Add a copious supply of imaginative and relaxed bars and restaurants, and you have a city that responds to most travellers’ needs. Central Station and canal boatsClick here for pop-up map, with numbered locations (see below in bold) WHY GO? Amsterdam is superlative in art, architecture and culture, not to mention in the availability of sex and drugs. Between November and February, other tourists will be thin on the ground (and the water). If you’re thinking of a Valentine’s break in the Dutch capital you’ll not be the first, so book up several months in advance.

Do the same for the Queen’s Day celebrations at the end of April. By May, the summer season is well under way, and it continues right into September – coinciding with the most favourable weather. In the third week of August, the Grachtenfestival brings music to the canals. For other special events, contact the Netherlands Board of Tourism in London (020-7539 7950; /uk).BEAM DOWN Amsterdam is easy to reach from all over Britain.

The airline with the widest range of links is KLM UK, which flies from Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds/Bradford, London City, London Heathrow, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton and Teesside BA flies from Birmingham, Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester BMI flies from East Midlands and Heathrow. No-frills flights on easyJet depart from Belfast, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Liverpool and Luton. From Schiphol airport, frequent trains take 16-20 minutes to Centraal Station (1), for a fare of €2.95 (£1.80); buses and taxis are slower and more expensive. By rail, Eurostar has good fares from London Waterloo and Ashford International via Brussels, but the journey time is at least six hours. Stena Line has the most reliably cheap deal – book at least a week ahead and you can take the London Liverpool Street – Harwich – Hook of Holland – Amsterdam connection for £49 return.GET YOUR BEARINGS Centraal Station (1) is the hub of the semi-circle of concentric canals that were dug in the 17th century and define the heart of Amsterdam: Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. They, plus the broad IJ River, enclose the area where you will spend much of your time. At the tourist office on platform 2 you can buy an Amsterdam Card for around €18 (£11), giving you 31 vouchers for free or reduced-rate admission to many sights.CHECK IN Amsterdam has 32,000 hotel beds, many thousands short of the number it needs.

Accommodation is scarce and prices are high, so you may be best off putting your problem in the hands of a specialist city-break operator. The most celebrated place to stay is room 902 at the Hilton (2), Apollolaan 138 (00 31 20 710 6000), the suite in which John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their Bed-In in 1969. The nightly rate for this room is €1,350 (£840); regular rooms cost €280 (£172). The location, though, is not so convenient as some of the numerous small, comfortable and friendly hotels. Blakes (3), created by Anouska Hempel at Keizersgracht 384 (00 31 20 530 2010; ) is the most indulgent central hotel; a double room costs €275 (£172). The modest Quentin England Hotel (4), Roemer Visscherstraat 30 (00 31 20 616 6032), where a double room costs around €120 (£75), is handy for the museum quarter.