Summary of the VVV Tourist Office
The city tourist office in Amsterdam is situated directly across the street from Amsterdam Central Station, at Stationsplein 10, within the charming Noord-Zuid Hollands Koffiehuis (North-South Holland Café). Visitors should look out for the triple “V” (VVV is the abbreviation of the tourist info service) or the lowercase “i” displayed prominently on the café facade.
Location of the Tourist Office
VVV Tourist Office Amsterdam
Stationsplein 10 1012 AB Amsterdam
The Cafe Experience
The café itself is noteworthy; its late-Art Nouveau architecture dates back to 1911 when it served as a port of call for a commuter ferry. Being one of the few non-residential projects conceived by Amsterdam-born architect Willem Leliman, it features the clever, mushroom-shaped posts that indicate directions along the country’s cyclist and pedestrian trails.
There is indeed still a café on-site (separate from the tourist office): the café has been operating under the auspices of Loetje, a full-service café and restaurant (with the kitchen open until 10:30 pm), since 2015. Loetje took over from the former Smits Koffiehuis, a well-known Amsterdam institution that served the community at this location for 95 years since 1919. When the last member of the Smits family retired in 2013, the tradition of the Noord-Zuid Hollands Koffiehuis was passed on to Loetje, an already established café chain in Amsterdam.
Information Center at Schiphol Airport
Travelers arriving at Schiphol Airport can visit the Holland Information Center, conveniently located at Schiphol Plaza in Arrivals 2.
Understanding “VVV”
Most Dutch people may not be aware of what “VVV” stands for since the acronym has become the sole name used for these Dutch tourist information centers. VVV originally stood for the Vereniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer—a lengthy term meaning “Association for the Traffic of Foreigners.” Fortunately, this has been replaced with the more streamlined and widely recognized name “VVV Nederland.”
Founded in 1885, the VVV has been assisting tourists since the first office opened in Valkenburg aan de Geul, located in the southern province of Limburg, a historically rich, walled city famous for its Roman catacombs and castles. Today, nearly one hundred VVV offices exist across the country, providing valuable information to both locals and visitors alike.
