City Layout

Amsterdam can be a very puzzling city to navigate. Even with a map, you may find yourself shaking your head in confusion. Centraal Station is the main train depot, and the city fans out from there southward in concentric semicircles of canals. Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht, Prinsengracht, and Singelgracht are the main ones. 16^th and 17^th century merchants built elegant homes along these canals and many of them stand today, the largest and grandest are located on Herengracht. Many smaller canals and streets connect to the main ones, radiating out from the Old City.

 

Singelgracht canal acts as a boundary, and everything located inside is referred to as the Old City or simply, The Center. The primary downtown shopping areas and attractions such as the Royal Palace and the Amsterdam Historical Museum are found here. This area around the Dam and Centraal Station contains the Red Light District.

 

The Canal Belt is a semicircular collection of waterways built around the Old City during the city's Golden Age. Its elegant mansions and tree-lined canals are the iconic images typically associated with Amsterdam. This area contains numerous hotels, restaurants, and one of Amsterdam’s most notable sites: Anne Frankhuis, where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis.

 

The Jordaan is a grouping of small streets and canals west of the Old City and beyond the major canals. It is a fashionable place, full of artists, students, and upscale eateries and boutiques. It can be compared to New York’s Soho or Greenwich Village.

 

The Museumplein Area is home to Amsterdam’s major museums: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and the Stedelijk Museum. Amsterdam’s most beautiful and popular park, Vondelpark, is located in this area as well.