Creative Commons licensePhoto by flickr user p_kirn

Amsterdam, Holland's premier commercial city, has long been seductive to tourists with its stunning setting around a ring of canals (the Grachtengordel), some of the world's finest art (in the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum) and its tolerant culture, evidenced by the Red Light District and liberal drug laws. Many of our favourite hotels occupy the tall, narrow canal houses built for merchants and now restored, though a recent trend has seen the conversion of handsome public buildings into glossy new hotels including College, one of our Top Ten. Their order bears no reflection on our preference.

Written by Leonie Glass