When Amsterdam decided to set up borough councils, one of the activities the central council devolved was parking. A thorny subject in Amsterdam. It very much depends where in the city you are, but as a rule of thumb, there is paid parking everywhere from 7am or 9am to 7pm or 9pm or 11 pm or midnight, and sometimes on a Sunday.

Yep, it all depends on the borough council, so make sure you know where you are. Most boroughs will clamp or tow away wrongly-parked cars. Reckon on paying around 3.40 euros per hour in the city centre. If you have been clamped, there is a section telling you what to do under 'clamping'. In September 2008, the council announced it was to phase out clamping because it is tourist unfriendly.

The city council website's section on cars opens with the question 'do you really want to bring your car to Amsterdam'. Its a good question.

The website also has a good map of what parking costs.

There is some city council information about transport and all that in English.