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of its canals, with a veritable armada of glass-topped cruise boats shuttling along the city’s waterways, offering everything from quick hour-long excursions to fully-fledged dinner cruises. There are several major operators which occupy the prime pitches – the jetties near Centraal Station on Stationsplein, beside the Damrak and on Prins Hendrikkade. Prices are fairly uniform, with a one-hour tour costing around €12 per adult, €6 per child (4–12 years old), and around €25 (€15) for a two-hour cruise at night. The big companies also offer more specialized boat trips – dinner cruises from around €59, literary cruises, and most notably the weekly Architecture Cruise run by Lovers (020/530 1090, www.lovers.nl; €22.50/17.50). All these cruises – and especially the shorter and less expensive ones – are extremely popular, and long queues are common throughout the summer. There are also plenty of tours on dry land, from guided cycle rides to a meander around the city on foot. A selection is given below, but if you have a specific interest – Dutch art, for example – it’s well worth asking at the VVV to see what’s on offer.

Tour operators

Mee in Mokum Keizersgracht 346 020/625 1390, www.gildeamsterdam.nl. Guided walking tours of the old centre and the Jordaan provided by long-time Amsterdam residents. Tours run four or five times weekly; €5 per person. Advance reservations required.

Reederij P. Kooij on the Rokin, beside the Queen Wilhelmina statue 020/623 3810, www.rederijkooij.nl. One way of avoiding the tour queues is to head for the first-rate Reederij P. Kooij, which offers a standard range of day and night cruises at competitive prices. Also has a (more crowded) jetty opposite Centraal Station on Stationsplein, and by Leidseplein.

Urban Home & Garden Tours020/688 1243, www.uhgt.nl. Three-hour tours (April–Oct) that explore a number of the city’s canal houses and gardens, guided by landscape gardeners and art historians. Tours are held Fri, Sat and Sun, and cost €28.50 (the fee includes refreshments). Cash only, no credit cards.

Yellow Bike Tours Nieuwezijds Kolk 29, off Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 020/620 6940, www.yellowbike.nl. Three-hour guided cycling tours around the city (two daily April to mid-Oct) that cost €21.50 per person, including the bike. Other tours – of the Jordaan, Red Light District, etc – available. Advance reservations required.

Travel essentials | Tourist information |

Netherlands Board of Tourism offices

UK PO Box 30783, London WC2B 6DH 020/7539 7950, info-uk@holland.com.

US 355 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10017 1-212-370-7360, information@holland.com. There are no offices in Australia or New Zealand.

Travel essentials | Tourist information |

Tourist offices and government sites

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfat.gov.au, www.smartraveller.gov.au.

British Foreign & Commonwealth Office www.fco.gov.uk.

Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca.

Irish Department of Foreign Affairs www.foreignaffairs.gov.ie.

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs www.mft.govt.nz.

South African Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfa.gov.za.

US State Department www.travel.state.gov.

Travel essentials |

Travellers with disabilities

Despite its general social progressiveness, the Netherlands is only just getting to grips with the requirements of people with mobility problems. In Amsterdam and most of the other major cities, the most obvious difficulty you’ll face is in negotiating the cobbled streets and narrow, often broken pavements of the older districts, where the key sights are often located. Similarly, provision for people with disabilities on public transport is only average, although improving – many new buses, for instance, are now wheelchair-accessible. And yet, while it can be difficult simply to get around, practically all public buildings, including museums, theatres, cinemas, concert halls and hotels, are obliged to provide access, and do.

Places that have been certified wheelchair-accessible now bear an International Accessibility Symbol (IAS). Bear in mind, however,