Most stereotypes hide a shiny nugget of truth. What Paris is for art and Venice is for romance, Amsterdam is for a healthy dose of earthy liberalism that is just, well, relaxing.

What sets this city apart is its laid-back, or as the Dutch say, Gezellig atmosphere. (Gezellig translates as an environment that allows good times to happen.)

Bicycles, very few of them locked, crowd the sidewalks and railings of bridges over the canals. In the dark anyone could easily take one, but they don’t. Such social cohesion in a city full of people from somewhere else is striking indeed.

Your first port of call when planning a trip to the city should be the Internet. Whether it’s for a hostel or a hotel, online deals abound. I got on the Internet for an arduous hour-long trawl a mere six days before the date of departure and managed to glean a half-price deal for France Hotel, a very convenient, clean hotel less than five minutes walk from Central Station.

Convenient transportation is one of the city’s hallmarks. It’s easy to get to the city from the airport due to the integrated train station with trains leaving every thirty minutes. Amsterdam has an excellent tram system and almost anywhere is within twenty-five minutes’ walk. If you hire a bike, (try Mike’s Bikes for €7 a day 6227970 Kerkstraat 134) you can make it even faster.

Leidseplein is an ideal base for the afternoon as it has an abundance of good cafes and restaurants. It has good shopping and is only a few minutes’ walk from all the major museums. Although I briefly visited the Rijksmuseum gardens I didn’t go inside.

Sights weren’t a priority on this trip, although I did hit a few on my way to somewhere else. I really only wanted to see two places: a windmill and the house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis. I resolved that the house would be a more achievable destination, so I set off fairly early one Saturday to find it.

The walk along the quiet, sunny canal was beautiful. Despite it being a city, the scent of early spring permeated the sunlit morning air and people were already clustered around little round tables having their morning coffee.

As I approached the tall, thin house with its queue of impatient visitors snaking out from the entrance, I hesitated for a second before walking on. I was surprised at the awkward wave of grief that gripped me and even the regular sight of tourists with sunglasses and bum bags didn’t temper it. Anne’s famous diary description needed no improving on.

Equally touching was the lily strewn Homomonument, a smooth triangle of marble which jutted straight out into the canal near Anne Frank’s house. A girl sat alone on the edge and looked at the flowers and the water flowing tranquilly past beyond them.

After having coffee and delicious strawberry cheesecake in a small café on a sleepy little street called Prinzenstraat, where there were also a few good antique shops, I soon found myself at a huge, bustling open air market.

Noorder-markt, located on the street by that name, happens on Mondays from 9am to 1pm. Saturday is also a good day to go as they’ve merged with a food market that takes place on that day. About a hundred stalls sell food, clothes, antiques and much else.

One woman who ran a stall explained that in Amsterdam open air markets are traditionally where most of the trading happens. For very little, I purchased a wall hanging from India and a few rounds of cheese as gifts.

Amsterdam’s internationalism is reflected in its diverse range of really good restaurants. ‘Los Palones’ (Kerk Straat 63 just off the Leidse-Straat) is an absolute must if you like Mexican food. It is a traditional, as opposed to Tex-Mex, restaurant with great cocktails and funky décor. I had a vegetarian taco and endless little baskets of warm tortilla chips with fresh salsa. As I sipped my pina colada I noticed another customer with a strawberry margarita and quickly gave myself permission to try that too. (At €5 so would you!)

‘Foodism’ (Oude Leliestraat 2) is practically next door to the ‘Grey Area’, a well-known coffee shop. So if you find yourself in this quiet little alleyway it is a great place to have lunch. It’s a vegetarian restaurant but don’t let that put you off if you aren’t. I ordered a generously-sized plate of tagliateli with truffle salsa accompanied by a long glass of deliciously foamy Chai tea and it was superb.

Dessert was a freshly-baked orange chocolate brownie served with lightly flavoured orange ice cream. When I put my fork down one word formed in my mind, ‘amen’. I’d go back for that alone.
Continuing in the chocolate vein, ‘Puccini Bomboni’ is a small chocolate ‘boutique’ located just around the corner from ‘Foodism’. It’s a great place to buy gifts.Most people would appreciate chocolate over miniature wooden shoes or blue porcelain windmills anyway. I bought a few black pepper chocolates and gave the gift to myself as I walked back to the Leidseplein.

Don’t let yourself just fall into the nearest eatery. I did and wound up with a bowl-full of MSG laden ‘Thai’ food. Every dish had the same sickening red sauce– even the banana fritters were horrible. A good rule of thumb is to not eat in or around the red-light district area. Prices there are higher than anywhere else.

Predictably, the city’s nightlife is kicking. The range of entertainment in and around the Leidseplein area is huge. There are plenty of nightclubs, theme bars, live comedy (like ‘Boom Chicago’), cocktail bars and late night coffee shops. ‘The Bourbon Street Blues Club’ (motto: ‘Who needs New Orleans’) is a great place to go if you like jazz and blues. When I stopped in a band called The Brenda was playing covers of mostly blues songs. Large crystal chandeliers hung from wooden beams and a giant Converse All-star shoe presided high above the bar.

Whether it’s for the sights, food, shopping or nightlife, Amsterdam is definitely a great choice for a short break this summer.

From right: one of the marvellous paintings from the Van Gogh Museum and the car that took the wrong turn!