Discover Amsterdam

Places to visit in Amsterdam

Discover local landmarks and their stories. Open a place guide to plan your visit, or explore the city with a self-guided quest.

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Amsterdam

Dam Square

The name Dam Square tells you almost everything you need to know about its origins. Around 1270, someone built a dam across the Amstel River to prevent flooding and manage water levels. The settlement that grew up around…

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Amsterdam

Westerkerk

The Westerkerk in Amsterdam is a Protestant church of such proportion and presence that it dominates the western part of the city even today. Built between 1620 and 1631 in Renaissance style, it stands as the largest chu…

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Amsterdam

Oude Kerk

The Oude Kerk (Old Church) doesn't just stand in Amsterdam. It survives. Founded around 1213 and consecrated in 1306, it is Amsterdam's oldest building, and walking into it is like stepping directly into the city's earli…

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Amsterdam

De Waag

De Waag, the "Weighing House," is not just a building. It's a story about transformation, how a city reinvents itself while carrying its past forward. Built in 1488 as Sint Antoniespoort, a city gate in Amsterdam's medie…

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Amsterdam

Amsterdam City Hall

Amsterdam's City Hall is not what most people expect. For starters, it shares a building with the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, a combination so unusual that locals gave it a nickname: the Stopera (a mashup of "stadhu…

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Amsterdam

Blauwbrug

The Blauwbrug, the Blue Bridge, crosses Amsterdam's Amstel River with the grace and presence of a monument. Its name carries history. Around 1600, a wooden bridge painted blue (the color of the Dutch flag) crossed at thi…

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Amsterdam

The Weepers Tower

The Schreierstoren, known in English as the Weepers Tower, stands on the edge of Amsterdam's old harbour, and its name is one of the city's most charming misunderstandings. The popular legend says this is where the wive…

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Amsterdam

Montelbaanstoren

The Montelbaanstoren leans slightly, and has done so since 1610, a physical testament to Amsterdam's precarious relationship with its watery foundation. Built in 1516 as a watchtower after the Guelderians burned the Last…

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Amsterdam

Staalmeestersbrug

The Staalmeestersbrug is a wooden drawbridge that crosses the Groenburgwal canal, and it represents everything that makes Amsterdam visually and romantically unforgettable. Built in 1928 and renovated in 1964, it's a rel…

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Amsterdam

Anne Frank House

The building at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam looks like any other canal house, four stories of brick and windows facing the water. Built in 1635 by Dirk van Delft, it's old but not the oldest building in Amsterdam. Wha…

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Amsterdam

Noordermarkt

Noordermarkt, the northern market, has been a gathering place in Amsterdam since 1616, though it originally went by the name Prinsenmarkt. When the Noorderkerk was completed in 1623, the square was renamed to reflect its…

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Amsterdam

Westerstraat

Westerstraat, in the Jordaan district, is lined with market stalls on most days, but there's something you might not realize when you walk along it: Westerstraat used to be water. The street was originally the Anjeliersg…

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Amsterdam

Rembrandt House

On Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam stands a house that shaped one of history's greatest artistic legacies. Built around 1606 and renovated around 1627, possibly by the architect Jacob van Campen, it was the residence of Rem…

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Amsterdam

Jordaan District

The Jordaan is one of Amsterdam's most alluring neighborhoods, and its character comes from a specific moment in history. Built starting in 1612 for the working classes and immigrants, it was designed as a neighborhood f…

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Amsterdam

Oost-Indisch Huis

The Oost-Indisch Huis, the East Indian House, stands on Kloveniersburgwal as headquarters of the Amsterdam chamber of the Dutch East India Company, the famous VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie). Founded in 1602, th…

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