Amstelveen

Amstelveen is a town in Amstelland. It is a suburb of Amsterdam. In 2003 Amstelveen was named Most attractive city of the Netherlands for its proximity to the nation's capital Amsterdam, its safety, accessibility and richness of culture.

Understand
Amstelveen, known as Nieuwer-Amstel until 1964, is a city in the Amstelland. The city grew from a town founded for the harvesting of bog, which was a popular fuel at the time. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, wealthy Amsterdammers moved to the town in search of some peace and quiet. Southern Amsterdam used to be a part of the municipality. After annexation of Amsterdam Zuid, the former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel housed the Amsterdam city archives from 1914 to 2007.

Not late after the first annexation, in 1921, another annexation followed taking away the northern and most densely populated part of Amstelveen. This left the municipality to conclude of the town of Amstelveen as well as several small towns. Amstelveen, however, kept its appeal to the wealthier citizens of Amsterdam, which shows from the suburbs built around 1930 in the northwest of the municipality. After the Second World War, Nieuwer-Amstel became an overflow for Amsterdam, housing more and more people that could not find or did not want a home in Amsterdam, and for people that worked at the growing Schiphol Airport. During the 1960s Amstelveen was the fastest growing city of the Netherlands. In 1964 the municipality was renamed after the city that by now was considered an extension of Amsterdam.

Since the last half of the 1990s, Amstelveen's expansion has become more and more gradual. At this time, no further expansion is planned. The most recent expansion is Westwijk to the southwest of town. To suit the needs of the existing population, Stadshart has been created to replace the old town centre, located about 1 km west of Stadsplein, Stadshart's main square. In Stadshart you will find a central library, a large mall, cultural and gastronomical services, and offices.

By car
The A9 crosses straight through the municipality and functions as a ring-road for traffic that does not need to go to Amsterdam per se. Amstelveen can be reached from The Hague, Rotterdam and Leiden using the A4 followed by the A9 once having passed by Schiphol. Utrecht, Den Bosch and Eindhoven can use the A2, followed by the A9 after passing by Abcoude. Apeldoorn and everything north there of is best off using the A1, followed by a kilometre of A2 heading away from Amsterdam, quickly followed by the A9.

By public transit
Tram line 5 comes from Leidesplein in Amsterdam (connecting there with other tram lines from Amsterdam Centraal station), passes Amsterdam Zuid station and terminates at (former name: Binnenhof) in Amstelveen. Tram line 25 runs between Amsterdam Zuid station and WestWijk in Amstelveen; it bypasses Stadshart. The is about 700 metres east of the Stadshart tram terminal, near the Stadsplein. Busses also run from the central busstation to Aalsmeer (line 171 and 357), Uithoorn (line 174 and 374), Haarlem (line 300 and 356), Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA (line 356) and Amsterdam Centraal (line 347 and 357).

GVB and Connexxion have timetables and maps for public transit in the area.

By museum tram
On Sundays from April to November, one can take a vintage tram (operating as Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam) from Haarlemmermeerstation in Amsterdam/Zuid to near an attractive small-town area with restaurants. Because of a construction project, the museum line will be shortened until 2026 to run south only to Molenweg, about 1 km north of Amstelveen's old town centre.

Get around
Amstelveen's city centre is navigable on foot, with tram line 5 connecting Amsterdam Zuid station with the Stadshart. Tram line 25 runs south from Amsterdam Zuid Station to Westwijk in Amstelveen overlapping tram line 5 between the Amsterdam Zuid Station and Oranjebaan stops but bypassing Stadshart. Metro line 51 no longer serves Amstelveen south of Amsterdam Zuid railway station; it was replaced by tram line 25.

Do

 * Cricket: VRA Cricket Ground (capacity 7000) is in the sports complex at Amsterdamse Bos. It's the usual ground for Netherlands to play international 50- and 20-overs matches, and it hosts VRA Amsterdam in domestic fixtures.

Go next
Using the metro and tram network of Amsterdam, the city centre of Amsterdam is 30 minutes away. Both tram lines 5 and 25 connect Amstelveen to Amsterdam Zuid Station, where one can use the metro system to visit various parts of Amsterdam. Other cities surrounding Amsterdam are Hoofddorp and Zaandam. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, from which you can fly virtually anywhere, isn't far either.