A pleasant way to discover the old city center of Amsterdam is to rent a bicycle. There are approximately three-quarters of a million people living in Amsterdam and they own almost a million bicycles. Amsterdam is the world's most bicycle friendly city and bicycles account for more than 40% of all traffic in the city.
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| Bicycles in Amsterdam |
In Amsterdam are many separate bicycle lanes on most major streets. But in the center there is often not enough space for a bicycle lane and all traffic have to share the narrow streets. For foreigners who are not used to that it's sometimes very dangerous, so keep your eyes open and do not take any risks, be very careful and watch out for other cyclists and also avoid getting your tires in the tram rails.
Amsterdam has many bicycle rental shops for tourists and they cost about € 10,00 or € 20,00 per day. For tourists it's more safe to explore the surroundings of Amsterdam, within 30 minutes you're out of town and there are many cycling routes to the beautiful villages outside Amsterdam like Muiden ( castle ),Weesp ( countryside ), Zaandam ( windmills ) or Gaasperplas ( park and lake )
Here are some bicycle rental shops:
Rentabike
Macbike
Yellowbike
Starbikes
Warning!
Because their are so many bicycles in Amsterdam, the city has one of the highest bicycle theft rates in the world.
Amsterdam Hotel Tip:
Swissôtel Amsterdam
Located on Amsterdam’s famous Dam Square just 10 minutes’ walk from Centraal Station, Swissôtel Amsterdam offers bicycle rental and 24-hour business and fitness centres. More