One of the best ways to travel to the Netherlands is by ferry from England to Holland. Holland has so much to offer and we are not just talking about Amsterdam, in this we are going to shift our attention to a different Amsterdam – a miniature one.

The world famous city of Madurodam is an hour’s drive away is from Amsterdam, the 1:25 scaled city is a work of art and a must visit if you are in Holland. It has all the Dutch landmarks in the finest detail and a great way to familiarize yourself with popular landmarks and buildings of interest, from Schiphol Airport to the famous cheese market, The Hague to Dam Square, turning windmills to planes landing at the airport, This is a great day out for all the family and one that will be remembered for life.

AFC Ajax where founded in 1900, after joining the Dutch League in 1901 they struggled in the second division for ten years before winning promotion to the Dutch first division in 1911 season, the fairytale story of Ajax did not start here as they were demoted back to the second division three years later, this was the first and last time they would ever leave the Dutch top flight in their 109 year history. Hard to believe that they came from the second division in the first place!

Since they won the first ever Dutch National Championship way back in 1918 – Ajax have dominated the top end of the Dutch league whilst producing some fine world class players along the way. It was their legendary trainer Jack Reynolds that set the foundations of the now world renowned Ajax youth training camp.

The Amsterdam outfit has now won a staggering 29 league titles. In 1961 they had their first taste of European experience by playing in the Cup Winners’ Cup, ten years later they had their hands on the trophy and failed to give it back for an astonishing three seasons as the romped to glory in Holland, Europe and the World as most of the players in the team tasted world cup success in 1972 along with the legendary Johan Cruijff.

AFC Ajax has produced some of the best players in the world dating back to the 1930’s. With every passing decade there is another list of legendary players that have taken the football world by storm. Ajax amongst other big clubs from smaller countries now find themselves in a precarious position - knowing they can’t compete financially against the other big clubs from the major European Leagues, Ajax must be the best prepared club outside the major leagues in Europe knowing that they can produce world class players to play on their pitch whilst selling one or two every year if need be to balance the books.

Time Out has always been a valuable source of information for travellers across the world. They have achieved their ubuiqity thanks to their concise and well written guide books to the worlds main tourist attractions.

Thankfully they now have a section dedicated to Amsterdam, and amongst the myriad of information available on the site, they have published an excellent list of "20 great things to do in Amsterdam" - here are the main pints, for more on each you can read the full article here....

1. Delve into Amsterdam's colourful past
2. Step into the postcard city
3. Lose yourself in a maze of canals
4. Picnic with the locals
5. Get on your bike
6. Eat a raw herring
7. Take a sneaky peek in the Red Light district
8. Gaze at the Old Masters of the Rijksmuseum
9. Skate like a dream in Amsterdam
10. Mix with Moderns at the Stedelijk Museum
11. Have a good rummage at flea markets
12. Hit the streets to see cutting-edge art
13. Spice things up with an Indonesian
14. Unlock the city's secret garden
15. Visit the home of the diarist Anne Frank
16. Drink as the Dutch do
17. Jam up the volume
18. Move with the music
19. Discover the art of worship
20. Take a snapshot of the art scene in Jordaan

We couldn't have done much better ourself!

You can get a daily ferry to Amsterdam from Newcastle in the UK. We would highly recommend you visit!

Amsterdam Celebrations

If you are looking to go to Amsterdam and want to join in some local calibrations then you have to go on Queens’s day, the Dutch celebrate the birthday of the Queen mother but in reality they use it as an excuse to party hard, any old excuse.

The best cities to stay at whilst celebrating Queens day is the Hague, Rotterdam and off course Amsterdam, although the hole of the Netherlands celebrate this occasion these cities have a special atmosphere during this spectacular party.

In particular Amsterdam has something special going with an estimated ¾ of million people coming into the city to party, many of whom wisely travel in by train. In the city centre hot spots like Leidseplein, Spui, Rembrandtplein, Damrak, Rokin and Dam you will find a great atmosphere with everybody dressed and partying in orange.

Also on Queens’s day you will find that all the street trade is unregulated so it makes it a good day for some second hand shopping, and in Vondelpark all the kids’ show of their business expertise by offering a wide variety of attractions.

As well as having a diverse range of museums, coffee shops, restaurants and bars - Amsterdam is also a fantastic shopping destination. Indeed many people take trips to the city purely to go shopping - and who can blame them. Almost every concievable type of store available can be found in Amsterdam, from major retail chains to the trendiest designers in the world and thrifty open air markets and stalls, Amsterdam shopping has something for everyone.

Rather than post a long list of our own, which would be far too detailed (although Kalverstraat is a must obviously) - we felt that we would link to some of the best posts on the web about shopping in Amsterdam. Hopefully, you will find some valuable information on shopping in Amsterdam.

• Top 10 Amsterdam Shopping Areas - from About.com: Great guide from About. Includes ten districts with reasons why you should go to each to find shopping heaven.
• 10 best - Amsterdam Shopping: 10 best is an interesting site which lists the 'Ten Best' (funnily enough) in a number of different categories. The Amsterdam Shoppping guide is great as it includes a break down of each area as well as user reviews and opinions of people who have actually been there.
• Tripwolf - list of Amsterdam shops: Tripwolf compiles a list of shops with som einformation on where they can be found - great if youre looking for something in particular.
• Amsterdam Info - Shopping Streets: Great post on the main shopping streets in Amsterdam - quite general but well worth a read.

Thanks for reading - if anyone has any shops they feel must be visited during a trip to Amsterdam, let us know.

Just a quick heads up for anyone thinking of traveling to Amsterdam soon - as part of Ferry Fortnight, DFDS Seaways are currently offering two for one on their 2 night mini cruise breaks to Amsterdam, and you can take your car over for free as well, making it a total of £65 for two people and a car (a saving of £64) - ideal for these credit crunching times! - See the DFDS Seaways Ferry Fortnight page for more information.

Ferry fortnight is an initiative set up by the Passenger Shipping Association to encourage more ferry travel from the UK, most of the major operators are offering special deals during this period.

Amsterdam city is a vibrant place to be with hundreds of quality and historic attractions to visit.

Right in the middle of the centre of Amsterdam is the Dam square; it has a lot of culture and includes the National Monument Commemorating the fallen Dutch soldiers of WWII, there is the wonderful Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) that is flanked by the Royal Palace.

If you go by the Kalverstraat all the way to the Spui, then take a right and follow along until you come to the Begijnhof, There is a lovely traditional although small chapel that is defiantly worth a visit if religion or history is your kind of thing, the courtyard shelter next to the Chapel that is surrounded by the enclosing homes along the edge is home to single religious women who devote their time to their religion.

Beyond is the rest of the fabulous city that is surrounded by monuments and churches that are punctuated by the canals that are used for navigation through the city. The Largest and most distinctive building in the city has to be the Westerkerk (West Church) that can be recognized by its large blue crown. Neighboring the Homomonument is the popular tourist attraction Ann Frank House. Walking along down towards the Haarlemmerstraat by the Prinsengracht you will come across boutiques, restaurants that disperse in either direction. Just by the Haarlemmerstraat towards central train station and you will come across the multi storey bicycle park rthat is used by thousands every day, cycling is regarded as one of the easiest ways to travel around Amsterdam as it is almost completely flat.

Amsterdam is easy to get to, especilay by ferry, there is ferries arriving and going from Amsterdam ferry port in IJmuidennoon day and night from varouse european countrys.