A court in The Hague has upheld the introduction by the Dutch government of an environmental tax on airline tickets. The move had been opposed by Schiphol and Maastricht airports as well as budget carriers Ryanair and the Dutch travel bureau...

The historic Royal Theatre Carré in central Amsterdam has been rescued from bankruptcy by a €4.3 million financial package from the Amsterdam city council. Founded as a circus venue by the Carré family in 1887, the building on the Amstel has...

As of 1 Jan 2007 people representing a total of 177 different nationalities are residing in the Dutch capital according to Amsterdam city council, making it once again the most multi-cultural city in the world. Antwerp comes in second with 164...

Taxis in Amsterdam have been obliged to install new-style meters operating a new tariff system under new nationwide regulations that came into force on 1 February. Now passengers can expect to pay a flag-fall charge of €7.50 maximum (including the first...

The Democrats Global Primary, the first time in American history for a political primary to be held abroad, will take place on “Super Tuesday” 5 February. Voters in the primary will be able to cast their ballots by internet, post or...

The secret code used in the public transport smart card (OV-chipkaart) due to replace strip tickets next year in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands has been cracked by two German computer hackers. The announcement, made by the hackers at the 24th...

The Dutch capital has emerged as the world’s most bicycle-friendly city following a survey by Virgin “Wired” based on criteria provided by the American League of Bicyclists. Making up 40 per cent of all Amsterdam traffic, cyclists in the city benefit...

Waternet, Amsterdam’s municipal water provider, have scored 8.4 out of a possible 10 points in the Netherlands’ tri-annual water benchmark research, confirming the capital’s water quality as the best in the country. Most of Amsterdam’s water comes from the river Rhine,...

The Stayokay youth hostel chain, which runs 30 hostels in the Netherlands, has opened its third Amsterdam hostel in a quiet neighbourhood to the east of the city centre. To celebrate the opening, the Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg hostel at 21 Timorplein...

The Dutch capital’s characteristic hash cafés have finally had to comply with central government legislation banning the sale of alcohol in coffee shops. Until now the flouting of the no-alcohol law by Amsterdam’s 44 hash cafés had been widely tolerated. However,...