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Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country. The city, which had a population of 747,290 on 1 January 2008, comprises the northern part of the Randstad, the 6th-largest metropolitan area in Europe, with a population of around 6.7 million. The city is the financial and cultural[citation needed] capital of the Netherlands. Many large Dutch institutions have their headquarters there, and 7 of the world´s top 500 companies, including Philips and ING, are based in the city . The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, part of Euronext, is located in the city centre. Amsterdam´s main attractions, including its historic canals, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, its red-light district and its many cannabis coffee shops, draw 4.2 million tourists annually.
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