If you want to see history alive with colour, buzz and excitement, you only have to visit Holland. Just a nine-hour flight from Vancouver, setting foot in this country can bring you back to the 1500s with utter clarity, its ancient castles, churches and quaint canal-side homes juxtaposed with modernity at every turn.

In Amsterdam, cyclists whiz by pedestrians, one hand clutching a mobile phone to their ear and the other navigating through the messy traffic of people and cars.

Canal homes dating back to the 1800s have morphed into luxurious modern-day hotels, with wireless internet access and other bells and whistles that don’t detract from the homes’ yesteryear charm. The famous artist Rembrandt lies interred at the Westerkerk, a city church not far from where Anne Frank lived, surrounded by the frantic bustle of a place filled with tourists, businesses and commuters. Indeed, here the old and the new truly sit-side-by side with striking congruity.

With 51 museums and a mere 141 art galleries, Amsterdam is a magnet for some 15 million visitors a year, many of them couples who stroll hand in hand along the cobblestone streets. Romantics are surrounded by inspiration in this city, with its enticing boutiques and cozy, dimly lit restaurants tucked into picturesque side streets.

Where you sleep plays a large role in what you can do in Amsterdam, a city best explored on foot or by bicycle. We opted for the Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam, a new establishment that opened its doors inside a century-old shipping building in June 2007. The Amrath is history personified, though you wouldn’t know it to step inside its rooms. Contemporary bathrooms feature granite countertops, rooms boast flat screen televisions and beautiful dark furnishings, and a minibar, well stocked with soft drinks, wine and spirits, is included in the room rate.

Step outside the rooms, however, and you are greeted with history at every turn. The paternoster elevator, which now goes up and down for display only, was long in service in this building, once known as Het Scheepvaarthuis, or the shipping house. Floors are an elegant marble and intricate wrought-iron decorates the banisters and light fixtures. The main boardroom, with stained-glass windows and grand wood paneling dating back to 1913, is still used for corporate functions, though the once bustling cashier booths, where money from the shipping excursions changed hands, are dusty and closed off from the public eye.

With 163 rooms and suites, the Amrath Amsterdam is a luxury retreat, its fine dining restaurant, The Seven Seas, filled with the hum of chatter and the clinking of silverware the night we stayed over. In the basement, a brand new bar and nightclub pulsated with music, though we opted instead to warm up in the heated swimming pool and hot tub, grateful to wake up to a view of the canals, houseboats and the slender, six-story homes that line these waterways.

Another hotel with a lengthy history is the Pulitzer, an amalgamation of 25 canal side houses that date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. Overlooking the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals, the Pulitzer’s 230 rooms are enviably located in the hub of historic Amsterdam, just steps from the Royal Palace, the flower market and the city’s best known museums.

Part art gallery, part museum itself, the Pulitzer also seamlessly juxtaposes old with new. The upper rooms of the canal houses, once servants’ quarters, have morphed into intimate conference facilities. The interior courtyards are still lush with foliage and open to diners in the summer months, but in winter, locals and guests flock to the comfy couches of the Pulitzer’s Bar and Cigar Lounge, where large windows offer picturesque street views.

Rooms have an historic tone coupled with contemporary facilities. There’s wireless internet access, of course, as well as in-room movies, round-the-clock room service, fine linens and deluxe toiletries.

At breakfast, businessmen dressed to the nines rub shoulders with honeymooning couples and service is fast, professional and thankfully, fully bilingual in this hotel. In the noise and bustle that characterizes Amsterdam, the Pulitzer offers a peaceful, classy sanctuary. This is a place from which you can reflect on the beauty of the city and wonder at its seamless incorporation of modern-day technology without compromising its yesteryear charm.

If You Go:

For more information on the Grand Hotel Amrath, visit www.amrathamsterdam.com.

For The Pulitzer Hotel’s rates and details, visit www.pulitzer.nl