There are few public toilets in the Netherlands, but if you’re lucky enough to find one, you can recognise if it's for Ladies (Dames) or Gents (Heren) by a symbol or a word on the door. When you have to go badly, it's not generally accepted to simply barge into a café or restaurant. If you do, staff will appreciate if you ask in advance if you may use the toilet. If you see a saucer by the toilets, then you're expected to donate a small amount of money for toilet maintenance; 20 or 50 cents is fine. There's an excellent privately owned toilet on the city's main shopping street, the Kalverstraat, called 2theloo (www.2theloo.com), which is well worth the €1 fee.