Places to See in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is laid out like a spider’s web, the canals forming strands hanging down in a half-moon shape from the IJ, which forms a line across the top with Centraal Station in the middle. The first part of Amsterdam most visitors see – the tacky stretch from Centraal Station to the tram-crossed turbulence of the Dam, with the Red Light District alongside – can be off-putting. But beyond that lies the calm of the Grachtengordel (Canal Belt) – elegant semicircles of canals lined with gabled buildings from different centuries. It’s a great place to take to the water, or simply for a wander. Then come the canals and alleys of the Jordaan, a gentrified patch now brimming with art galleries and hip cafés.

To the south there’s an injection of high culture in the Museum & Fashion District, with Old Masters at the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw all side-by-side. Just a hop away is P.C. Hooftstraat, Amsterdam’s fashion boulevard, with all the top names on show. Up-and-coming designers and artists hang out in the former working-class district of De Pijp, while the focus of hip cultural events has moved to the revamped docklands of the Eastern Islands, where you can also see some startling contemporary architecture.