24 Best Sights in Amsterdam, Netherlands

This tree-filled courtyard is a residential hideaway where women of the Beguine order lived a chaste, spiritual life from the 14th century onward. Number 34 is the oldest house in Amsterdam—one of two remaining wooden houses in the city following 15th-century fires that consumed three-quarters of the city. The small Engelse Hervormde Kerk (English Reformed Church) dates to the 14th century, when it was a place of worship for the Begijnen. After the Alteration of 1578 the church was relinquished to Protestants. When senior Begijn Cornelia Arents died in 1654, she said she'd rather be buried in the gutter than in the (now Protestant) church. Her wish was granted; look for the granite slab and plaque on the wall between the church and lawn.

Lined with traditional burgher houses of the 17th century, this quaint canal is beloved by locals and visitors alike. Many say it's the most pictureseque canal in the city. This was once a center for paint and dye manufacturers, which makes sense because the Jordaan was populated with Golden Age artists—including Rembrandt, who had a studio here. Bloemgracht is still proudly presided over by "De Drie Hendricken," three houses set at Nos. 87–91 owned by the Hendrick de Keyser heritage organization, with their gable stones for a farmer, a city settler, and a sailor.

Regularly voted Amsterdam's most beautiful street, this wonderful canal at the northern border of the Jordaan is lined with residences and former warehouses for the brewers, fish processors, and tanneries who operated here in the 17th century when Amsterdam was the "warehouse of the world." On top of the old canal, mansions dotting the Brouwersgracht are symbols referring to the breweries that used this waterway to transport their goods to thirsty drinkers hundreds of years ago. Although most of the buildings have been converted into luxury apartments, an old-world charm still reigns. Of particular note are buildings at Nos. 204–212, with their trapezium gables. At No. 162, there are two dried fish above the door; this decoration on a metal screen was the forerunner of the gable stone to denote occupation. The canal provides long views down the grand canals that are perfect for photo ops.

Just beyond the Jordaan and across from the main canal that borders the Western Islands is one of contemporary Amsterdam's most cherished spaces. It's a park first and foremost, with lawns, playgrounds, water fountains, a fabulous designer paddling pool, a barbecue area, and a couple of tennis courts. The sprawling terrain of the city's old Western gasworks has been turned into the Westergasfabriek: cafés, galleries, clubs, shops, and an art-house cinema occupy the former industrial landscape that has been lovingly detoxed, replanted, and refurbished building by building. There's even a bit of natural wilderness (or at least the organized Dutch brand of "wilderness") behind the park, with a community farm, a petting zoo, a natural playground for kids, and some polder areas with footpaths between them. The lovely late-19th-century Sint Barbara cemetery is here, too.

Over 115 years old, the Albert Cuypmarkt (named for a Golden Age painter) is said to be one of the biggest street markets in Europe. There is a long waiting list for a permanent booth, which means that things can get dramatic around 9 every morning, when the lottery for that day's available temporary spaces takes place. From Monday to Saturday (the busiest day), come rain or shine, thousands of shoppers from throughout the city flock to its more than 260 stalls selling fruit and vegetables, fish, flowers, textiles, and clothing. It's a great place to get a taste of local culture as vendors bark out their bargains over the sound of street musicians. Be sure to try some Dutch snacks, like freshly made stroopwafels (thin waffle cookies with a layer of caramel sandwiched in between) or patat (french fries served with mayonnaise or satay sauce).

Beyond Oud-Zuid, straddling Amsterdam and Amstelveen, the largest of Amsterdam's parks covers 1,000 hectares (almost 2,500 acres) and incorporates 200 km (124 miles) of foot, bike, and bridle paths traversed by 116 bridges—67 of which designed in the early-20th-century Amsterdam School style, with characteristic redbrick and sculpted-stone detailing. There are wide recreational fields, a boating lake, the impressive Olympic Bosbaan rowing course (overlooked by the terraces of grand café De Bosbaan), and numerous playgrounds and wonderful water-play areas for toddlers.

One popular family attraction is the Geitenboerderij "De Ridammerhoeve" goat farm (Nieuwe Meerlaan 4, follow the blue signs past Boerderij Meerzicht020/645–5034www.geitenboerderij.nl) with a playground and lunchroom, a sunny terrace, and lots of chickens hopping about between the goats. Your kids can bottle-feed the four-legged kind and cuddle bleating babies in the barn.

For public transport to the Amsterdamse Bos, there are various options: visit 9292-ov.nl for up-to-date information or call 0900–9292. You can also rent bikes (020/644–5473) year-round at the entrance of the Amsterdamse Bos opposite the visitor center; maps, suggested routes, and signposting are plentiful throughout the park.

If you didn't pack your own lunch, Boerderij Meerzicht is a traditional Dutch pancake house, with a small deer zoo and playground for kids (Koenenkade 020/679–2744www.boerderijmeerzicht.nl).

The Architecture Center Amsterdam is dedicated to the city's architecture, urban design, and landscape architecture, and hosts exhibitions, lectures, and tours. They publish a wide range of maps and guides both in print and online, including ARCAM's Architecture Guide, which contains information on more than 600 Amsterdam buildings. Its swoopy silver building has become an architectural icon. Every Friday at 1:30 pm, ARCAM organizes an English language "Crash Course in Amsterdam" architectural history lecture (€8) followed by a guided walk (€24.50 including talk, €18 walk only). There's also an interactive touch-screen table if you prefer to discover the city by yourself.

Home to Het Koninklijk Paleis and De Nieuwe Kerk, Dam Square (or just "Dam") is Amsterdam's main square. It traces its roots to the 13th century and the dam built over the Amstel River (hence the city's name, a bastardization of the earlier Amstelredam). The waters of the Damrak (the continuation of the Amstel) once reached right up to the Dam, with ships and barges sailing to the weigh house. Folks came here to trade, talk, protest---and be executed. In the 17th century, the square was hemmed in by houses and packed with markets. For a taste of that atmosphere, head into the warren of alleys behind the Nieuwe Kerk, with a 1650 proeflokaal (jenever [Dutch gin] tasting house) called De Drie Fleschjes (The Three Small Bottles) on Gravenstraat. In the 19th century, the Damrak was filled in to form the street leading to Centraal Station, and King Louis, Napoléon's brother, demolished the old weigh house in 1808 because it spoiled the view from his bedroom window in the Royal Palace. Today, the Dam is a teeming magnet for celebrations, fairs, street performers, and protests.

Built in 1488, the Waag functioned as a city gate, Sint Antoniespoort, until 1617. It would be closed at exactly 9:30 pm to keep out not only bandits but also the poor and diseased who squatted outside the city's walls. When Amsterdam expanded, the structure began a second life as a weigh house for incoming goods. The top floor of the building accommodated the municipal militia and several guilds, including the stonemasons, who did the evocative decorations that grace each of the seven towers' entrances. One tower housed a teaching hospital for the Surgeons' Guild. The Theatrum Anatomicum (Anatomy Theater), with its cupola tower covered in painted coats of arms, was the first place in the Netherlands to host public autopsies; for obvious reasons, these took place only in the winter. The building is now occupied by Restaurant-Café In De Waag and the Waag Society (institute for art, science, and technology).

The floral canal names in the Jordaan district are at odds with the fragrances that would have emanated from them in their early days. This canal, named for the "eglantine rose," is one of Amsterdam's loveliest. Many of its houses and surrounding streets were first occupied by Golden Age painters and artisans, including the legendary Blaeu family of mapmakers. Hidden here is the St. Andrieshofje, famous for its Delftware entryway. And certainly not hidden (because it's usually jammed with people) is the famed Café 't Smalle (on the corner of the Prinsengracht). This brown café, covered with eglantine roses and complete with a floating terrace, was where Pieter Hoppe began his jenever (Dutch gin) distillery in 1780, an event of such global significance that 't Smalle is re-created in Japan's Holland Village in Nagasaki.

By the beginning of the 18th century, Amsterdam had a virtual monopoly in the diamond industry in Europe, so when diamonds were discovered in South Africa in 1869, there was a windfall for Amsterdam's Jewish communities, a third of whom worked in the diamond trade. Built in 1879, Gassan Diamonds was once home to the Boas diamond-polishing factory, the largest in the world, where 357 diamond-polishing machines processed around 8,000–10,000 carats of rough diamonds per week. Today, Gassan offers polishing and grading demonstrations and free hour-long tours, in more than 27 languages, of the building and its glittering collection of diamonds and jewelry.

This Neoclassical ceremonial gateway was built in 1840 as an excise post to replace one of the former city gates, which had to be demolished. It has been variously used as a police station, fire station, and public works office; in 1986 it was restored and converted into apartments. It's a useful landmark to find your way to the Westerpark.

This beautiful and seemingly tranquil tree-lined square hides a lively and radical past---in the 1960s, the Provo counterculture movement held weekly gatherings around the statue in the center of the square. Journalists and bookworms have long favored its many cafés, and the Atheneum News Center (No. 14–16) and its adjoining bookstore are the city's best places to peruse an international array of literature, magazines, and newspapers. More cultural browsing can be enjoyed at the Spui's book market on Friday and at its art market on Sunday.

Jewish financier, economist, and scholar Isaac de Pinto was a significant investor in the Dutch East Indies Company and bought this house in 1651. It was grandly renovated in the style of Dutch Classicism by his son, together with architect Elias Bouwman, in the 1680s. In the 1960s it was almost demolished so that the street could be widened, but activists saved the building. The restored interior features recent additions, such as beautiful painted ceilings and by the entrance, a little cherub reading a book, a reference to the building's current manifestation as a literary and cultural center. The reading room is a peaceful place to while away a few hours on a rainy day (or swap a book in the book exchange library) and ''coffee concerts,'' book presentations, and other cultural events are regularly held here.

Landmarking the eastern corner of the Waterlooplein, this structure once had a warehouse facade to disguise its function as a clandestine Catholic church. If this church could speak, it would name-drop the great philosopher Spinoza (it was built on the location of his birth house) and Franz Liszt (it hosted a recital of his Graner Messe, attended by the Hungarian composer himself). Originally built in the 1640s, it was rebuilt in 1841 by architect T. F. Suys, then refurbished in 1969. The church's popular name (Moses and Aaron) refers to the figures adorning two gable stones of the original edifice, now seen in the rear wall. In a rare move in a rapidly secularizing country where churches are sometimes turned into carpet stores or bowling alleys, the Mozes en Aäronkerk was reconsecrated in 2014, after a hiatus of 34 years. It's used today by the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio.

The National Monument, a towering white travertine obelisk, was erected in 1956 as a memorial to those who died in World War II. Designed by architect J.J.P. Oud, who thought that De Stijl minimalism was in keeping with the monument's message, it's the focal point for Remembrance Day (May 4), when Dutch losses in wars and peacekeeping missions around the world are commemorated. The monument contains 12 urns: 11 are filled with earth from all the Dutch provinces, and the 12th contains earth from the former colonies (Indonesia, Suriname, and the Antilles). Oud designed the steps to be used as seating, and today it's still a favored rest spot and a great place to watch the world go by.

While it's one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam, the Nes may not one of the prettiest, but it's filled with plenty of theaters and restaurants. For two centuries, it was packed with monasteries and convents, until the Alteration (or Protestant changeover) in 1578, which kick-started Amsterdam's march toward the Golden Age. Adjacent to the southern end of the Nes is Gebed Zonder End, the "Prayer Without End" alleyway, which got its name because it was said you could always hear prayers from behind the walls of the convents that used to line the alley. The Frascati Theater (No. 63) began life as a coffeehouse in 1810, but it wasn't until the 1850s that the street really blossomed with cafés filled with dance, song, operetta performances, and vaudeville, the stars of which often represented the less uptight segment of the Jewish community.

Landmarked by its now-famous pair of chiseled spectacles set over the Oudezijds Achterburgwal pediment—a sweet reference to old age—this passage led to an Oudemannenhuis, or pensioners' house, founded in 1602. Today bikes (not canes) are in evidence here, as this former almshouse is now part of the University of Amsterdam. One charming relic from its 18th-century days is the covered walkway, which was once lined with traders selling luxury items, whose rents helped subsidize the elderly. Adorned with red shutters, the stalls now house an array of antiquarian booksellers. Atop the Kloveniersburgwal end stands a group of allegorical figures, sculpted by Anthonie Ziesenis in 1786, representing Mercy with the attributes of Abundance (a horn), Enlightenment (a lamp), and Wisdom (a book) flanked by Old Age and Poverty.

This stunning park was built by and named after noted city benefactor Samuel Sarphati (1813–66), whose statue graces the central fountain. It has undulating paths among the trees, duck ponds, and expanses of grass, and though not very large, it's the perfect place to picnic with everything you picked up at the Albert Cuypmarkt. If you have little ones, there's a wonderful sandpit/playground on the northwest side, while a nature playground was added for bigger kids in the summer of 2020 on the southeast side.

With its extravagantly phantasmagoric lead-roof detail spilling over various sculpted sea horses, boat anchors, sea gods (Neptune and his four wives), dolphins, and even shoals of fish, this is one of Amsterdam's most delightful early 20th-century structures. Built in the 1910s with a suitably prow-shape front, it was used as the headquarters for the major shipping firms operating in Java and the Spice Islands during the final Dutch colonial years. Today it's the five-star Grand Hotel Amrâth Amsterdam. Twentieth-century master architects Piet Kramer, Johan van der Mey, and Michel de Klerk all contributed to the design of the building; their structure was one of the opening salvos by the fantastic Amsterdam School. After you admire all the ornamentation on the facade, amble around the sides to take in the busts of noted explorers, such as Barentsz and Mercator, along with patterned brickwork and strutting iron tracery. Wander inside to check out the design of the Seven Seas restaurant and have a drink at the classically restored bar. You can book a private tour of the building and its lavish interiors (Sunday only, in combination with a rather expensive high tea or lunch, via Museum Het Schip www.hetschip.com).

The architect A. C. Bleys designed this Catholic church with its large dome, twin steeples, and colorful stained-glass windows as a replacement for all the clandestine churches that operated during the Reformation. After the Oude Kerk and the Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic) chapel, this church, completed in 1887, became the third (and probably final) Sint-Nicolaas church in Amsterdam. Saint Nicholas, the all-purpose patron saint of children, thieves, prostitutes, sailors, and the City of Amsterdam, transforms into Sinterklaas in mid-November, when he is popularly said to arrive from Spain on a steamboat with his helper Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). The eve of his birthday on December 6 is celebrated as a family feast when everyone exchanges presents and poems. In recent years, the Black Pete phenomenon has received a lot of flak, with some claiming that Sinterklaas's sidekick is a slave. There are church tours for groups with a minimum of seven participants; call for reservations on Thursday 10–noon. The church hosts a Gregorian chant vesper service on Sunday at 5, September–June.

This rather touristy strip of hostels, bars, and coffeeshops began life as one of the original dikes along the Amstel. It's where the famous 17th-century poet Joost van den Vondel did business from his hosiery shop at No. 101, and where Mozart's father tried to unload tickets for his son's concerts in the area's upscale bars. It entered a decline in the 17th century when the proprietors decamped for fancier digs on the Canal Ring; sailors (and the businesses that catered to them) started to fill in the gaps. In the 19th century, the street devolved, along with its extension, Nes, into the city's primary debauchery zone. Today, there's an active gay scene here: look out for the rainbow and black-and-blue flags.

Few streets have had a longer or more torrid history than Zeedijk (it means "sea dike," as it sounds), which has been around since Amsterdam began life as a boggy hamlet. In the 15th and 16th centuries, its businesses serviced the lonely, thirsty sailors disembarking from the ships of the East India Company. By the 1970s, though, most of the traffic Zeedijk saw was drug traffic, and tourists were advised to avoid the neighborhood at night because of the junkies and high crime rate. Since its renovation, Zeedijk has become a pleasant street, with plenty of restaurants, pubs, and shops, and it's a very nice place to wander.

There are several interesting sights along the Zeedijk. The entrance of 15th-century Sint Olofskapel (St. Olaf Chapel) sports a sandstone sculpture by Hendrick de Keyser: grains growing out of a supine skeleton with a Latin inscription meaning "Hope for a better life." It's now an events venue. Across the street at No. 1 is one of only two houses with timber facades left in the city. Dating to around 1550, In't Aepjen (In the Monkeys) provided bedding to destitute sailors if they promised to return from their next voyage with a monkey. Café 't Mandje at No. 65 was the first openly gay bar, run by legendary lesbian biker chick Bet van Beeren (1902–67). It reopened in 2008, with much of the original interior restored, complete with the trophy ties Bet snipped off customers. The Chinese community dominates the end of the street, where street signs are in Dutch and Mandarin. There are around 10,000 Chinese in Amsterdam, a 20th-century presence much younger than the Dutch in China (Taiwan came under Dutch control in 1624). One highlight is the Fo Guang Shan He Hua Buddhist temple (No. 118), the largest Buddhist temple in Europe constructed in the traditional style. Chinatown extends into Geldersekade and Nieuwmarkt, and every year there are small (but colorful) Chinese New Year celebrations.

Gorgeous enough to have inspired both Sir Christopher Wren and Claude Monet, this famous church was built between 1603 and 1611 by Hendrick de Keyser, one of the most prolific architects of Holland's Golden Age (he also chose to be buried here). It was one of the earliest churches built in Amsterdam in the Renaissance style and was the first in the city to be built for the (Protestant) Dutch Reformed Church. During the Dutch famine of 1944 (known as the Hunger Winter), it served as a morgue. The church's hallowed floors, under which three of Rembrandt's children are buried, are now rented out as an events and exhibitions venue. The church tower—a soaring accumulation of columns, brackets, and balustrades—is one of the most glorious exclamation points in Amsterdam.