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Living in Amsterdam

Capital city with small-town feel

Fietser bij BG-terrein

Language

As a key cultural and intellectual centre in western Europe, Amsterdam attracts students from all over the Netherlands and beyond. The inhabitants of Amsterdam, known as Amsterdammers, are easy-going and welcoming to foreigners.

You can get around the city using English, but we highly recommend that international students also learn Dutch when coming to study in the Netherlands. You can take Dutch courses at our Institute for Dutch Language Education (INTT).

A big city with a cosy, small-scale feel

With some 800,000 inhabitants, Amsterdam has all the advantages of a major metropolitan centre while retaining a cosy, small-scale feel.

Amsterdam boasts beautiful architecture and over 150 canals, lending the city its characteristic shape and atmosphere. It is full of museums, art galleries, theatres, concert halls and many lovely parks, which serve as the inhabitants’ gardens in summer. The city is home to world famous music, opera, theatre and dance companies, as well as many internationally recognised visual artists.