Amsterdam is a compact, instantly likeable city. It’s appealing to look at and pleasing to walk around, a fascinating mix of the parochial and the international; it also has a welcoming attitude towards visitors and a uniquely youthful direction, shaped by the liberal counterculture of the last four decades. It attracts people to the buzz of open-air summer events, by the cheery intimacy of the city’s clubs and bars, and by the Dutch facility with languages. People in Amsterdam are able to speak good-to-fluent English, on top of their own native tongue, and often more than a smattering of French and German too.

The obvious contradiction of thoughts as well as behavior embodies much of the spirit of Amsterdam. The city is world famous as a place where the possession and sale of cannabis are effectively legal and yet, for the most part, people of Amsterdam themselves can’t really be bothered with the stuff. And while Amsterdam is renowned for its tolerance towards all styles of behavior and dress, a more correct-thinking big city, with a more proper dress sense, would be hard to find. Behind the cozy cafes and dreamy canals lurks the suspicion that people of Amsterdam hearts lie squarely in their wallets, and while newcomers might see the city as a liberal haven, locals are not bothered by these things.

Nonetheless, Amsterdam has not changed and still remains a casual and intimate place, and people of Amsterdam themselves make much of their city and its attractions being gezellig, which is used frequently by Dutch people roughly corresponding to a combination of “cozy", “lived-in" and “warmly welcoming". This feature is most apparent in the city’s unparalleled selection of drinking places, whether one selects a traditional brown bar or one of a raft of newer, designer cafes, or grand cafes. The city possesses dozens of great restaurants too, with its Indonesian cuisine second-to-none, and is at the forefront of contemporary European film, dance, drama and music. The city has several top-rank jazz venues and the Concertgebouw concert hall is home to one of the world’s leading orchestras. The club scene is restrained by the standard of other main cities, although the city’s many gay bars and clubs partly justify Amsterdam’s claim to be the “Gay Capital of Europe".

Confined by the circuitous sweep of the Singelgracht canal, Amsterdam’s compact centre contains most of the city's leading attractions and only takes about forty minutes to stroll from one end to the other. The Old Centre remains Amsterdam’s commercial heart, with the best of its bustling street life. It also holds myriad shops, bars and restaurants, includes the Red Light District, just to the east of Damrak, and contains dozens of fine old buildings, most memorably the Oude Kerk, the Amstelkring and the Koninklijk Paleis.

The Old Centre is bordered by the first of the major canals, the Singel, which is followed closely by the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht - collectively known as the Grachtengordel, or “Girdle of Canals". These canals were part of a major seventeenth-century urban extension and, with the interconnecting radial streets, form the city’s distinctive web shape. This is Amsterdam’s most delightful area having handsome seventeenth-and-eighteenth-century canal houses, with their distinctive gables, overlooking narrow, dreamy canals: a familiar image perhaps, but one that is still entirely authentic.