spread.    Parking fees are expensive and many roads are closed to cars, which only helps drive the demand for bicycles.  Other than bicycle the only other popular form of transportation is mass transit with 35% of the residents using it.

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Red Light District

The Red Light District is an area of Amsterdam where prostitution is legal.  The district consists of a network of roads and Allys and has hundreds of small one room apartments.  The area is also illuminated by red light thus the name Red Light District.  There are also a number of Cannabis Coffee Shops where the sale of cannabis is legal.  There are a number of rules these shops must follow including No Advertising, No Sale to people under the age of 18, and no transactions exceeding five grams.

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