4 tourist attractions in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is not only famous for its canals, red light district and museums. The city also has the "weirdest and most interesting" attractions recommended for visitors to visit to better understand the capital of the Netherlands.

Flower bicycle

Flower bicycles placed on the city's bridges

Strolling around the center of Amsterdam, seeing the colorful flower bicycles parked on the bridges over the canals is the first suggestion for tourists. The bicycles are decorated with fabric flowers and sequins, the work of Warren Gregory, an American who has lived in the capital for many years. The flower bicycles are famous thanks to their constant appearance on TikTok, Instagram and other social networks.

Gregory made his first flowered bicycles for his wife, Michelle, nearly 20 years ago. She suffered from short-term memory loss and often complained of losing her bicycle. In fact, Michelle hadn't lost her bicycle. She just couldn't find hers among the thousands of similar ones parked outside Amsterdam's Central Station. So Gregory decorated hers with flowers to make it easier for her to spot. "I'm just a man who loves his wife and found a way to help her," Gregory says.

Gregory has now created a new Dutch landmark – the flower bicycles. There are nearly 500 flower bicycles, about 100 of them scattered around Amsterdam. The rest are in other cities and towns.

Gregory, nicknamed “the man of the flower bicycles,” said he was grateful for the “love and warmth” people had shown him. Gregory now takes private commissions to decorate bicycles with flowers for cafes, small businesses, and museums. In June 2023, he created a yellow bicycle covered in fabric sunflowers to mark the 50th anniversary of the Van Gogh Museum.

Painting by Fabrice Hünd

A work by Fabrice Hünd in Amsterdam

Love was also the driving force behind the late Dutch visual artist Fabrice Hünd (1961-2021) when he created large, intricate artworks for Amsterdam's public spaces.

Alain-Celest de Buck, co-founder of art studio Depart From, said Fabrice's work is largely about pure love and how people connect with each other.

Buck’s studio has developed Tour de Fabrice, a free online guide in Dutch, with the support of the city government to help people who want to see the late artist’s works in the city. The tour includes six large mosaics, three large paintings, and one traditional work. The tour is “very popular with visitors,” according to Buck.

One of Hünd's most visible works is titled The Compass – a giant mosaic in Marie Heinekenplein, a five-minute walk from the Albert Cuyp market.

Gable stone

Gable stone from the late 17th or early 18th century at a building in central Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s gable stones (or gevelsteen) are sought after by many visitors as they explore the city. Gable stones are natural stone panels, carved and painted, and placed on the wall of a high-rise building. Before the 19th century, when the city had no house numbering system, these stones were used to find a house address.

Each plaque depicts an object or scene related to the homeowner’s name or business or reflects the homeowner’s religious or political views. The biblical Noah’s Ark is the most commonly engraved theme on these tablets. These tablets are essential when a homeowner wants to register the purchase or sale of a home.

There are around 1,000 gable stones still standing in the Dutch capital, nearly 700 of which are located in public places.

Mini library

Two mini libraries in Amsterdam

Mini libraries, commonly found in residential areas in Amsterdam, are small wooden or metal boxes located in public areas of the city that contain books. People can take them home for free and return them after reading.

Amsterdam resident Enkiri Bloem said the mini libraries were a “lovely city initiative” and a good way to reuse old books. There are currently around 800 mini libraries.

The bookcases are mostly handmade, others are from the famous Ikea brand. They are often recognized by their bright colors, odd shapes or sometimes just plain.

In the trendy Noord neighborhood, a small boat has been converted into a mini library. In the western Jordaan neighborhood, an old telephone booth is the library.

People are also very interested and concerned about these small libraries. They invest effort to decorate to make the neighborhood more friendly with beautiful wooden book boxes.

University (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/4-bieu-tuong-hut-khach-o-amsterdam-381949.html