Amsterdam, sans savings account.

Planning a trip to Amsterdam can cause a not-so-mild case of sticker shock, especially when hotels like the Amstel InterContinental are asking $648 per night for a standard king. But it's also the kind of place you could go on a whim, as long as you're willing to turn down the turndown service and forego the pricey financial district. Luckily, in Amsterdam, that's hardly a sacrifice. Some alternate choices: Hotel Hoksbergen (left), on a canal in the Singel area, runs $123 per night for a double. If that's still not close enough to the canals for you, you can always rent the PhilDutch Houseboat (right) for $165 per night. Just pack Dramamine...and go easy on the beer.

My heroine!

I am obsessed with Amsterdam, not for its brown cafes or Red Light District, but because I absolutely must see the annex where one of my all-time favorite books was written. Obviously I'm talking about Anne Frank, but not the version we all read in middle school, which was heavily edited by her father to fit the stardards of decency in the '50s. I'm talking about the fabulous unabridged Definitive Edition, wherein Anne rails against her housemates, lusts after Peter, and is generally bored with attic life. Oh, and she's actually funny. Read it again, I'm serious. Anyway, the Anne Frank Huis on Prinsengracht just got better, with the addition of extra family letters and photos courtesy of Anne's cousin Buddy Elias. The museum is open all year (with later hours in the summer) and costs only 7.50 Euro for admission.

Check back for a post on Amsterdam lodging...