Where to celebrate New Year's Eve in Amsterdam?

Where to celebrate New Year in Amsterdam? The answer is quite simple: everywhere! New Year's eve is a big thing in Amsterdam with everywhere New Year's parties and everywhere fireworks on the streets. Please do be careful with the fireworks, as unfortunately due to ruthless usage, there's still many firework accidents every year. That said, Amsterdam is one of those places-to-be when wrapping up 2014 and kicking off 2015 in style!

When you want to see the biggest fireworks show in Amsterdam, it's best to join the National Countdown Show to 2015 at the Oosterdok, next to the Scheepvaartmuseum. The fireworks show will be aired live on TV, and is rumoured to be the biggest fireworks show ever in Amsterdam, so definitely worth a view.

Another nice location to countdown into 2015 is at the famous Skinny Bridge or Magere Brug, where you will have a great view on fireworks at the Amstel river (click for location).

When you want to take it to a higher level, you can also consider celebrating New Year's eve at one of Amsterdam's sky bars, such as the SkyLounge at the Hilton DoubleTree. As most likely you won't be the only one, it is in this case not possible to reserve a table; the SkyLounge event is open on a first come first serve basis so best to check out the venue early.

Wishing you a great 2015 and a lot of fun whereever your New Year's party is!

More information on the Oosterdok New Year's fireworks and location.

More information on the event at Skylounge New Year's party at Hilton DoubleTree.

Hit the ice like a Dutchie! Go ice-skating in Amsterdam

Did you know that the Dutch are the true masters of ice-skating? During the last Winter Olympics the Dutch won not less than 23 ice-skating medals in Sochi. It’s true that the geographical conditions make the Netherlands a suitable country for ice-skating: flat and a lot of water. Next to that, Holland has great indoor and outdoor ice rink facilities. And Amsterdam is no exception.

So why not try and hit the ice when spending your time in Amsterdam during the winter months? Probably the most beautiful and pittoresque ice-rink of Amsterdam, and maybe even Europe, is on the Museumplein, and is called Ice*Amsterdam. Here you can skate right next to the magnificent Rijksmuseum. No skates? No problem, you can just rent them at the Ice*Amsterdam Museumplein ice rink.

When you want a bit more space for ice-skating, the Jaap Eden baan in Amsterdam Watergraafsmeer is a good place to be. Next to an outdoor ice-rink, the Jaap Eden facility also has an indoor rink, a beginner’s corner and the possibility to follow ice-skating classes.

So when visiting Amsterdam during the winter months why not get those skates on and get active at one of Amsterdam’s ice rinks!

More information on ice-skating on the Museumplein can be found on the Ice*Amsterdam site. Location: Museumplein, Amsterdam

More information on ice-skating at the Jaap Eden baan can be found on the Jaap Eden baan website. Location: Radioweg 64, Amsterdam

Take a guided tour through Amsterdam's The Wallen Red Light District

As we already wrote about in an earlier post, visiting the Red Light District, also known as the Wallen area, is one of the must-do events when you are in Amsterdam. Of course, you can do this on your own, but did you know that there are actually organized Red Light District tours around the Wallen area?

For instance, with Rob van Hulst tours, who started his tour agency already more than 24 years ago and is known for his respectful approach while knowing the Wallen area in detail. Definitely worth considering when you want to really know more about Amsterdam’s Red Light district in a safe way.

More information about the Wallen tour, and other Amsterdam tours, can be found here.