Amsterdam neighbourhoods
From seventeenth-century canals to shipyards on the IJ.
Amsterdam is built in rings. At the heart lies the medieval city, around it the seventeenth-century canal ring with the Jordaan, beyond that the nineteenth-century districts such as De Pijp and Oost, and further out the twentieth-century extensions. Across the IJ lies Noord, long a world of its own and now one of the fastest-changing parts of the city.
The neighbourhood portraits on this site describe how each area came about, what there is to see and what a visit might look like. The emphasis is on architecture, markets, parks and culture. The Amsterdam School, the architectural style that defines whole residential districts in West and Zuid, has a separate article in the design and media art section.
Getting around
Within the ring road the bicycle is the fastest way to get from one neighbourhood to another. Trams run through the centre and to Zuid and Oost, the Noord/Zuidlijn metro links Noord via Centraal Station with De Pijp and Zuid, and the ferries behind Centraal Station cross to Noord free of charge.
Not yet covered
The selection is deliberately limited to areas where art, architecture and daily life meet. Oost, with the Oosterpark and the Dappermarkt, the Plantage with the Hortus and Artis, and West with the Westerpark and the former Westergas gasworks are also worth a visit. Portraits of those areas will follow; until then the articles on the annual calendar and nightlife refer to them where relevant.
Everything in this section
The Jordaan and the canal ring
The canal ring as a UNESCO World Heritage site and the Jordaan with its markets, almshouses and galleries: a portrait of Amsterdam's best-known neighbourhoods.
NeighbourhoodsDe Pijp: market, park and nineteenth-century streets
De Pijp in Amsterdam-Zuid: the Albert Cuyp Market, Sarphatipark, the nineteenth-century streets and the transition to the Amsterdam School in the south.
NeighbourhoodsAmsterdam-Noord: the city across the IJ
Amsterdam-Noord with the NDSM wharf, Eye Filmmuseum, Nxt Museum and the free ferries across the IJ: a portrait of the district that changed fastest culturally.