AM DE PIJP
WHY GO? Well-heeled De Pijp, with its independent boutiques and restaurant tables filling pedestrianised streets, has been attracting students and creative types since the 1960s – but a stroll through the area offers a glimpse further back into the city’s history too. All the roads here are named after Golden Age painters (some even display the artists’ self-portraits), while architecture buffs will find plenty of examples of early-20th-century Amsterdam School buildings, which borrow from other expressionist styles such as art deco and art nouveau.
WHAT TO DO Architecture-wise, take a look at Coöperatiehof, built to house the city’s expanding population of workers during the Industrial Revolution, and the De Dageraad housing complex, whose curved brickwork looks like a steamer ship sailing on waves. Albert Cuypstraat, where there’s been a
working market for more than 100 years, is a good place for a taste of Dutch food, with authentic bitterballen (fried breaded balls of veal and potato, served with mustard), and superlative €3 stroopwafels. For more of the flavours De Pijp has to
offer, book clients on a food-themed walking tour with knowledgeable guide and historian Marten Koerse, through Withlocals (which pays commission to UK agents). He’ll talk about how De Pijp has changed through the years, via sustenance stops around the neighbourhood – tasting everything from herring and pickles to Dutch apple pie. Wash the food down with a cold lager at the Heineken Experience’s tasting bar, or take a refreshing stroll through leafy Sarphatipark.
OUD-ZUID
WHY GO? As well as being one of the city’s fancier areas, elegant Oud-Zuid (‘Old South’) is home to the Museumkwartier, where you’ll find some of the city’s most famous art museums.
WHAT TO DO The Rijksmuseum tells the history of the Netherlands and showcases artworks by Dutch masters such as Vermeer,
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Van Gogh and Rembrandt. If that’s not enough, there’s the Van Gogh Museum, while the Moco Museum and Stedelijk Museum are the places to head for contemporary international works. Head to the ever popular Vondelpark for a stroll through the rose garden or grab a beer and settle in under a blue-and- white striped umbrella at the Blauwe Theehuis taproom for some people watching.
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DESTINATIONS AMSTERDAM | EUROPE
SLOTEN
WHY GO? The old village of Sloten, sketched by Rembrandt on visits to his wife’s family, has kept its character despite being absorbed into the city over a century ago and now adjacent to Schiphol airport.
WHAT TO DO Visit Molen van Sloten, one of many attractions included in the commissionable I Amsterdam City Card. Tours explore the history and workings of the draining mill – built to pump water away from the city – and show how milling families lived. A small Rembrandt exhibit reveals a little about the artist’s life via waxworks donated by Madame Tussauds. Walk around the village to find an old church and labourers’ cottages, or stop at IJshoeve for ice cream.
PICTURES: Joseph Briaire; Shutterstock/De Jongh Photography; Jan de Ridder
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