NDSM-Werf

Hop on the ferry behind Centraal Station and set sail for a different world. NDSM-werf looks like the set from a postapocalyptic film – abandoned boats and trams rust by the water’s edge, graffiti scrawls across every surface, smoke stacks belch in the distance, and huge carved wooden tiki heads gaze over it all. The area is actually a city-sponsored art community called Kinetisch Noord that has taken over a derelict shipyard. Participants converted a mondo old warehouse to hold more than 100 studios, theatres and a skateboard hall, and it has quickly become a centre for underground culture and events, such as the Over het IJ Festival. MTV thought the area was so cutting-edge that it, too, revamped one of the old industrial buildings and made it its European headquarters. It’s true that unless an event is going on, there’s not much to do besides wander around and ogle the recycled-junk street-art (which is pretty damn cool). Café Noorderlicht (Neveritaweg 33), in a Tibetan-prayer-flag-draped greenhouse, provides food and drinks in a funky ambience; it's open from 11am to late. To find it, look for signs posted from the ferry dock. Speaking of which: the free ferry to NDSM-werf leaves from Platform 1 behind Centraal Station from 9am to midnight, at 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour. The trip takes 15 minutes and you can bring your bike (also free).