DANNY ROBINS' TRAVEL GUIDE: AMSTERDAM

Since the Dutch lost the World Cup Final with a display that was dirtier than a stag do in Amsterdam's red light district, we thought we'd do an Indie Travel Guide to their capital to cheer them up.

It may come as a surprise but a lot of people go to Amsterdam for its reputation as a place where you can go and smoke a certain substance. Either that or they're going to see the famous red light district. Normally it's both.

The Dutch get a bit sick of all this and tend to just herd all those people into a small area full of 'coffee shops' (where you can smoke) and 'sex shops', but if you break out of this and try and explore the real Amsterdam you'll find a cool fun city full of people who speak amazing English (probably better than yours) and are excited to show you around.

Picturesque Sights: From tulips to canals via clogs

It's all about the canals in Amsterdam. It's been know as the 'Venice of the North' and along with some really lovely and unspoilt historic architecture it's a really rather lovely place to explore. The canals are arranged in concentric circles - it looks amazing from above. There are 90 islands separated by 165 canals crossed by 1500 bridges.

It is of course the city of clogs, tulips, big round cheeses and old windmills where mice live (remember the song?).

If you want to fit all these things in to your stay - you could go to the clog making museum, Klompenmakerij De Zaanse Schans.

Then, you can buy you tulips at Bloemenmarkt - the world's only floating flower market - an amazingly colourful collection of stalls on barges on the Singel canal.

You can sample some fine cheeses at the Wegewijs shop.

And, windmills-wise, try sampling a beer at the Brouwerij 't IJ right next to the De Gooyer windmill. It's a brewery and pub all in one that does some great beers. It was set up in 1985 by Kaspa Peterson, a Dutch musician who wrote several hit songs, including 'Je loog tegen mij' which I'm sure you all know.

Rocking out: Historic Gig Venues

The two most famous venues in Amsterdam are Paradiso and Melkweg. They're both really near the Leidseplein, a big square in central Amsterdam that is kind of the life and soul of the city - packed with bars and nightlife.

Paradiso is located in a former church, it became a big counter-culture institution in the 70s where you'd be watching the bands through a fug of hash smoke. Keith Richards said it was the scene of the best concerts the Rolling Stones ever did.

Now, smoking is banned and there's been a lot of talk of ending the state subsidy that keeps it going. Because of its history though, so far it has won the fight to stay open and is thriving - they often have several gigs in one day.

They have very popular student indie nights on Wednesdays and Thursdays and bands most nights of the week - a mixture of genres but plenty of Indie acts.

Melkweg, meaning 'Milky Way' is in a former warehouse and has several spaces for not only music but also theatre, dance and exhibitions. Like Paradiso it's a real part of the Amsterdam counter-culture history, run by a non-profit making organisation.

It's got a little place in Indie history - it's mentioned in songs by the US Indie bands Cracker and Lagwagon and it's actually the tile of a Half Man Half Biscuit song, 'Prag Vec at the Melkweg'

Local Talent: Homegrown Bands

Obviously, the whole bohemian, laid back counter-culture vibe of Amsterdam really suits bands and quite a lot of Dutch Indie acts have come out of the city.

The most famous would have to be Bettie Serveet who have had a pretty good career internationally. They've achieved one of Wikipedia's key criteria for international success in having one of their songs featured on The OC.

Their name mean 'Bettie serves' and comes from a TV programme hosted by the Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon final in 1977. They released their most recent album Pharmacy of Love this year.

Getting About: Go cyclepathic

You've got to watch out whilst wandering about a bit tipsy round Amsterdam - there are three ways to be run over - this is a city of bikes so there's a pretty constant stream of cyclists whizzing around, if they don't get you, one of the many trams will and if you escape the tram there are a few cars knocking about to.

Of course, if you're sober and want to explore, the trams and the many places where you can hire a bike make getting about really easy. Driving's discouraged - parking's really expensive and there are lots of streets closed to cars. So, actually, it feels like a really safe place to cycle round and it's the best way to see the city. Just don't fall into a canal!

Most of the cycle hire places will give you maps of the cycle lanes to help you get about - it's really not a big place though (most of what you want to see is within a 2km radius). The great thing about Amsterdam is that you can cycle into the countryside within 15 minutes from some parts of the city.

Cycle hire:

Orange Bike - bikes for only €4 a day. They also do guided bicycle tours.

Rentabike - why not get one of their tandems?

Star Bikes Rental - have an adjoining coffee shop, rent out the traditional black bikes favoured by people from Amsterdam, so you'll fit in with the locals.

And one last tip for dinner...

Amsterdam does laidback cool very well. It's like when you were younger and your cooler more experienced pen pal came to stay. They've moved on to new expressions of cool and there's a whole load of great manifestations of that to explore - from bars and unusual restaurants to interesting cultural events.

Nowhere better sums this up than Supper Club. It's a restaurant with beds and a club all rolled into one. You can lounge and eat, whilst watching live shows that could be fashion, fire-eating, nude poetry reading, experimental video or live sculpture. Anything goes. And a masseuse goes around the diners too. Food might be such delights as mustard soup with eel, black pepper and crème fraiche or roasted guinea fowl with mousseline of cauliflower, green asparagus and candied potato.

It's expensive but not crazily so and remember: you're getting the shows and the atmosphere too - which are well worth experiencing. It's very Amsterdam.

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