Charming Canals

• Attractive old homes lining the city's five main canals

• Canal tours, canal buses, canal taxis, and canal bikes

Museums & Monuments

• The Rijksmuseum, the Vincent van Gogh Museum, the Amsterdam Historisch Museum, and the Tropenmuseum.

• Homomonument-in memory of those gays and lesbians killed during  World War II

• The Dockworkrker-a moving memorial to the february Strike againest the deportation of Jews in World War II

The Classic Netherlands

• Windmills, tulips, and people in wooden shoes within an hour or so of Amsterdam

Delicious Patates Frites (French Fries)

• Better than the much-acclaimed Brussel fries (if you you're visiting both cities, you can make your own taste comparison)

After-Dark Entertainment

• Concertgebouw, the center of Amsterdam's classical music scene, a concert hall with one of the world's best acoustics and performances almost every night.

• Melkweg and Paradisco-still going strong after all these years.

• Lectures, classes, food, galleries, film presentations, and live concerts.