Amsterdam tours

Amsterdam is one of the can't-miss-it cities of Europe. Long the capital of Holland, it dates back only to the 1200s - young by European standards! - but has all the sites and charms of any of the great European capitals, both old and new.

Amsterdam tours tend to highlight the city's many bridges and canals, and with good reason. There are more canals and bridges in Amsterdam than there are in Venice, and a walking or biking tour will get you to places that are impossible to see from a bus or car. Many Americans and Brits aren't used to being on foot too much, but it's worth it to see this city.

Personally I think that's the best part of going on a city tour, especially in Europe. European cities were almost universally built before the automobile, and as such they tend to be most accessible to folks who are willing to get out and use the original mode of transportation, i.e. your feet. This is how you end up getting to the small shops, restaurants and theaters that are the hidden gems each of these cities seem to boast. Amsterdam tours are no different in that regard.

Of course there are more than bridges and canals to see. One of the most famous sites in Amsterdam is, of course, the Anne Frank House. If you don't know the story, let me explain: Anne Frank was a Dutch Jewish girl who lived during the time of the Nazi occupation of Holland. She and her entire family were in danger of being found and sent to a concentration camp, so they went into hiding along with four other people in the attic of an office building. The people who worked in the building - none of them Jews themselves - kept the refugees a secret for two years until they were all betrayed by a still unknown culprit (though most believe it was the building's janitor who did the deed). Frank and her family died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, like so many others during the war.

She became famous only after her death when her diary, which had been preserved, was collected and published. Her strength of will and belief in the genuine decency of humanity, even in the face of the ultimate inhumanity of Nazism, have made her a symbol of perseverence in the face of death. The heroism of those who risked their own lives by hiding the Franks and their compatriots are still a source of Dutch pride, and as such most Amsterdam tours will conclude with a stop at the Anne Frank house.