We all know Amsterdam as being the most famous city in Holland with its coffee shops, its houseboats, the Van Gogh Museum, Anna Frank's House, many cheap hostels to stay and many more things not be missed when you are visiting the city..
But we know, every city hides its secrets, and today we are going to unveil 6 strange facts that Amsterdamencloses among its canals. Are you curious to find out what they are?
1. The poles
The city of Amsterdam is supported by about eleven million poles, being a city built on water. Yes, you have well understood, 11 million wooden poles supporting all the buildings in the city. Think about each house laying on about 5-10 poles, imagine how many are needed to hold the Royal Palace in Dam Square, about 13,570! While the Central Station is supported by 9,000 poles.
Crazy, no? With all these poles you could call Amsterdam as the biggest pole dancer!
2. Bicycles
In whatever direction you look, you will find bicycles. Bicycles everywhere. Amsterdam has about 813,565 inhabitants, but it's incredible that the city is owned by over 1 million bicycles! Not at all there are several hostels that allow you to rent one, the city is considered the most 'pedaling' of the world, as well as 60% of the rides are made with the bicycle creating so much confusion, so many bicycles make the city chaotic but at the same time fun, healthy, and environmentally friendly.
Every year about 25,000 bicycles end up sinking into Amsterdam canals and only 8,000 are pulled out. Try to imagine how many bikes are still submerged in the waters of the city, careful not to dive...
3. No smoking
Yes, it seems ridiculous to say, but in Amsterdam it is forbidden to smoke cigarettes. We all know it to be the weed town, where smoking is legal in every coffee shop in town, true, but not tobacco.Cigarette smoking was banned by bars and restaurants in 2008. So remember, you can smoke weed but be careful if they catch you with tobacco!
4. The Smallest Cinema
Amsterdam is home to the world's smallest cinema: it has only one seat available! Cinema41 is a movie theater, located in a building in the heart of Amsterdam.
For just 3 euros you get your own seat, the movie's projection, and the pop-corn. Would you go there?
5. The bridges and canals
While Venice has 12 more canals than Amsterdam, think that the latter has 872 more bridges than Venice. Not at all it is often nicknamed 'Venice of the North', with 165 canals that reach more than 100 kilometers of path. These can be crossed by 80 bridges only in the historic city's center, and 1281 bridges throughout Amsterdam. Magere Brug, also known as the Skinny Bridge, is the most famous in the city.
In 2010, the Singelracht area was named by UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to the canals that compose it. Crossing the Reguliersgracht and the Herengracht is known as the Bridge of the 15 Bridges: if you stop at the right spot you will see a total of 15 arches in the distance, pretty right?
6. Coffee
For coffee lovers, Amsterdam is the ideal city to go! The city's inhabitants are the second largest coffee consumers in the world, consuming 140 liters of coffee a year, about 3.2 cups per person per day. Be careful not to drink too much of it!
If you liked this article then you might also be interested in knowing how to plan a low cost weekend in Amstedam and the typical dishes to try in this curious city!
Cover Photo By Shuman
