Look both ways... in four directions... twice

Going for a stroll around Amsterdam has its pros and cons. Almost everywhere you look there’s a brilliant view, everything is within walking distance in the central area and it’s generally easy to know where you are without a map in a fairly short time. However, the downside is that you have to be much more aware of your surroundings and everyone else around you. Most of the time you’re OK on the footpath, but there are some odd pedestrian-cycle-traffic areas where anything goes – it can be easy to wander into one of these without noticing it.

Road rules in Amsterdam appear to be extremely flexible. So flexible, in fact, that they can be bent 180 degrees. They appear to be built on one common rule which is ‘I’ve got right of way, you don’t’. This rule seems to apply to all methods of transport, apart from pedestrians who seem to always be in the wrong. Bikes, motorcycles, cars and other vehicles can come from almost anywhere despite all the one-way signs... the trams are a little easier to avoid since they’re on tracks, but they do hide each other quite well so if there’s one close by then cross the road cautiously as another one can zoom past from the opposite direction without much warning.

So in general, the old rule of looking both ways before you cross is very important to follow whenever crossing a road in Amsterdam, but please take my advice and at least look both ways twice!