Dam Square is marked by a twenty-two-meter-tall white stone obelisk, known as the National Monument, which sits directly across from a massive palace. Around twelve seventy, settlers built a dam here across the Amstel River to manage…
Essential Amsterdam
I designed this walk to showcase Amsterdam's most iconic landmarks, from historic central squares and canal houses to world-renowned museums.
Take this tour in street view →Listen in the Mira app
1. Dam Square
2. Royal Palace Amsterdam
The Royal Palace Amsterdam sits on the west side of Dam Square as a massive stone structure, famously built upon over thirteen thousand wooden piles sunk into the soft ground to support its weight. During the seventeenth century, this…
3. Westerkerk
The Westerkerk is defined by its eighty-five-meter-tall bell tower, the Westertoren, which is topped by a striking blue Imperial Crown. Built between sixteen twenty and sixteen thirty-one as part of a grand urban plan for Amsterdam, this…
4. Anne Frank House
The Anne Frank House at Prinsengracht two hundred sixty-three looks like any other canal house, with four stories of brick and windows facing the water. This seventeen-century building served as the office and warehouse for the spice and…
5. Flower Market
The Bloemenmarkt, or flower market, is a row of stalls perched on fixed barges along the Singel canal. These structures, aligned between Muntplein and Koningsplein, appear to float on the water, marking the location of a trade tradition…
6. Heineken Experience
The Heineken Experience occupies the company's original brewery, a massive industrial structure built in eighteen sixty-seven. For over a century, this facility served as the heart of the company’s beer production, brewing and bottling…
7. Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum is marked by an imposing, symmetrical red-brick façade that terminates the street, blending neo-Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles. Opened in eighteen eighty-five, the building was designed by architect Pierre…
8. Van Gogh Museum
The Van Gogh Museum is distinguished by its modern, geometric architecture, characterized by a rectangular main building designed by Gerrit Rietveld and an elliptical exhibition wing by Kisho Kurokawa. Located on Museum Square, this…
9. Vondelpark
Vondelpark is an elongated stretch of greenery characterized by its winding paths, large ponds, and mature trees designed in the English landscape style. It began in eighteen sixty-four when a group of private citizens, led by the…