2010 Amsterdam Water Sensations
The Amsterdam’s tourist office latest event gets to the heart of the Dutch capital: ‘Amsterdam Water Sensations 2010’. A large number of events on and around the city’s many waterways will be organised at the initiative of the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board (ATCB) and the city’s tourist industry. Extra attention will also be paid to Amsterdam’s permanent attractions associated with water in the Metropolitan Area of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a city like Venice founded on and still today focused around water and waterways, though unlike Venice, Holland’s largest city is no mere museum piece. Amsterdam is a real, living and breathing metropolis. In the canals beneath the ancient as well as modern architectural treasures, young Internet entrepreneurs strike deals across Europe from their houseboats. Alongside the chugging canal boats, the city’s waterways also increasingly play home to massive cruise ships and cargo vessels from around the world. Today, Amsterdam peddles tourists almost as slickly as it has peddled goods and services throughout the centuries.
The lifeblood of Amsterdam has long been its aquatic locale, close as it is to the North Sea and built on myriad canals. In 2010, Amsterdam Water Sensations will be offering many cultural and touristic events displaying how citizens of Amsterdam live their lives on the waterside to the fullest. Festivals such as SAIL Amsterdam, museums, shipping companies and hotels are joining forces.
As of mid June, the list of events and special interest arrangements will be available on
www.amsterdamwatersensations.com
The survey has been composed on the basis of four ‘water themes’ that ATCB will be using during Amsterdam Water Sensations 2010:
Waterfun. Discover Amsterdam and its centuries-old ties with water: e.g. major events such as SAIL Amsterdam 2010 (19 – 23 August), special interest boat tours, kite surfing and many other active sports by the sea and city island hopping.
Culture & design. Discover art exhibitions on the waterside, music festivals. Also, Amsterdam is innovating it’s architectural city line alongside the canals and the waterside. Het IJ, the city lake in the heart of Amsterdam, has become the decor of many cultural music halls, museums and art
institutions, all of outstanding architectural value and offering a unique programme.
Innovation and watermanagement. Having conquered their land from the sea, the metropolitan area of Amsterdam is known for its unique relation with water.
Sustainability In the future, more and more environmental measures will be necessary to ensure the availability of water. Environmental awareness is big in the Amsterdam metropolitan area, offering more and more environmentally-friendly touristic facilities. Find out what Amsterdam is doing to ensure the pureness of drinking water. The traditional canal boats are replaced by eco-friendly ones, hotel households are becoming ‘green’ and top restaurants are selling ‘earth water’, contributing to sustainable water systems in several parts in the world.
Public Holidays in The Netherlands(NL) and Belgium(BE)
2010
2 April: Good Friday
4 & 5 April: Easter
30 April: Queen’s day (NL)
1 May: Labour Day (BE)
5 May: Liberation Day
13 May: Ascension Day
23 & 24 May: Whitsun
21 July: National Holiday (BE)
11 November: Armistice Day (BE)
25 & 26 December: Christmas
Conferences Amsterdam
2010
25-29 April: ISSA
13-18 May: Art Amsterdam
25-27 May: WCIT
28-31 August: ECNP
9-14 September: IBC