The famed tourism-promotion-inspired slogan Iamsterdam that stood in huge letters in Amsterdam’s Museumplein is gone but not gone: While the famous originals, located near the Rijksmuseum have been removed, tourists still have options.
The current city government ordered the removal in part because for many locals it had become a symbol of overtourism and a celebration of ‘I’ over community, and because they were drawing too many people to an already crowded space. So, after fourteen years, the letters have been removed to storage.
In their place, and online, notices have been posted to help disappointed travelers get the Instagram or selfie they want: The city actually owns five sets of the letters, and two are still on display, one at Schiphol Airport, and the other in a park near Sloterplas lake in the western part of the city.
