General Information:Capital City- AmsterdamArea- 5,488 square kilometresLanguages- Dutch LanguageCurrency- EuroDemonym- Hollander Religion-Christian Catholic and Protestant ChristianThe most important sports are: cycling, football, hockey, volleyball,

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As the name suggests, the territory of the country is formed by low (Neder) lands (land) of which approximately one third are located at sea level or below it.

The Netherlands is located in Northwestern Europe and limited to the north and west by the North Sea, Belgium to the south and east by Germany.

Often get confused Netherlands with Benelux the union formed by Belgium Netherlands and Luxembourg

Coat of armsFlag

Amsterdam:Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands is

one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Walking through the streets, along canals, trees and bicycle, is really important for your visit. You must visit:

• 1.-  Anne Frank House. The Anne Frank House is the house-museum where the events described by Anne Frank in her famous diary occurred

• 2.- Van Gogh Museum. Here is the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world. Highlights include "Sunflowers", "Self Portrait", "The Room" and "The Potato Eaters"

• 3.- Rijksmuseum. The National Museum of Amsterdam is one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands. Stresses the collection of paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.

• 4.- Heineken Experience. Multimedia museum with lots of interactive activities and beer tasting. Ideal for lovers of this famous beer.

• 5.- Canal cruise / bike ride. These are the two most authentic ways to get around town. The traveler will have different prices for each transport.

• 6.- Dam Square is the most emblematic square of the city. It contains the National Monument (obelisk-shaped), the Royal Palace and Madame Tussauds (Wax Museum).

• 7.- Amsterdam Arena. The mythical stadium of AFC Ajax receives thousands of visitors each year. Here we have played major European finals, Euro games, etc.. The guided tours last one hour and a half, including the stadium and museum. Interesting for sports fans.

• 8.- Coffee Shops. Another major claims of Amsterdam are these places where you can smoke freely marijuana and hashish. These establishments are legal and have certain restrictions (not usually sell alcohol, except wine and beer, and the amount per person is limited by law to 5 grams per day per person). There are many in the most central areas.

Celebrities :

Mark van Bommel

Vicent Van Gogh

Queen Beatrix

Mata Hari

Johan Cruyff

Anne Frank

Mark Rutte

Other destinations except Amsterdam:

Rotterdam

The Hague

Utrech

Eindhoven

Tilburg

Almere

Groningen

Breda

Nijmegen

CuriositiesSinterklas is celebrated every 5th December in the Netherlands. It is a character who brings presents for children this day. This tradition says that he comes from Spain in a ship with a white horse and a black assistant to help him.

Dutch people are the tallest in Europe.

The highest mountain is over 323 metres high.

In every house you will find a bouquet of flowers.

Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family and nowadays it is a symbol in the country

NatureThe Netherlands has got lots of nature reserves and over 20 national parks

including woods, dunes and other natural habitats, lots of flowers lands. In the North, you can find massive lakes, in the south there are green forests.

Culture

Gastronomy:

• The “kaastmarkt” (cheese market) There are five cheese markets operating in the Netherlands. Woerden, Alkmaar, Gouda, Edam and Hoorn, are like traditional cheese markets, where you can buy the most famous cheeses. Dutch cheese farmers brought their traditional cheeses to the market square to sell them. Squares are surrounded this day by stalls selling all items of the Dutch culture and many tourists go there to see this Dutch gastronomy show.

• The Beschuit met muisjes: the muisjes are sprinkled on the top of a baked bread spread with butter. They usually eat them to celebrate the birth of a baby but they also eat them just for breakfast.

Clothes:

A clog is a type of resistent footwear made by wood. This is the reason why in the past they were used to work in factories and farms.

Music

The Netherlands has multiple musical customes. Contemporary popular music is called Nederpop which is influenced by music styles in the 1950s. More traditional Dutch music is a genre known as "Levenslied" which means Song about life. They are easy melodies built up on refrains. The traditional instruments are the accordion or barrel organ.

Windmills

Netherlands is so windy, so they have used it for hundreds of years. The main use is to reduce a coarse substance into small grains, by crushing or pressing.They have even their own language. For example, when a baby is born, the man in the windmill put ornaments hanging on its arms.