Amsterdamse Bos

The Amsterdamse Bos south of the city covers 1,000 hectares, three times the size of New York's Central Park, making it the most extensive woodland inside any Dutch city. The park was created from 1934 onward as a Depression-era public works project; thousands of unemployed workers dug the lake, canals and Bosbaan rowing course by hand, later used for Olympic regattas. Family highlight is the Ridammerhoeve goat farm with on-site cheese making and a petting yard; active visitors rent boats, jog or skate along 50 kilometres of paths. In winter people skate on the shallow water once nature wardens declare the ice safe.