The Anne Frank house is a monument in memory of Anne Frank and her family. Anne Frank was one of the Jewish victims of Nazi persecution during the second world war.

The story of the Zaan region begins around 1600 with windmills. There used to be over a thousand industrial mills. Initially they used the wind to keep their feet dry, but later on they used too for sawing wood, pressing oil, milling cocoa beans or making paper.

Like any city built on water, it's best seen from a boat. Buildings seen from the water are totally different from dry land. From the water you have a much better view. Canal cruises are the most popular tourist attraction, with over 3 million passengers a year.

Keukenhof ("Kitchen garden") is the world's largest flowergarden. Approximately seven million flower bulbs are planted by hand. It covers an area of 32 hectares and is the most photographed place in the world.

The cheese market has taken place on the Waagplein in Alkmaar since 1593. Teams of official guild cheese-porters carry the farmers' cheese on stretchers. Buyers then sample the cheese and negotiate a price, using a ritual system called "handjeklap", in which buyers and sellers clap each others'hands and shout prices. Once a price is agreed, the porters carry the cheese to the weighing house (Waag).

The whole area between Warmoesstraat, Nieuwmarkt and Damstraat is the Red Light District, known locally as "De Walletjes". The total area is approximately 6500 square meters. The city's history of prostitution dates from the its 13th-century roots. Amsterdam has always resisted efforts to banish sex as an industry, and the Dutch came to accept the advantage of a more pragmatic approach. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands, with the exception of street prostitution.

There is no place in the world where so many works by Vincent van Gogh (1853 - 1890) are on show together. The collection includes over 200 paintings, 500 drawings and more than 750 letters. The artist produced around 900 paintings and 1200 drawings.

The Stedelijk Museum ,built in 1876 by architect P.J.H. Cuypers, is currently under construction. The Philips Wing of the museum, presenting all the highlights of the Golden Age (including masterpieces of Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Vermeer and Rembrandt's Night Watch) is still open.

The Amsterdam Gay Pride is an annual gay festival weekend in the centre of Amsterdam, organized in the first weekend of August. The highlight is the famous Canal Parade on Saterday afternoon. Where most parades use trucks, Amsterdam has boats!

Traditionally, a grand celebration is held around the arrival of the New Herring. In Scheveningen, close to The Hague, about 200.00 people celebrate the arrival of the new herring and eat it raw.