Ways to be a Local

• Go Dutch. Almost everyone speaks English, but an occasional Alstublieft (please) and Dank u wel (thank you) can go a long way.
• Don't walk in bicycle lanes. And don't complain if a cyclist thumps you because you did.
• Don't be seen dead on a waterbike - by all means be seen alive on one, though, for a great experience that many locals pass up.
• Take flowers (tulips are OK) if someone invites you to their home for dinner.
• Head for a café terrace at the first hint of sunshine.
• Eat raw herring at a street stall.
• Wear something orange on Koninginnedag, Queen Beatrix's official birthday (30 April).
• Don't criticise Holland, the Dutch way of doing things or the Queen; it's OK to make jibes about provincials and other members of the royal family.
• Get the time right. If you have an appointment at 30 minutes past the hour, half ten say, make sure it's not half tien, which means 9:30, not 10:30.
• Absorb the atmosphere in a `coffee shop'. Few Amsterdammers actually do smoke joints in these, in fact, though they can if they want to.

Top Places to Have Lunch

• Café Américain
• Café Roux
• De Jaren
• Excelsior (Expensive) Address: Hôtel de l'Europe, Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-8 Phone: 531 1777. Formal elegance and top-flight continental cuisine.
• 't Klein Kalfje
• Kort
• Luxembourg
• Pancake Bakery (Inexpensive) Address: Prinsengracht 191 Phone: 625 1333. Traditional and wildly inventive pancakes.
• Royal Café De Kroon
• Vertigo

Top Activities

• Pass an hour in the `company' of Anne Frank, in the secret refuge where she wrote her famous diary.
• Visit Zandvoort on Sunday, whatever the weather, and walk up and down along the beach.
• Hire a bicycle and dice with the trams at Leidseplein.
• Spend an evening in a traditional Amsterdam brown café.
• Take a tour by canal boat; it's the best way to get a quick overview of the city.
• Hear the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Concertgebouw.
• Applaud Amsterdam's ace football team Ajax at Amsterdam ArenA.
• Spend a few hours at the Albert Cuypmarkt and Waterlooplein flea market, or wander around one of the other markets listed.
• Eat your way through the 10-20 little dishes of a rijsttafel, an Indonesian speciality.
• Beg, borrow, steal, or even buy ice-skates if the canals freeze.

Best Views From

• Herengracht bridge at Thorbeckeplein.
• IJ Ferry.
• Magere Brug.
• Westerkerk tower.
• Zuiderkerk tower.

Best Brown Cafés

• P114
• De Druif
• De Engelbewaarder
• Hoppe
• De Karpershoek
• 't Loosje
• Papeneiland
• De Reiger
• Reijnders
• 't Smalle
• Tabac