Amsterdam neighborhoods
The Jordaan - Amsterdam’s quiet art district
Every large city has at least one neighborhood that was on the brink of collapse a few decades ago that is now trendy and super expensive. The Jordaan is Amsterdam’s entry into that gentrification derby. This mostly-residential neighborhood was one of the poorest and most run down in the city as recently as the 1970s, but now it’s clean, safe, and very expensive for new buyers and renters.
Date: December 24th, 2007 |
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Rembrandtplein - Amsterdam Neighborhood Spotlight
Rembrandtplein - Amsterdam’s glamorous district
Of the three main hotel districts in Amsterdam, Rembrandtplein is a stand out in a few important ways. It is generally much nicer than the area around Centraal Station, and the location is central to virtually everything of interest to visitors of Amsterdam. It’s also not quite as far out as the Leidseplein area, which also has lots to offer.
Rembrandtplein (plein means “square” or “plaza” in Dutch, so this is Rembrandt Square) is about a 15-minute walk from Centraal Station itself, but it’s a world away from that mostly-gritty area with the Red Light District at its heart. Among other things, this is where the most glamorous nightlife in Amsterdam is centered. And during warm months the square itself fills with wicker furniture for al fresco dining and drinking at the restaurants and cafés that rim the square. This is the best place in Amsterdam to enjoy Europe’s café culture.
There are a couple of notable Amsterdam nightclubs out in the Leidseplein area, but most of the fancier discos and clubs are either facing Rembrandtplein itself, or on the small streets just off the square. The Escape Club has long been a fixture on the party scene, and about a dozen other places keep it company in this area, trading places for which is the hottest at any given moment. Two notable concentrations of gay clubs are just off Rembrandtplein, but in open-minded and accepting Amsterdam, the scenes mix together in a friendly way.
Date: September 4th, 2007 |
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Centraal Station area - Amsterdam Neighborhood Spotlight
The Centraal Station area - cheap sleeps and Amsterdam’s wildest nightlife
This is part of the 3-part series discussing the main Amsterdam hotel districts so you can quickly decide where you’ll be happiest on your first trip to the city. The other districts have been grouped into the Leidseplein district and the Rembrandtplein area, and both have a lot to offer, but here we’ll be discussing the area around Centraal Station.
From a hotel standpoint, this is a huge area, although you can walk from one end to the other in around 10 minutes. More than half the hotels and hostels in Amsterdam are grouped together in this area, and they range from the cheapest hostel beds in town up to luxurious hotels filled with jewel thieves and James Bond-types.
Within this Centraal Station neighborhood there are two distinctive areas that border one another. If you walk out the doors of the train station and veer a little left (to the east, if you are looking at a map) you’ll soon find yourself in the Red Light District, but if you veer right (west) you’ll be in the heart of Amsterdam’s main shopping area, which is also surrounded by and filled with hotels and a few hostels. Conveniently enough, the temporary location of the modern art museum - called the Stedelijk Museum - is just outside Centraal Station as well, so for now this area also has a bit of high culture.
Date: September 20th, 2007 |
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Leidseplein - Amsterdam Neighborhood Spotlight
Leidseplein - Amsterdam’s best entertainment district
Leidseplein isn’t quite as fancy as Rembrandtplein, but it’s much more up-market than most of the things near Centraal Station. The centerpiece of Leidseplein is the square itself (plein means square or plaza, in Dutch). It’s nothing but a big slab of concrete in this case, but it’s almost always crammed with tourists, locals, street entertainers and such. There are several famous cafes, bars, and coffeeshops facing the square, and in summer the wicker chairs spread to cover almost the entire plaza in true grand café style.
But things get even more interesting just off the main square. There are literally over 100 restaurants within a couple hundred meters of the center. Down these side streets is one of the densest collections of walled eateries in the entire world. And better still, there are cuisines represented from all over the globe. Are you in the mood for Tibetan, or Argentinean, or Greek, or Indonesian, or Ethiopian? They’ve got you covered. And the prices tend to be quite reasonable as well.
Date: August 23rd, 2007 |
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