ESWeek 2015

Travel to Amsterdam

Amsterdam's airport Schiphol is the 4th-largest air traffic hub in Europe. So, flying into Amsterdam should be easy wherever you are. Schiphol airport has a railway station right underneath the terminal building. Trains to Amsterdam Centraal depart every few minutes and take 15-20 minutes for less than 5 EUR. Taking a taxi is usually not a good idea: taxis are very expensive and much slower than trains. Taking a taxi from Amsterdam Centraal station to your hotel may be an option, still expensive compared with other countries though.

High speed rail services connect Amsterdam to Brussels (1h50), Paris (3h15), Cologne (2h30) and Frankfurt (4h00). Direct trains from Hannover and Berlin, sleeper services from Copenhagen, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, Prague, Munich and Zurich or the overnight ferry from Newcastle can be further alternatives to air travel. See Thalys for connections from Belgium and France, Deutsche Bahn for connections from Germany and the rest of Europe or Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways) for domestic rail services.

Getting around in Amsterdam

With about 800,000 inhabitants, Amsterdam is by far the largest city of the Netherlands, but certainly one of the smaller capital cities in the world. Large parts of the historic center date back to the 17th and 18th century making Amsterdam an open-air museum inviting you to stroll alongside the famous canals. Unless you have mobility issues, almost any distance in the historic center of Amsterdam, which can easily be identified on a map as anything inside the outermost canal ring, may be considered walking distance.

Notwithstanding, a large number of tram lines as well as a few bus lines criss-cross central Amsterdam with Amsterdam Centraal being the main hub of exchange. Tickets are available from either the tram driver (enter at the front of the tram or bus) or better from the conductor (enter at the rear part of the tram). Single tickets are fairly expensive. If you plan to make more extensive use of public transport within Amsterdam, there are attractive 24/48/72-hour tickets available from vending machines at Amsterdam Centraal metro station or the GVB office opposite the main entrance of Amsterdam Centraal station. All tickets are interoperable between tram, metro and city buses. See local transport operator GVB for more details.