On the city's southwestern edge, Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest; amsterdamsebos.nl; free) offers an accessible escape to the countryside. Planted from 1934 to provide employment during the Great Depression, it sprawls over 1000 hectares of polder (drained land) now alive with woodland, meadows, lakes and waterways.
Visitor Centre De Boswinkel sells tickets for 90-minute boat cruises (€10) on Wednesdays and Saturdays from May to September. Hire bikes from adjacent Amsterdamse Bos Bike Rental (deboshalte.com; bicycle hire per hour/day from €6/10; closed Tue) to explore 50km of cycling trails.
The Klimpark Fun Forest (funforest.nl; adult/child from €32/23) has 10 ropes courses and zip lining through the trees. Water activities include canoeing, with hire from Kanoverhuur Amsterdamse Bos (kanoverhuur-adam.nl). There's also a working organic goat farm, De Ridammerhoeve (geitenboerderij.nl); an open-air theater, the Amsterdamse Bos Theatre (bostheater.nl); and markets and festivals galore.
Amsterdamse Bos is served by Connexxion buses (lines 178, 257 and 357) and, on Sundays from April to October, vintage trams run by the Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam.
