Amsterdam is known as one of the most bicycle friendly cities. It was after the oil crisis in the Netherlands in 1973 that the bicycle became a more economical and viable alternative to the car.

Today cyclists are in the majority. The Netherlands is the country with the highest number of cyclists in the world, along with Copenhagen (Denmark).

No matter if it's snowing, raining or hot, there will always be bikes on the street.

Who doesn't dream of a city without smoke, without accelerators, and without the loud sound of cars? .... Amsterdam is one of those.

The Dutch use bicycles to go to work, to go shopping, to go to school, to take their children to school, to go for a pleasant ride with their partner, to do sport. The reality is that cyclists dominate the city.

When will more countries adopt this lifestyle? What else has to happen for us to change the way we consume?

Although we see more and more cities taking up cycling as a mode of transport, there is still a lot of infrastructure missing in these cities before one can feel at ease to go out and use cycling as one's main mode of transport. Establishing cycle lanes, traffic lights for cyclists, bicycle parking, specific traffic rules for cyclists and pedestrians would be the first steps for more cities to take up cycling.

For those of us who are visiting Amsterdam for the first time, the bicycle phenomenon may surprise and even frighten us, as we are not used to this, to sharing the pedestrian streets with cyclists. But the truth is that people are already used to having cyclists around all the time, and to using bicycles for absolutely everything. Cycling in Amsterdam is very safe, and respect for cyclists, both from pedestrians and cars, is a fact of life.

Amsterdam is a city with a large number of canals, so you'll want to explore it on foot or by bike. If you go, you can rent a bike by the hour and take a delightful ride, passing by Anne Frank's house or visiting the flower market. 

A quiet city with a free-flowing nightlife that you'll want to see from end to end.

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