Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
useful. Trams #2
(Nieuw Sloten)
and #5
(A'veen Binnenhof)
travel
the north-south axis from Central Station to Dam Square to
Leidseplein to Museumplein (Van Gogh and Rijks museums).
Tram #1 (marked
Osdorp
) also runs to Leidseplein. At Central
Station, these three trams depart from the west side of the
Stationsplein (with the station behind you, the shelters for these
lines are in front of a row of shops).
Tram #14—which doesn't connect to Central Station—goes
east-west (Westerkerk-Dam Square-Muntplein-Waterlooplein-
Plantage). If you get lost in Amsterdam, 10 of the city's 17 trams
take you back to Central Station. Note that you may have to press
a button to open the door to get off.
Metro:
The metro (underground train) is used mostly for
commuting to the suburbs, but it does connect Central Station
with some sights east of Damrak (Nieuwmarkt-Waterlooplein-
Weesperplein).
By Bike
Everyone—bank managers, students, pizza delivery boys, and
police—uses this mode of transport. It's
the
smart way to travel
in a city where 40 percent of all traffic
rolls on two wheels. You'll get around
town by bike faster than you can by
taxi. On my last visit, I rented a bike
for five days, chained it up outside my
hotel at night, and enjoyed wonderful
mobility. I highly encourage this for
anyone who wants to get maximum
fun per hour in Amsterdam. One-
speed bikes, with
“ brrringing”
bells,
rent for about €10 per day (cheaper for longer periods) at any
number of places—hotels can send you to the nearest spot.
Rental Shops:
MacBike,
with
900 bikes and counting, is the
bike-rental powerhouse. It has a huge and efficient outlet at Central
Station (€7/3 hrs, €9.50/24 hrs, €14/48 hrs, €19/72 hrs, more for 3
gears, 25 percent discount with
I amsterdam
Card, €50 deposit plus
passport or credit-card imprint, no helmets, daily 9:00-17:45; at
east end of station—on the left as you're leaving, by the buses; tel.
020/624-8391, www.macbike.nl). They have two smaller, satel-
lite stations at Leidseplein (Weteringschans 2, tel. 020/528-7688)
and Waterlooplein (Mr. Visserplein 2, tel. 020/620-0985). Return
your bike to the station where you rented it. MacBike sells several
pamphlets outlining bike tours in and around Amsterdam for €1.
Frederic Rent-a-Bike,
near
Central Station, has quality bikes
and a helpful staff (€10/24 hrs, €16/48 hrs, €40/week, 10 percent
discount on multi-day rental with this topic, daily 9:00-17:30,
