The old centre
The city’s most historic, sleaziest and liveliest buzzing district.
The Grachtengordel
The Amsterdam that everyone dreams of – peaceful canals, criss crossed by bridges and reflecting elegant, gabled houses.
The Jordaan and Western docklands
Amsterdam’s old working-class heart, now firmly gentrified with a boho vibe, but still retaining vestiges of its old roots.
The Old Jewish Quarter and Eastern docklands
A much-changed neighbourhood that holds some traces of what was once one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe.
The Museum Quarter and the Vondelpark
Amsterdam’s first nineteenth-century suburbs, and nowadays an affluent home to some of the city’s best museums and by far its most enticing park.
The outer districts
Though perhaps not as rich in interest as the suburbs of other European capitals, there is nonetheless plenty worth visiting in Amsterdam’s suburban neighbourhoods.
Day-trips
There’s loads more to see in the surrounding countryside than Amsterdammers would have you believe – and in most cases it couldn’t be easier to each.