Seven highlights to visit including canals, museums and bars
Seven Wonders of Amsterdam
In the 17th century, Amsterdam was the most influential trading center in Europe. Today it’s a compact cultural juggernaut, offering everything from world-class art and museums to traditional pubs and UNESCO-listed canals.
1 Navigating the Canal Belt
Avoid the Dutch (and women) flying around on elegant bicycles and pause to watch canal boats glide under the many arched bridges of Amsterdam’s iconic network of waterways. Built in the 17th century with the aim of reusing urban space, the old city’s Canal Belt is UNESCO-listed and extends over an area of more than 100 kilometres. Step inside the Museum van Loon to see the well-preserved canal house that once belonged to one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company. The collection includes family portraits, silver and porcelain. To see museumvanloon.nl
2 Get lost in the Rijksmuseum
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Mark the Dutch answer Mona Lisa This museum, built in the neo-gothic style in the 1800s, exhibits more than 1 million works. Vigil Rembrandt appears to depict the civil guard of Amsterdam commanding his own chamber. Works by other Dutch greats, including Vermeer, adorn the halls here, but don’t miss the views of the Cuypers Library from the gallery above. The Netherlands’ oldest arts and literature library features high bookshelves, a large skylight, and its 450,000 objects can be viewed by appointment. To see rijksmuseum.nl
3 Drinks at a bruin bar
With their cozy, dark wood interiors, brass fittings and endearing wear and tear, Amsterdam’s oldest watering holes serve more than beer and bitterballen. Many of the city’s traditional “brown cafes” have served as vital meeting places for Amsterdam’s colorful residents for centuries. Cafe Chris in the Jordaan has been running water since 1624. It’s so old that the toilet’s flush mechanism is located in the common area of the bar rather than in the stall.
4 Visit Oud Kerke
Rembrandt’s wife Saskia van Uylenburgh and leading Dutch composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck are among the 60,000 people buried beneath this 700-year-old church-turned-creative hub in Amsterdam’s historic Red Light District. Amsterdam’s oldest building functions as a contemporary art space, mostly with interactive or audiovisual elements. Heritage medieval stained glass windows, 25-metre-high spiral staircases and a baroque organ form the canvas for the city’s most extraordinary works of art. To see oudekerk.nl
5 Stands in Dam Square
Amsterdam was given its name by a dam built on the Amstel River in the 13th century to prevent the then fishing settlement from being flooded. Today it is the cultural heartbeat of the city and home to numerous landmarks, including the 17th-century neoclassical Amsterdam Royal Palace. Book tickets to see the Citizens’ Hall, which features a six-foot statue of the Greek god Atlas holding a globe and a marble floor covered with world maps depicting Amsterdam as the center of the universe during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. To see paleisamsterdam.nl
6 See modern art at the Moco Museum
Tired of the old masters? A few steps away from the Van Gogh Museum is this compact collection of contemporary art with a pop culture dominance, although it is housed in a historic villa dating back to 1904. Alongside a permanent Banksy exhibit, this multi-storey townhouse displays influencer-worthy digital and immersive artworks, including American artist KAWS’ Elmo chair and iconic works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Damien Hirst. To see mocomuseum.com
7 Stop by Rembrandt
Like many people in the 17th century, Dutch baroque painter Rembrandt is said to have slept sitting up. His box-spring bed, designed for an upright position to allegedly aid digestion, can be seen among other personal objects and etchings in his art studio at the Rembrandt House Museum in central Amsterdam. The artist lived here between 1639 and 1658 and created many of his masterpieces here. To see rembrandthuis.nl
The author traveled at his own expense.
Jenny Hewett is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer who has lived in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and loves nothing more than being surrounded by nature and wildlife.
