Amsterdam has an atmosphere all of its own, through an amalgam of concentric canals, vintage bicycles, idyllic parks and scintillating galleries. Few experiences can compare with cycling the Grachtengordel, the girdle of canals that radiate south from Central Station that are lined with a crazy quilt of narrow residences dating from the city's Golden Age. While motor vehicles customarily blight the cityscapes of other European capitals, a constant flow of bicycles seem only to enhance Amsterdam’s beauty. Enter an alternate universe where non-motorised transport is the norm, every bridge and thoroughfare features a bike lane and motorists customarily defer to their two-wheeled counterparts. Amsterdam remains a global crossroads and an ever-vibrant centre of art, music and culture, with a never-ending cavalcade of exhibitions, concerts, plays and festivals. Aside from such monoliths of art as the Rijks and Van Gogh museums, there are myriad less-visited spaces on quirkier themes. The festival line-up is equally varied, devoted to everything from fringe theatre to minimal music to tattoos, and in late summer the renowned canals become the stage for a series of chamber music concerts. Revelry is at its peak on King’s Day, a birthday party for the King This is when the capital is clad in patriotic orange, the canals brim with party boats and the city turns into a huge flea market as everyone empties their closets on the pavement and hawks their clutter.