It's OK - the city of Utrecht is better; same architecture and stuff but not so cheap.
Here's what some Americans who came to live in Holland think of both cities:
Utrecht
Utrecht is, in many respects, our favorite Dutch city. "What?" -- you may ask -- "not Amsterdam?!" Well, Utrecht has many of the things going for it that Amsterdam has, but with a small fraction of the tourist element. It is also a far older town, with the first permanent settlement established by the Roman Army. It was, after Christianization, made a bishopric, and soon became the center of the Christian millieu in the Netherlands. Its massive cathedral survived the Protestant "reformers" of the 17th century (albeit stripped and damaged), but a hurricane in 1674 blew half the building down. Now, the remains of the still very large, but rather spartan cathedral stand across a square from the Dom -- its 400-foot tall bell tower. Today, one can climb to the top of the tower with a tour group and see the amazing mechanical carillion, not to mention a dizzying view of the surrounding country.
Utrecht's old town center is wonderfully labyrinthine, with very irregularly-shaped streets and buildings. The canals that wind through the area are perhaps 20 feet below street-level, but have wide brick promenades along both sides. Workshops, galleries and cafes are built into the walls of the canal, under the street, and are very popular with locals for evening meetings with friends.
The middle of Amsterdam feels like it is devoid of any real Dutch people, crowded out by tourists and those who cater to them. Not so, Utrecht. You seldom hear anything other than Dutch spoken here. The "hipness" level is high here, with a surprising number of creative and original people. It also has what must be the best thrift store in the nation: de Arm. Taking up three old, adjacent buildings, it has tons (literally!) of great Danish Modern furniture and the like, for very low prices.
The Catharina Convent is one of the finest museums of Christian artifacts in Europe. Dozens of renaissance monstrances, mediaeval chalices and vestments, hundreds of paintings, books of hours and other items. Beside the quantity, the quality is equally impressive. The buildings that comprise the convent are huge and historic, and are interesting enough in their own right to warrant a visit.
Different but equally interesting is the Centraal Museum, a few blocks away. It has collection of Dutch art that spans the history of the nation, and includes many unusual native artists. It also has (surprisingly, for their value) a couple of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, just hanging on a divider with some rather mundane Barbizon landscapes. In the basement is a huge, Viking-era ship that was discovered submerged in the mud of the river Vecht. It has been painstakingly preserved and is a fascinating glimpse into the state of the art in transportation, a millennium ago.
Across the street is the main collection of designs by the great Gerrit Rietveld. His office furnishings, most of his surviving furniture prototypes and models of his building projects are nicely displayed. They even have reproductions of most of his chairs, for testing by visitors. Yes, some of them are rather uncomfortable.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the city that most often comes to mind when visitors think of the Netherlands, much the way that London or Paris seemingly encapsulate the urban experience of Britain and France. While there are many interesting cities other than Amsterdam in the Netherlands, it is indeed the capitol city -- sort of New York and San Francisco rolled into one. Its origins are relatively recent, having been begun merely 700 years ago as a muddy patch of land on the bank of the Amstel River. Nevertheless, it grew to become one of the two or three most important cities in Europe during the renaissance, and its importance has never really waned.
Amsterdam is unusually beautiful for a modern, Renaissance city, due to the well-planned canals, the grand homes that line their sides and the fact that modern building have (for the most part) respected the scale of the historic buildings. Thankfully, it has never been bombed! The range of cultural and pleasurable activities is unparalleled in any European city of its size.
There is a downside. Due to its beauty, its relative accessibility and the tolerance of the Dutch for visitors, the number of tourists in Amsterdam can be overwhelming. Not only are there tens of thousands of them there during the warmer months, they are everywhere, clogging the Kalverstraat and the Spui, lined up in front of the Anne Frank House, taking boat tours on the canals. This glut of tourists has in turn built a thriving industry of panhandlers, pickpockets and con men.
There are many good things to see and do in Amsterdam, but to fully appreciate it, it is best to visit during April or October when tourists are scarce and the natives have let down their guard.
Click here for the original website!
Here's what some Americans who came to live in Holland think of both cities:
Utrecht
Utrecht is, in many respects, our favorite Dutch city. "What?" -- you may ask -- "not Amsterdam?!" Well, Utrecht has many of the things going for it that Amsterdam has, but with a small fraction of the tourist element. It is also a far older town, with the first permanent settlement established by the Roman Army. It was, after Christianization, made a bishopric, and soon became the center of the Christian millieu in the Netherlands. Its massive cathedral survived the Protestant "reformers" of the 17th century (albeit stripped and damaged), but a hurricane in 1674 blew half the building down. Now, the remains of the still very large, but rather spartan cathedral stand across a square from the Dom -- its 400-foot tall bell tower. Today, one can climb to the top of the tower with a tour group and see the amazing mechanical carillion, not to mention a dizzying view of the surrounding country.
Utrecht's old town center is wonderfully labyrinthine, with very irregularly-shaped streets and buildings. The canals that wind through the area are perhaps 20 feet below street-level, but have wide brick promenades along both sides. Workshops, galleries and cafes are built into the walls of the canal, under the street, and are very popular with locals for evening meetings with friends.
The middle of Amsterdam feels like it is devoid of any real Dutch people, crowded out by tourists and those who cater to them. Not so, Utrecht. You seldom hear anything other than Dutch spoken here. The "hipness" level is high here, with a surprising number of creative and original people. It also has what must be the best thrift store in the nation: de Arm. Taking up three old, adjacent buildings, it has tons (literally!) of great Danish Modern furniture and the like, for very low prices.
The Catharina Convent is one of the finest museums of Christian artifacts in Europe. Dozens of renaissance monstrances, mediaeval chalices and vestments, hundreds of paintings, books of hours and other items. Beside the quantity, the quality is equally impressive. The buildings that comprise the convent are huge and historic, and are interesting enough in their own right to warrant a visit.
Different but equally interesting is the Centraal Museum, a few blocks away. It has collection of Dutch art that spans the history of the nation, and includes many unusual native artists. It also has (surprisingly, for their value) a couple of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, just hanging on a divider with some rather mundane Barbizon landscapes. In the basement is a huge, Viking-era ship that was discovered submerged in the mud of the river Vecht. It has been painstakingly preserved and is a fascinating glimpse into the state of the art in transportation, a millennium ago.
Across the street is the main collection of designs by the great Gerrit Rietveld. His office furnishings, most of his surviving furniture prototypes and models of his building projects are nicely displayed. They even have reproductions of most of his chairs, for testing by visitors. Yes, some of them are rather uncomfortable.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the city that most often comes to mind when visitors think of the Netherlands, much the way that London or Paris seemingly encapsulate the urban experience of Britain and France. While there are many interesting cities other than Amsterdam in the Netherlands, it is indeed the capitol city -- sort of New York and San Francisco rolled into one. Its origins are relatively recent, having been begun merely 700 years ago as a muddy patch of land on the bank of the Amstel River. Nevertheless, it grew to become one of the two or three most important cities in Europe during the renaissance, and its importance has never really waned.
Amsterdam is unusually beautiful for a modern, Renaissance city, due to the well-planned canals, the grand homes that line their sides and the fact that modern building have (for the most part) respected the scale of the historic buildings. Thankfully, it has never been bombed! The range of cultural and pleasurable activities is unparalleled in any European city of its size.
There is a downside. Due to its beauty, its relative accessibility and the tolerance of the Dutch for visitors, the number of tourists in Amsterdam can be overwhelming. Not only are there tens of thousands of them there during the warmer months, they are everywhere, clogging the Kalverstraat and the Spui, lined up in front of the Anne Frank House, taking boat tours on the canals. This glut of tourists has in turn built a thriving industry of panhandlers, pickpockets and con men.
There are many good things to see and do in Amsterdam, but to fully appreciate it, it is best to visit during April or October when tourists are scarce and the natives have let down their guard.
Click here for the original website!
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