Since I am living in the Netherlands for multiple years, I thought it would be time for some fun facts about Amsterdam. In case you are visiting any time soon or even consider moving here, check out my Amsterdam City Guide and Expat Guide about Moving Abroad to The Netherlands.
Bikes in Amsterdam
It is true that there are more bikes in Amsterdam than inhabitants. There are roughly 900,000 bikes. This is much more compared to 800,000 (a bit more) people, who live in Amsterdam.
Coffeeshops in Amsterdam
Since 2014, there are around 185 Coffeeshops in Amsterdam, stretched out over the whole city.
Amsterdam’s Canals
Did you know that there are around 165 canals in Amsterdam, which are almost as many as in Venice with 177 canals?
Amsterdam’s Bridges
Sources vary in regard to the number of bridges in Amsterdam. There are between 1200-1700 bridges in Amsterdam, while in Venice there are only 409, connecting those 177 canals.
Nationalities
Amsterdam is home to lots of different nationalities, over 180 to be exact. That is incredible for such a “small” city. Therefore you can find lots of different spoken languages, easily to connect with others and find your way around the city without problem.
Houseboats
One main attraction of Amsterdam is their houseboats. More than 3000 houseboats are home in Amsterdam and stretch out over their canals.
Amsterdam’s Nicknames
ADAM or DAM is short for Amsterdam. The city has lots of nicknames, for example “Venice of the North” because of the number of its canals.
Another known nickname is “Jerusalem of the North” because of its previous high population of Jewish people.
Schiphol Airport
Amsterdam’s airport Schiphol is 4m below sea level. In case this rises, there might be no airport anymore but a port instead.
Black Houses
Did you know that the black houses are in honor of the people, who previously lived there and got infected during the plague? And not because the current owners like that color.
Architecture & Houses
Have you noticed that many houses are built inclined? That’s because in former times those houses used to be warehouses where goods were stored and pulled up.
In order to leave no damage to the buildings on the way up, houses were built slightly inclined.
I hope you enjoyed this short and educative post. You might be interested in reading about fun facts about Barcelona as well.
Going to Visit Amsterdam next week as I don’t know much about it so I was looking for a blog to know the facts about this city thanks for this information.
You are welcome 🙂 I hope you enjoyed them and learned some things! Enjoy Amsterdam, this beautiful city.