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Amsterdam is one of the great cities of the world. It certainly belongs in Europe's top-10. You'll find it endlessly fascinating., just walking around in the little streets, the canals, the bridges, thousands of shops, dozens of museums.
This is the big city of the Netherlands, of course, number one in the country -- the economic center, population center and cultural center of the Netherlands.
Amsterdam today is certainly one of the most popular cities in the world. They get something like 5 million overnight tourists every year plus another 16 million day-trippers who come in, say on a bus tour for a day, which is very unfortunate to only stay here for one day. You should spend at least three days, maybe four, five, even six days. You could spend a week in Amsterdam.
While the museums and historic landmarks and traditional architecture are among the great sites of Amsterdam, you'll also enjoy walking along those quaint streets and admiring the magnificent canals, then sit back and relax at a sidewalk café.
There are thousands of things to see in Amsterdam. In this episode we're focusing on how delightful the very center of town is, all around the Dam Square and nearby neighborhoods, including the West Church, where we take you up inside the belltower for a carillon concert.
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We'll even show you a bit of an evening horse carriage parade.
Many visitors first arrive here at the train station, and then walking out front, one of the first things you'll see is the boat harbor, called the Damrak. It's a marina for the canal boat tours, with buildings seemingly floating on their reflections.
We will be looking at the central part of town just around the neighborhood surrounding the Dam Square.
The Royal Palace was originally built as Europe's largest Town Hall in the mid-17th century. For a while it became the royal residence, now it's a historic monument open to the public. This Kingdom of the Netherlands still has a royal family, but the monarchs never played much of a role in running the country. Instead, it was controlled by the merchants.
The plaza is always like a three-ring circus with lots of street performers doing all kinds of tricks for you.
Another way you can do your sightseeing is in a horse-carriage ride around town.
Across the street, another building looking like a church is actually now a shopping mall. Originally it was the main post office in Amsterdam.
The central hall of the interior has galleries on two upper floors surrounded by arcades. This magnificent building was constructed at the end of the 19th century in the neo-Gothic style similar to that of the main train station and the Rijksmuseum, but something unique and very special in itself.
It was built as the main post office over 100 years ago, but in the 1990s it was converted into this luxurious shopping mall.
Then it was added to the list of 10 Most Valuable Monuments of the city of Amsterdam.
One block behind it brings you to the Singel canal and a most unusual bridge. Torensluis, one of the oldest and widest in town, 42 meters wide.
So large, it provides a terrace for an outdoor café and has rooms underneath it that are remnants of a former prison and the old city wall. In recent years, those rooms were open to the public as a jazz club and art exhibit area, and there used to be a tower on top in the 17th century.
Now we are walking a few blocks west along this charming side street, with some cafés – you can get a falafel – and shops like jewelry and gifts, and there's an up-to-date modern computer store.
Sitting at a sidewalk restaurant alongside the canal is another perfect way to enjoy these sights and have a relaxing time. There are more than a thousand restaurants in town, and many of them have these lovely outdoor tables – it's a beautiful atmosphere. And this was filmed during the month of October when the weather was still quite mild.
This is one of four main canals that form a concentric belt around the city. Because of their significant history and good preservation, this canal ring area is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nearby is the Anne Frank house and Westerkerk, the world's largest Protestant church when built in the early 17th century.
The church was built in the 1620s in the Renaissance style, with the town's highest church tower at 87 meters.
Some years ago I walked up inside the tower on a regular tour and was lucky enough to come upon a carillon concert.
There are 42 bells inside the tower, played in that old-fashioned way with mechanical keys and pulleys.
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That brings us back to the Dam, where we're going to enjoy a horse-carriage parade. It's a special event for ambassadors to the Netherlands, a unique celebration you will likely not see in person, so here it is for your enjoyment as we wind down the program.

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