Amsterdam

This guide contains an encyclopaedic section on Amsterdam, itineraries and a practical section, including addresses and telephone numbers, opening times of museums and details on hotels, bars, restaurants, nightlife, theatres and shopping. The encyclopaedic section includes a chronology and history of Amsterdam; the nature of the area and the perpetual struggle against encroachments of the sea; the architecture, including the mills, canal houses and gardens; the lifestyle; literature, from Descartes and Montesquieu to Cees Nooteboon; and painting - the 17th-century golden age, Rembrandt, Appel, Monet, Van der Heyden, Berckheyde. The itineraries include the old city, the canals, the Jordaan, the Pipp, the islands to the west and east and the museums. There is also a 14-page section on the paintings of the four main museums, the East India company, the Oude Kerk and the merchants houses.