Amsterdam Tips

Today the anti-smoking law finally comes into effect in Netherlands which means the outlaw of smoking tobacco in restaurants, cafes, bars, shopping centres and other public buildings. Netherlands had lagged years behind a few other countries - Ireland, Italy, Estonia, Norway, UK, US, Argentina amongst others.

Some business owners are worried that this will decrease turnover but the benefit of being able to eat out without a thick haze of smoke is most welcome.

The following is a list of international rock / pop artists who are playing concerts in Amsterdam in the coming weeks:

Westlife May 29 2008 Heineken Music Hall Tickets €42

Celine Dion June 2 2008 Amsterdam Arena €53-€83

Bon Jovi June 13 2008 Amsterdam Arena €56-€62

Alanis Morisette June 13 2008 Heineken Music Hall €39

Bruce Springstein June 18 2008 Amsterdam Arena €69-€85

Duran Duran June 19 2008 Heineken Music Hall €44

Avril Lavigne June 20 2008 Heineken Music Hall €32

Tickets can be purchased online or at the Post Office.

Amsterdam council are considering the proposal of a 1 million square feet underground development project. The 6-storey space would house retail , leisure and car parking facilities and would be built on the waterproof clay layer under the city’s canals.

The plan by Dutch company Struckton is to drain the canals to start the construction process which would minimise the impact on road users. We have already seen some disruption over the last years from the North - South Metro line development, particularly in Rokin, Vijzel Straat and Ferdinand Bol Straat.

The underground city would be a long term project which would take around 20 years to complete and would start in 2018.

Central Amsterdam is a small area with an intricate one-way road system and going underground makes a lot of sense. With property prices and parking spaces at a premium this may be an elegant solution should it get the go-ahead.