Amsterdam

Amsterdam began in the thirteenth century as a fishing village by a dam on the Amstel river, which gave it its name. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch Golden Age, it became the richest city in the world: the Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, traded across Asia, and the city built its famous concentric canal ring, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Painters like Rembrandt and Vermeer flourished, and the city welcomed refugees, from Sephardic Jews to French Huguenots, earning a reputation for tolerance. The wealth also rested on colonial exploitation and the slave trade, which the city now openly acknowledges. During the Nazi occupation, most of the city's Jewish population was deported, among them Anne Frank, whose hiding place is now a museum.

Amsterdammers are direct, practical and famously relaxed. There are more bicycles than residents, so watch out for bike lanes, which belong to cyclists. Social life revolves around gezelligheid, a cosy feeling of togetherness, best found in candlelit brown cafés over a beer and bitterballen. King's Day on 27 April turns the city orange, with street markets and parties on boats. Try fresh herring with onions, warm stroopwafels and Indonesian rijsttafel, a legacy of colonial history.