The Old Center
Start: The Dam.
Finish: Prins Hendrikkade, close to Centraal Station.
Time: 2 1/2 to 4 hours, or more, depending on how long you spend in museums, attractions, cafes, and stores (and on perusing the windows in the Red Light District).
Best Times: If you want to visit one or more of the museums or other attractions, remember that most of them open at 10am. The morning is a good time to do the section through the Red Light District, because by then most of its bizarre night folks have crashed out for the day.
This tour takes you past some of the main city-center points of interest in the Nieuwe Zijde (New Side). It sidesteps into the Oude Zijde (Old Side), the oldest part of town, the first part of which, around the university, is a place of tranquil canals, and then weaves through the Red Light District. You might be surprised to discover that this sex-for-sale zone occupies a handsome area of 16th-century canals and gabled houses and that "ordinary" people still live here and go on the with the daily business of life--as you'll observe if you take your eyes for a moment off the barely-clad women behind the red-lit windows. I don't recommend you do the Red Light section after dark; the district is seedier and more sinister by then, and while it has its own peculiar fascination is no longer a fitting segment of a casual stroll through town.
The starting point, reached by tram 4, 9, 14, 16, 17, 24, or 25, is:
1. The Dam--You'll look in vain for any sign of a dam on the Dam, but the city's main square is the likely site of the original dam built around 1270 on the Amstel River, that allowed Amsterdam to begin the growth trajectory that took it from backwater village to world-class watering-hole. A castle of the lords of Amstel stood here in those early days and ever since the Dam has been Amsterdam's civic heart. If that isn't enough, should you plan on feeding the city's pigeons during your visit, here's the place to do it.
You should make a leisurely circuit of the cobblestone square. Dominating the western side is the neoclassical:
2. Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace)--This structure was built between 1648 and 1655 as the Stadhuis (Town Hall) and was later chosen to be an official residence of the royal family. A symbolic sculpture on the rooftop depicts Atlas shouldering the globe.
Cross over Mozes en Aäronstraat to the:
3. Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)--This is the national church, where since 1814 all kings and queens of the Netherlands have been inaugurated. (Dutch monarchs are not crowned.) Built between the late 15th and the mid-17th centuries in the elaborate late-Gothic style, it often hosts temporary exhibits expensive enough to maybe make you think twice about going inside.
Outside the church, take narrow Eggertstraat at the side of the Nieuwe Cafe. On adjoining Gravenstraat, at no. 18, is:
4. De Drie Fleschjes--A character-rich proeflokaal (tasting house) from 1650, this is where merchants sampled liqueurs and spirits and which now specializes in jenever (Dutch gin). Among a warren of tiny alleyways around here, Blaeustraat, behind a locked gate beside De Drie Fleschjes, recalls the store at nearby Damrak 46 where the 17th-century mapmaker Johannes Blaeu sold his superb world atlases.
Continue on Gravenstraat around the outer wall of the Nieuwe Kerk to Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, from where you can look across to the Magna Plaza mall, in the old main Post Office building from 1908, known as De Perenberg (Pear Mountain) because of the pear-shaped decorations on its towers. You should leave shopping to another time and instead go along the front of the Nieuwe Kerk on Mozes en Aäronstraat to Damrak, casting a glance up at the painted, 15th-century wall sculpture of Sinter Claes (St. Nicholas), the city's patron, on the building just before the corner at Damrak.
Cross over busy Damrak (watch out for the trams), to Amsterdam's answer to Bloomingdale's:
5. De Bijenkorf (The Beehive)--This is a department store from 1915. In front of you is the magnificent Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky (the "Kras"). A short stroll along Damstraat at the side of the hotel would bring you right into the Red Light District--but we're not going there (not yet!). Instead, continue with this clockwise circuit of the Dam by crossing over to the:
6. Nationaal Monument--Built in 1956 to honor the dead from World War II, this 22m (72-ft.) obelisk by J. J. P. Oud is embedded with three sculptures by J. W. Rädeler: War, symbolized by four male figures; Peace, represented by a woman and child; and Resistance, signified by two men with howling dogs, all flanked by two stone lions that symbolize the Netherlands. The monument is the focus of a memorial ceremony every May 4, when the Queen places a wreath on the spot. For the rest of the year it's a hangout for teens.
From here cross over to the Amsterdam Diamond Center on the corner of Rokin and go across busy Rokin (watch out for the trams) to:
7. Madame Tussaud's--This is Amsterdam's answer to, well, to Madame Tussaud's--containing characters with a peculiarly Dutch waxen stare.
Continue to Kalverstraat, and go left on this bustling, pedestrians-only shopping street lined with department stores, cheap-'n'-cheerful stores, and boutiques, and right on Sint-Luciënsteeg to the fascinating:
8. Amsterdams Historisch Museum--A porch from 1592 that used to be the entrance to the city orphanage is now the museum entrance. The outer courtyard was for the boys and to the left are cupboards where they stored their tools. The inner courtyard was for the girls.
Exit the museum through the Schuttersgalerij, a covered arcade lined with group portraits of 16th- and 17th-century militia companies, and then on Gedempte Begijnensloot to the entrance, on the right, to the:
9. Begijnhof--This building is where devout women lived from the 14th century. No. 34, the oldest house in Amsterdam, was built in 1475 and is one of only two timber houses remaining in the city.
Pass between nos. 37 and 38 into:
10. Spui--Here, you'll find a square that's both elegant and animated. At its south end is a statue of a small boy, Het Lieverdje (The Little Darling), supposed to represent a typical Amsterdam kid. Across the street, at no. 21, is the Maagdenhuis, the main downtown building of the University of Amsterdam.
After all that walking, you're probably ready to go up onto Spuistraat, to:
Take a Break--Café Luxembourg, Spuistraat 22-24 (tel. 020/620-6264), which the New York Times considers "one of the world's great cafes," for drinks and one of their renowned sandwiches or snacks.
Walk to the end of Spui, to Rokin, and cross over, past a statue of Queen Wilhelmina, a canal tour-boat dock, and the Allard Pierson Museum's sparse collection of archaeological treasures. Go straight ahead on Lange Brugsteeg to Grimburgwal, in the district known as De Wallen (The Walls). The first street on the left, Nes, is lined with alternative theaters. You keep straight ahead, though, to:
11. Gebed Zonder End (Prayer Without End)--Essentially, this is an alleyway, the name of which comes from the convents that used to be here. It's said you could always hear the murmur of prayers from behind the walls.
Stay on Grimburgwal across Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijds Achterburgwal. Between these two canals is the:
12. Huis op de Drie Grachten (House on the Three Canals)--This is a handsome but over-restored Dutch Renaissance house from 1609.
Go a short way along the right bank of Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal to the:
13. Agnietenkapel--You may recognize the building at no. 231 by its elaborate ornamental gateway from 1571. This was the chapel of the St Agnes Convent until the Protestant takeover of Amsterdam. It later formed part of the Athenaeum Illustre, the city's first university, and now houses the university museum, which is not very interesting unless there's a special exhibit.
Return to the House on the Three Canals and cross the bridge to the far side of Oudezijds Achterburgwal, where you pass the Gasthuis, once a hospital and now part of the University of Amsterdam campus.
Turn right into:
14. Oudemanhuispoort--You'll find a dimly lit arcade that hosts a secondhand book market popular with students. Midway along, on the left, a doorway leads to a courtyard garden with a statue of Minerva. At the far end of the arcade, above the exterior doorway, is The Liberality, a sculpture of a seated female figure with three objects: a cornucopia (horn of plenty), symbolizing abundance; a book, symbolizing wisdom; and an oil lamp, symbolizing enlightenment. An old man and an old woman at her side represent old age and poverty. The statues were created in 1785 by city sculptor A. Ziesenis.
Turn right on Kloveniersburgwal, cross over the canal at the next bridge, and go left on the far bank of the canal, to Kloveniersburgwal 95:
15. The Poppenhuis--This lovely classical mansion from 1642 by Philips Vingboons was built for Joan Poppen, a dissolute grandson and heir to a rich German merchant. The youth hostel next door at no. 97 was originally a home for retired sea captains.
Continue on Kloveniersburgwal--behind the buildings to your right front as you cross Raamstraat, you'll see the tip of the Zuiderkerk spire--to Kloveniersburgwal 29:
16. The Trippenhuis--This house was built between 1660 and 1664 by Philips Vingboons for the Trip brothers, who were arms dealers, which accounts for the martial images and emblems dotted about the house. Originally, there were two houses behind a single classical facade, but the two have since been joined. It now houses the Royal Netherlands Academy of Science.
Backtrack to the canal bridge and cross over to Oude Hoogstraat and the:
17. Oost Indisch Huis (East India House)--Enter this 1606 building via a courtyard on the left side of the street. Once the headquarters of the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (V.O.C.), the United East India Company, the house now belongs to the University of Amsterdam. At Oude Hoogstraat 22, is Amsterdam's narrowest house, just 2.02m (6 2/3 ft.) wide.
Back on Kloverniersburgwal, go left. At no. 26 is the Klein Trippenhuis, the narrow house of the Trip brothers' coachman, which now houses the Webers avant-garde fashion store. Note a few doors along, at nos. 10-12, the drugstore Jacob Hooy & Co., which has been dispensing medicinal relief since 1743. A little further along, at nos. 6-8, is the:
18. Amsterdams Brouwhuis Maximiliaan--This is the city's smallest brewery, in a surviving part of the 16th-century Bethaniënklooster (Bethaniën Convent). It produces 10 different beers and serves them from copper vats. The nuns who once brewed their own beer here have long since departed but their beer-making tradition has returned in the shape of this brewery with a rustic-chic, wood-floored bar and restaurant attached.
In the center of Nieuwmarkt, the large, open square dead ahead, is:
19. De Waag (Weigh House)--This house was once one of the city's medieval gates, and later the Weigh House and guild offices. It now houses a multimedia center and a fashionable cafe-restaurant, In de Waag.
Take a turn around bustling Nieuwmarkt, the center of Amsterdam's diminutive Chinatown ("Chinahamlet" might be a better description) and site of a Sunday antiques market in summertime. Now, we're going to head into the Red Light District. If you don't want to do this, go instead along Zeedijk at the northwest corner of Nieuwmarkt and I'll pick you up again further along that street. If you have no objection to viewing the Red Light District in all its tacky glory, take Monnickenstraat to Oudezijds Achterburgwal and turn right, past windows that frame prostitutes waiting for customers, or have closed curtains to signify that a deal has been done, to the next bridge. Then, go through narrow Oude Kennissteeg directly ahead to Oudezijds Voorburgwal. Cross over this canal, and to your right is the:
20 Oude Kerk--This was the city's first great Gothic church. Rembrandt's wife Saskia is buried within. Nowadays, the pretty little gabled almshouses around the church have red-fringed windows through which you can see scantily dressed hookers.
Go north on Oudezijds Voorburgwal to no. 40:
21. Museum Amstelkring--Here, you can visit a hidden Catholic church in a superb example of a 17th-century patrician canal house.
At the end of Oudezijds Voorburgwal, turn right on Sint-Olofssteeg to Zeedijk. (Welcome back to anyone who passed on the Red Light District; as compensation, you'll surely have noticed the magnificent Buddhist Fo Guang Shan He Hua Temple at Zeedijk 106-116 as you came along the street.) Go left, to:
22. Sint-Olofskapel (Saint Olof's Chapel), at Zeedijk, 2A--The fishermen's dog that in some legends of the city's foundation marked the spot where Amsterdam began by throwing up, is said to have done the deed on the site of Saint Olof's, which the fishermen supposedly founded in gratitude for their escape. But the chapel was built around 1425 and Amsterdam dates from the end of the 12th century. You can sometimes enter the church, which was restored during the 1990s and re-opened as a congress center, via a tunnel under Zeedijk from the Golden Tulip Barbizon Palace Hotel.
From here, you continue past two great Amsterdam taverns: Het Elfde Gebod at Zeedijk 5, which stocks 50 different kinds of beer, and the traditional bar 't Aepje at Zeedijk 1, in one of Amsterdam's two surviving timber houses (the other is in the Begijnhof, see above), from 1550. You emerge on Prins Hendrikkade beside:
23. Sint-Nicolaaskerk (St. Nicholas Church), at no. 73--Opened in 1888 and restored in 2000, the city's main Catholic church has twin towers and a high, domed cupola. Inside, bronze reliefs illustrate themes from the Miracle of Amsterdam in 1345: Pilgrims on the Miracle Procession and Habsburg Emperor Maximilian, cured of a malady after a visit to the Sacrament Chapel, handing Amsterdam the imperial crown.
From here, you can get to Centraal Station just by crossing over busy Prins Hendrikkade. But before doing so, maybe a break is in order next door, at:
Winding Down--Hudson's Café, in the Golden Tulip Hotel Inntel Amsterdam-Centre, Prins Hendrikkade 59-72 (tel. 020/556-4564), a tony watering hole that serves light food and drinks.
