Let’s get this out of the way: If you want to go to Amsterdam to get high and gawk at hookers, you’re selling your trip short. Last we checked, being baked and staring at loose women feels the same anywhere on Earth. To maximize your stay here, exit the coffee shop and explore the city’s canals, alleys, and myriad museums, galleries, and boutiques. Mingle with the inscrutable Dutch, the Euro version of the Japanese: self-absorbed, quietly arrogant, highly artful, and thoroughly unconcerned by your presence. They’ve figured out a cool way to live, so observe and learn. Here's our guide to five of Amsterdam's coolest neighborhoods. Now, rent a bike and go nuts.