Lonely Planet Amsterdam (Paperback)

by Andrew Bender (Author) "Spokes. It's hard to imagine Amsterdam without them..." (more)
Key Phrases: southern canal belt, western canal belt, sea dyke, Centraal Station, Top Five, Medieval Centre (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Best for curious and independent-minded travelers" -- Wall Street Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
The world's biggest flower auction is held daily near Amsterdam in a complex the size of 100 football pitches. Amsterdam has this and much more to offer the tourist, as the authors show in this guide to the city.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 4th Revised edition (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1741040027
• ISBN-13: 978-1741040029
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #962,957 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good list of cheap eateries, May 15, 2004

By A Customer

The value in "Lonely Planet Amsterdam" is in the thumbnail sketches of cafes and reasonably-priced restaurants. The descriptions of the establishments that I am familiar with were right on the money. They are grouped by neighborhood and have basic information, such as opening hours. I was disappointed that Indonesian restaurants were short-changed, because they "aren't authentically Asian." True, but an Indonesian rijstafel shared between half a dozen or more people is not too expensive and is an authentically Dutch form of entertainment. The biggest problem with the book is that it doesn't open flat. You need both hands to force it open wide enough to read comfortably and then it's hard to flip through the pages. And you will do a lot of flipping, because there's no good index to help you find things.

There are about half a dozen pages of photographs of the Amsterdam area, unnaturally sunny and uncrowded. Amsterdam is one of Europe's most interesting and picturesque cities, but nobody goes there for the weather, and the crowds of pedestrians and bicycles are part of the charm. The description of Dutch culture was spot on. Amsterdammers in particular are very broad-minded-one of the reasons that Amsterdam is a favorite vacation spot for gays and lesbians--but they're not part of the have-a-nice-day crowd. Expect them to be polite and helpful, rather than effusive.

I have half a dozen guides to Amsterdam and find that no one of them covers all aspects of a visit. "Lonely Planet Amsterdam" is most useful as a way of finding somewhere quick to eat when you're out sight-seeing.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable and Informative Travel Guide, August 15, 2006

By	Sylvia Bagley "sylstral" (Santa Monica, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lonely Planet Amsterdam (Paperback)

Over the past two years, I've purchased and used five Lonely Planet guides, and this one ranks among the top. Andrew Bender provides humorous yet accurate information on the culture and norms of Amsterdam as well as key surrounding areas (Den Haag, Haarlem, etc.) Day after day during our week-long trip, we turned to his guide for advice and weren't disappointed. Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Resource, March 12, 2007

By	San Andreas Fault (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lonely Planet Amsterdam (Paperback)

Recently I have had the lucky opportunity to go to Amsterdam several times. This book has been invaluable. While you need to double check the operating times for some sites ( you do with any book as there is a lag time between publishing and the gathering of info) the descriptions of places are engaging, accurate and most importantly informs me well as to where I should spend my time. Bender is very good at his restaurant descriptions and his take on all things cultural and historic. A real blessing. I have looked - and bought several others but this is the only one I carry around while I am in Amsterdam.