2 Best Sights in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Home to Het Koninklijk Paleis and De Nieuwe Kerk, Dam Square (or just "Dam") is Amsterdam's main square. It traces its roots to the 13th century and the dam built over the Amstel River (hence the city's name, a bastardization of the earlier Amstelredam). The waters of the Damrak (the continuation of the Amstel) once reached right up to the Dam, with ships and barges sailing to the weigh house. Folks came here to trade, talk, protest---and be executed. In the 17th century, the square was hemmed in by houses and packed with markets. For a taste of that atmosphere, head into the warren of alleys behind the Nieuwe Kerk, with a 1650 proeflokaal (jenever [Dutch gin] tasting house) called De Drie Fleschjes (The Three Small Bottles) on Gravenstraat. In the 19th century, the Damrak was filled in to form the street leading to Centraal Station, and King Louis, Napoléon's brother, demolished the old weigh house in 1808 because it spoiled the view from his bedroom window in the Royal Palace. Today, the Dam is a teeming magnet for celebrations, fairs, street performers, and protests.

This beautiful and seemingly tranquil tree-lined square hides a lively and radical past---in the 1960s, the Provo counterculture movement held weekly gatherings around the statue in the center of the square. Journalists and bookworms have long favored its many cafés, and the Atheneum News Center (No. 14–16) and its adjoining bookstore are the city's best places to peruse an international array of literature, magazines, and newspapers. More cultural browsing can be enjoyed at the Spui's book market on Friday and at its art market on Sunday.