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Visit Amsterdam:
Basic information about Amsterdam:
Full country name: Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of the Netherlands, Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba.
Area of the Netherlands: 41,526 sq km
Population: 16,105,000
Capital city: Amsterdam (population 735,500)
Amsterdam is the nation's capital, but the seat of government is Den Haag,
officially 's-Gravenhage or The Hague in English.
People: Over 95% of the population are Dutch (Germanic and Gallo-Celtic
stock), the rest are Indonesian, Surinamese, Moroccan with a mélange of
North and South Americans, British, Australians, Chinese, and Europeans.
Languages: Netherlands (Dutch & Flemish), Friesian. English is widely
spoken in Amsterdam.
Religion: 60% Christian (Roman Catholic and Protestant), 3% Muslim
Government: Constitutional monarchy
Head of state: Queen Beatrix van Oranje Nassau
Prime Minister: Jan Peter Balkenende
GDP: US$350 billion
GDP per head: US$22,000
Annual growth: 3.7%
Inflation: 2%
Industries: service industries, banking, electronics, digital media, horticulture,
agriculture, shipping
Major trading partners: EU (Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, UK),
USA
Member of European Union: yes
Euro zone participant: yes
*Provinces of Nederland (Holland)
South Holland: The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft, Leiden, Scheveningen
Groningen: Groningen
Zeeland: Middelburg
West Frisian Islands
North Holland: Amsterdam, Haarlem
Friesland: Leeuwarden
Utrecht: Utrecht
Flevoland: Lelystad
Drenthe: Assen
Overijssel: Zwolle
North Brabant: Eindhoven, 's-Hertogenbosch
Limburg: Maastricht
Gelderland: Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Nijmegen
North Holland Province
North Holland has always been one of the most important economical areas
of the Netherlands, due to commerce, industry and fishing. This part of
the country has learned to live with and profit from water. The province
has water on three sides: North Sea to the west and the vast of IJsselmeer
(Zuiderzee) to the east. The flat land in between is divided by two major
canals: one connects Zaandam to Den Helder in the north, and the other
(North Sea Canal), gives Amsterdam's busy port access to the North Sea
at IJmuiden.
Tourism is a major industry in North Holland, with Shiphol, the country's
major airport as the gateway. The North Sea coast has a string of delightful
resorts and sea-front hotels among the dunes, while in the towns on the
IJsselmeer such as Edam, and picturesque Volendam, you can still find
villagers wearing traditional costume and the Dutch wooden clogs.
North Holland you can find beautiful beaches, historic towns and villages
with exciting museums, hotels and restaurants. The whole province can
be easily explored on day trips from Amsterdam, but areas such West Friesland
and Het Gooi (a wood-land east of Amsterdam), are worth a longer visit.
The province North-Holland is divided in several regions.Each region has
its own regional tourist office:
Alkmaar and the North Sea coast
Amstelland and the Meerlanden
Noord-Holland (From coast to coast)
West-Friesland
Texel
Zaanstreek-Waterland
Haarlem-Zandvoort
Gooi and Vechtstreek
Major sights of the province include:
Aalsmeer
Alkmaar
Amstelveen
Cruquius
Den Helder
De Rijp
Edam
Egmond
Enkhuizen
's-Graveland
Haarlem
Heemskerk
Hilversum
Hoorn
Huizen
Jisp
Laren
Marken
Medemblik
Monnickendam
Muiden
Naarden
Naardermeer
Schiphol /airport/
Velsen/IJmuiden
Volendam
Zaanse Schans
Zandvoort
Zuiderzee Musems
West Friesland
Amsterdam
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