Hortus Botanicus is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens established in 1638 as an herb garden with medicinal plants for Amsterdam doctors and pharmacists. The plants were brought here from all over the world by the traders of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Today, Hortus Botanicus holds more than 6,000 different plants, including unique ones, like the 2,000 years old agave cactus and a 300-year-old Eastern Cape giant cycad. The garden's orangery has a beautiful cafe with large outside terrace open to the garden. Find some peace and quiet here, especially on a drizzly day.

A visit to Het Grachtenhuis (the Canal House) is the perfect way to learn more about the history of Amsterdam’s canal ring. The museum looks at the 17th-century city expansion projects that led to Amsterdam’s ring of canals which received UNESCO world heritage status in 2010. After seeing the interactive displays, you’ll look at Amsterdam in a whole new light when wandering through the city’s streets or taking a canal cruise.

Take a culture break in the Design Museum and Design Gallery. These cover everything from industrial and commercial to historical design, and have the visitor wondering (as happens every few minutes or so in Japan): 'Just where does this astonishing creativity come from?'

The Great Grey Owl is a staggering 2.5 m tall Great Grey Owl, carved of wood. It was adopted as the symbol of Pajala in 1995. The owl was threatened with extinction in the early 1970s and the only nesting sites were to be found here in the Pajala commune.