World-famous city of canals, bikes and tolerance, Amsterdam celebrated 750 years since its founding Monday, but the Dutch capital is now grappling with the very modern problems of overtourism and a housing shortage.

At 7:50 am exactly, in torrential rain, mayor Femke Halsema cut into a 75-metre-long cake, eventually divided up into 7,500 pieces and distributed around the city.

It was on October 27, 1275, that the citizens of Amstel dam (or "Amstelledamme") were first mentioned in an official document.

Seven-and-a-half centuries later, the city is home to nearly one million inhabitants, the largest in the Netherlands.

That number was swelled by a staggering 27 million day visitors in 2024, according to city hall.

Every day, tourists stream from the baroque Centraal Station looking for

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