Amsterdam

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An overdue polishing of the city's beautifully preserved historic center is under way, while an astonishing array of innovative modern architecture is revitalizing the fringes. Over the past few decades, Amsterdam's population has grown rapidly, creating a need for more living space and fueling the building boom. One of the main reasons behind the recent prosperity is an influx of foreign companies—454 between 1992 and 1999 alone—attracted by lower tax rates. Many have set up shop in the Zuidas, an exciting, developing district in the south of the city that starchitects such as Toyo Ito, Michael Graves, and Rafael Viñoly are helping to turn into a huge, well-planned, sustainable office and residential community (to be completed in 2008). But that's not all. Similar investment is going into Amsterdam's creative arena—Dutch design stars like Marcel Wanders are to the twenty-first century what Rembrandt was to the Golden Age—and into its once bland culinary scene, which in the last two or three years has really been heating up.

Where to Sleep
The Hotel Okura, a favorite with top Asian wheelers and dealers and the place where Al Gore slept the last time he was in town, has a lot to boast about: two Michelin-star restaurants and The Suite—impressive 5,390-square-foot quarters that take up the entire seventeenth and eighteenth floors (ideal for VIP product presentations). Fashion and media types prefer one of the 41 unique modern rooms at The Dylan, the sleek Anouska Hempel-designed hotel in a canalside seventeenth-century theater. Thanks to a multimillion-dollar upgrade and a 24-hour business center, the Hotel Pulitzer—230 rooms in 25 connected historic canal-houses—is the hotel of choice for American power players. Hollywood A-listers and dealmakers (like the stars of Ocean's 12) hide away from the crowds and paparazzi at the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, a 79-room European grand hotel that has the city's best security and staff.

Where to Eat
Until recently, visitors looking for sophisticated international cuisine had to stick to the city's upscale hotel restaurants. Two such remain business-meal standards: Yamazato, Europe's only Michelin-starred traditional Japanese restaurant (in the Hotel Okura), and Vermeer, another Michelin-starred restaurant (connected to the NH Barbizon Palace hotel), this one popular for its inventive European cuisine. But now there are a variety of top dining rooms to choose from, one of the easy favorites being De Kas, in a sparkling glass greenhouse and serving a four-course menu that showcases the harvest from the surrounding gardens and local organic farms. Outside the city center in the residential Oud Zuid area, at the College Hotel's much raved about restaurant, chef Schilo van Coevorden reinterprets Dutch classics: smoked eel with radishes and apple or roast wild duck with a peach brûlée.

Where to See and Be Seen
The Hotel Okura's recently opened champagne bar, Twenty Third (on the twenty-third floor) has already won raves and awards for its intoxicating views and cocktails. The College Hotel's sleek black-lacquered bar and lounge draws in-the-know Amsterdam regulars as well as chic locals from its affluent neighborhood. Dutch celebrities and media power brokers nibble on small plates and strike a pose at Envy, a narrow room with an open kitchen and a wall of 26 glass refrigerators filled with champagne bottles and gourmet delicacies. A recent multimillion-euro renovation has upped the cachet of The Dylan's chic bar. Order a ginger cocktail and take in the sensual interiors—the beige and brown walls and bar made of white bone and dark wood serve as a backdrop for swarms of international fashionistas and jet-setting Euros.

Where to Close a Deal
Wait until the papers are signed to open the curtains and reveal the mind-boggling panoramic view from the exclusive Rembrandt Tower Board Room, four private meeting rooms that have been used by Microsoft and Philip Morris and which seem to float above the city, decked out with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. No one will stop talking about a dinner on the futuristic all-white Supperclub Cruise, designed by the renowned local architectural firm Concrete. Hosted by an eccentric array of showgirls and transvestites and featuring an upscale modern dinner menu, the Supperclub boat has been rented for private parties and presentations by companies such as BMW, Nike, and Samsung. A more traditional place to celebrate is the Wine Room, a private dining area connected to La Rive, the Michelin-starred restaurant of the InterContinental Amstel.

Local Codes
Most Dutch speak fluent English, and for centuries they have been known as extremely efficient international merchants and traders. They tend to work in a direct manner, rarely mixing business and pleasure. Lunch is the preferred time for meetings. The power breakfast is not a common phenomenon in the Netherlands, and most people prefer dinner at home with the family to a late night out. Punctuality is key: Never come late to a business meeting in the Netherlands. Gifts are not expected (Dutch people tend to avoid ostentation and obvious displays of wealth.) Don't bring up the topic of legalized prostitution or marijuana, since most Amsterdamers will just roll their eyes.

Airport Intelligence
While well organized and modern, Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is not necessarily a place you want to spend hours of time. Fortunately, it's only a 30-minute taxi or train ride from the city center; the cab fare is $55 to $60, while hopping on a train from Schiphol to the Centraal Station will set you back about $5.

The Three-Hour Tour
There's no better way to experience this canal-laced city than via a cruise. On the Paradis, an impressive restored "saloon boat" with a shiny teak interior and a well stocked bar, the skipper Tommy van Riet is your friendly and informative host. Or make like a local and tour the city by bike. Orangebikes organizes several three-hour cycling tours of the city, including one that focuses on history and another on food.

-Gisela Williams