The bell of the Westerkerk tolls the half hour across the Jordaan. It is ten in the morning on a Saturday, and the neighbourhood is waking up. Bicycles ring past, coffee grinders whir, market stalls are being set up on the Lindengracht and the Noordermarkt. Amsterdam is not one city but nine distinct neighbourhoods, each with its own character, its own rhythm, and its own reason to visit. This area guide will help you navigate them like a local, weather you have three days or three weeks.
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The Canal Belt: The Heart of the Golden Age
The Grachtengordel, the UNESCO listed canal ring, is the essential Amsterdam. The Herengracht, Keizersgracht, and Prinsengracht were built in the seventeenth century as Amsterdam expanded during its Golden Age. Walking along these canals is the single best way to experience the city. The gabled houses, the arched bridges, the houseboats moored along the edges, it is all exactly as beautiful as the postcards suggest. The essential stop is Museum Van Loon at Keizersgracht 672, a canal house open to the public that offers the best glimpse into Golden Age canal life. Entry is fourteen euros. The kitchen, the coach house, and the garden are all preserved in period detail. Walk the full three canals from the Brouwersgracht to the Amstel. It takes about an hour and passes some of the most photographed views in Amsterdam. The canal cruise is a cliche for good reason. A one hour boat tour costs between twelve and twenty euros and gives you a perspective on the city that you cannot get from the streets.
The Jordaan: The Best Neighbourhood in Amsterdam
Originally a working class neighbourhood built in the seventeenth century, the Jordaan is now the most desirable area in the city. Narrow streets, leaning gabled houses, independent boutiques, and some of the best cafes in Amsterdam. The Saturday morning markets are the highlight. The Noordermarkt hosts an organic farmers’ market where you can buy a fresh stroopwafel made on the iron for three euros and aged Gouda for five euros. The Lindengracht market, also on Saturday, is the general market where locals do their weekly shopping. Herring with chopped onion costs four euros and is the essential Amsterdam lunch. Winkel 43 serves the famous apple pie for five euros fifty. Arrive at eleven in the morning for the first pie of the day with no queue. Papeneiland, a brown cafe from 1642, serves genever for three euros and is the best pub in the Jordaan. The neighbourhood is also home to the Anne Frank House, but book tickets months in advance.
De Pijp: The Latin Quarter
De Pijp is Amsterdam’s multicultural heart, home to the Albert Cuypmarkt, the largest outdoor market in Europe with two hundred and sixty stalls. The market runs daily except Sunday and sells everything from stroopwafels to fresh fish to second hand books. Arrive at ten in the morning before the crowds. The best stalls sell out by two in the afternoon. The essential De Pijp lunch is at Bazar on Albert Cuypstraat, a North African restaurant that serves merguez and couscous for ten euros in a converted church with stained glass windows. The Heineken Experience is nearby if you want the tourist version of Dutch beer culture.
Amsterdam Noord: The Creative Shore
Across the IJ river from Centraal Station, reachable by a free three minute ferry, sits Amsterdam Noord. This former industrial area has been transformed into the city’s most creative district. The A’DAM Toren offers an observation deck for fourteen euros and the Over the Edge swing, one hundred metres up, the most terrifying swing in Europe. The NDSM wharf, a former shipyard turned street art destination, hosts the IJ Hallen flea market one weekend a month. Pllek, built from shipping containers on an artificial beach, is the best spot for a drink with a view. The ferry ride itself offers the best view of Amsterdam’s skyline.
Which Amsterdam neighbourhood would you explore first. The historic Canal Belt, the lively Jordaan, the multicultural Pijp, or the creative energy of Noord?
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