Taking the tram, bus, or metro in Amsterdam? It’s about to get a whole lot cheaper. The Dutch public transport service, GVB, is offering day tickets for just €1!

With the coronavirus pandemic taking its toll on the number of people on public transport over the years, GVB has been struggling with a lack of income.

Now, the company hopes to win back some customers by giving folks 24 hours of unlimited travel for just a crumb of cash. 🤩

READ MORE | The Netherlands may get direct trains between Groningen and the Randstad!

The catch? The day ticket is only available for Dutchies and internationals who work or reside in the GVB region: Amsterdam, Diemen, Duivendrecht, Amstelveen, and the Schiphol area, reports Het Parool.

How will it work?

Until August 26, woners (residents) can request a promotional code from the GVB, which can be redeemed for a day ticket until September 30. 

READ MORE | Electrifying Dutch public transport: NS to trial the use of E-bicycles

There’s a limited number of €1 day tickets available, and you can only request one promotional code per person — so be sure to snag yours before time runs out. 😉

Cheaper than car parking

The commercial director of the GVB, Ellen Swinkels, calls the campaign a “renewed introduction to public transport” for Amsterdammers. 

“We are getting more and more electric buses, brand new trams are driving, and a lot has changed for the better in public transport over the past period. Time to try it again for a whole day. For one euro, you can travel criss-cross through Amsterdam for 24 hours. You can’t park for that”, Swinkels told Het Parool.

GVB has been struggling

Customers who used to travel with GVB before the pandemic happened have still not returned to the Netherlands. As a result, fewer trams, night buses, and metros will run in the coming period.

The Amsterdam transport region has also been facing a huge shortfall of around 60 million euros due to this.

READ MORE | Eurostar adds an extra daily train from Amsterdam to London

After a failed plan to secure enough extra cash from the government, there’s still a possibility that Amsterdam’s favourite public transport will be reduced further, but more will be known about this after the summer holidays.

In the meantime, forget the car and jump on a bus, tram, or metro — your wallet will thank you!

Will you be grabbing a ticket for yourself? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

The world’s first ecstasy shop has made its way to Dutch society and has opened for a trial in Utrecht. Sound too good to be true? You have good instincts.

Purchasing molly legally at a store? We never thought something like this would ever see the light of day.

Well, we’re not there just yet. What Dutchies have created isn’t exactly a place for people to snag a dose of the MDMA drug and start trippin’ hard — but an art project instead. 

A new drug museum in Amsterdam, Poppi, wanted to show people a fictional world where ecstasy can be regulated and bought legally. From this, ‘The XTC Shop’ was born! 🤩

Say what? The XTC Shop?

Ecstasy has not yet been legalised in the Netherlands, so the drug museum won’t actually sell it in the store.

Instead, The XTC Shop will act as an interactive simulation where people can make their own rules living in an ecstasy-welcoming world. 

“We only want to discover what regulation of ecstasy could look like in the Netherlands. We want to open the conversation about drugs”, the director of the Poppi Drug Museum, Machteld Busz, tells RTV Utrecht.

READ MORE | An ecstasy shop in a major Dutch city? This political party wants to roll it out

There are three simulated ecstasy outlets in the store: a pharmacy, a speciality store, and a party. 

These will give you the ability to make whatever decisions you want. How will the drug be regulated? What should the age limit be? Where can you buy the drug? The choice is yours! 😋

From this, Poppi plans to get some good ol’ Dutchies’ opinions and send them to Utrecht University to be used for scientific research.

Experience ecstasy

Entrance to the store costs 10€ for a regular ticket and 8€ for students, and the shop will remain open until mid-September in Utrecht. 

READ MORE | Have a liberal attitude towards party drugs

This gives you enough time to snag a ticket since we have a good feeling Dutchies will be lined up to experience this one-of-a-kind event. 😉

Will you be attending The XTC Shop opening? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

It’s a great day for art enthusiasts! Experts from the National Galleries of Scotland have just discovered a new self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh.

Hidden from the world for more than a century, the portrait was discovered on the back of another one of Van Gogh’s famous paintings, Head of a Peasant Woman with a White Cap, from 1885. Zo geweldig! 😍

How was the self-portrait discovered?

Experts believe that the self-portrait of the famous Dutch artist was probably created in 1887 when Van Gogh was living in Paris, NRC reports.

However, the painting was covered with a thick layer of glue and cardboard, so the experts could only retrieve it after an X-ray investigation.

READ MORE | 10 of the Netherlands’ most famous painters

They believe that the layer of glue and cardboard was probably applied to the back of the painting in 1905 during the preparation for an exhibition in the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.

The discovery was surprising but not impossible

Apparently, this isn’t the first time that Van Gogh has been proven to work on the back of his paintings. He often did this to save money like a true Dutchie! 

READ MORE | A new Vincent van Gogh work has been discovered — and you can now go see it!

Even so, Chief Curator of the National Galleries of Scotland, Lesley Stevenson, was shooketh to the core when she saw the new self-portrait of Van Gogh. “Obviously we were thrilled when we first saw the photo”, Stevenson told the BBC. 

When will the self-portrait be exhibited?

The Scottish museum plans to reveal the self-portrait during one of their exhibitions, A Taste for Impressionism, which is in two weeks’ time.

Will you be heading to the exhibition to see the new Van Gogh portrait? Tell us in the comments below! 👇

The Dutch capital ranked fifth in Time Out magazine’s 2022 ranking, based on the opinions of 20,000 people. 

Tolerant, diverse, and generally easy-going: nobody is surprised that Amsterdam is one of the world’s most liveable places. 

Time Out’s ranking is based on both locals’ and tourists’ impressions, measuring everything from culture to sustainability, from nightlife to food — all those necessary components for a great city life. 😎

The best of both worlds? 

As a ride or die The Hague lover it pains me to say it, but Amsterdam really has everything you could ask for. 

As Time Out acknowledges; the city is big enough to be interesting, but small enough to be walkable. It’s busy enough to be fun, but chill enough not to be stressful. Yeah, okay, I’ll give it that. 🤙🏽

READ MORE | 30 things to do in Amsterdam in 2022

As we all know, it’s quite easy to get around in Amsterdam, but did you know it’s actually the most bikeable city on the list? A baffling 100% of those surveyed said the Dutch capital is mega bike friendly, but we can’t help but ask: are you sure?

Most Dutchies from other parts of the country are likely to describe Amsterdam as a chaotic hellscape for cyclists. Perhaps the survey’s respondents never tried biking around Central Station during peak hours? 🥴

Expression and progression 

Other things highlighted in Time Out’s results are Amsterdam’s open and accepting nature, as well as its progressive culture. It’s even been described as a “model twenty-first-century metropolis”! 💅🏽

Even better, the city is the place in the world where it’s the easiest to express who you are, say the surveyed respondents. 

The Dutch capital also ranked as the second most progressive city in the world. But honestly, who’s surprised? In other words: Amsterdam is living up to its stereotypes and age-old reputation! 

Sooo much to do

Amsterdam is also filled to the brim with activities, so no wonder it’s also filled to the brim with tourists (and locals, to be fair). 

READ MORE | Cruising Amsterdam’s canals is officially the top tourist experience (in the world!)

Especially during the summer (when the Dutch rain sometimes takes a break), there is no shortage of festivals, culinary experiences, art exhibitions, and all-over great city life vibes. 

Curious about who else made the list? Here are the top 10 of the Time Out ranking, which included a grand total of 53 cities:

1. Edinburgh 
2. Chicago
3. Medellín
4. Glasgow
5. Amsterdam 
6. Prague
7. Marrakech 
8. Berlin
9. Montreal 
10. Copenhagen

Has the ranking inspired you to visit, or even move to, Amsterdam anytime soon? Tell us in the comments below!