Jenever is a traditional Dutch spirit, sometimes called Dutch gin or wodka in English. Wynand Fockink has a distillery and tasting house right at the very hart of Amsterdam. This place is frequented by locals and tourist alike because of their delicious jenever. Be sure to try a glass of Wynand Fockink Superior. If they empty the bottle while filling your glass you're entitled to a so-called 'Amsterdammertje'; you'll have to drink your glass in one gulp and then you get a free refill.

Under the city, the extraordinary Gesamtkunstwerk by Louis van Gasteren, Jan Sierhuis and others is located in Nieuwmarkt underground. This is one of the public artworks of the Seventies and early Eighties endangered due to station renovation on the Underground Eastline. At present there is a notice hanging at different spots on the wall: ‘‘This artwork has been temporally removed due to renovations”.

Known for their ceramics and carefully thought-out details. Get ready to spend a small fortune.

Small bookstore in the center of Amsterdam with the likes of Experimental Jetset, Metahaven and Karel Martens.

In the ever growing conservative political scene in the Netherlands, the ADM is a reminder of the freedom and chaos that Amsterdam must have once been. It gives me my dose of dirty grittiness, something which is miss in this city in constant renovation and gentrification. Evolving around a main building on an industrial shipyard on the outskirts of town, it's an area where modern gypsies, anarchists, artists and free thinkers build their houses, park their caravans or dock their house boats. It's not entirely my scene, but I am happy to know that it's there. And they throw some amazing festivals!