On Realeneiland's eastern shore, the Zandhoek is a photogenic stretch of waterfront. It's now a modern yacht harbour, but back in the 17th century it was a 'sand market', where ships would purchase bagfuls for ballast. Many East India Company skippers lived hereabouts, carousing in local bars and enjoying the view over the IJ between voyages. The street south of the Zandhoek is the Galgenstraat (Gallows St), which on a clear day afforded a look at the executions in Amsterdam Noord.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
2.1 MILES
This wonderful museum traces Van Gogh's life and artistic development via the world's largest collection of his work. More than 200 canvases are on…
1.84 MILES
Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…
0.92 MILES
Visiting the Anne Frank Huis is one of Amsterdam's most profound experiences. Tragically, of the 107,000 Jewish adults and children deported from the…
1.95 MILES
The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…
1.35 MILES
Housed in Rembrandt's former home on lively Jodenbreestraat, this evocative museum provides an unparalleled insight into one of the Netherlands’ greatest…
27.15 MILES
Impressive for both its size and its magnificent stained-glass windows, Sint Janskerk had chequered beginnings: previous incarnations of the building…
27.77 MILES
This captivating museum consists of two sections, 300m apart: open-air Buitenmuseum, with more than 130 rebuilt and relocated dwellings and workshops, and…
1.64 MILES
Formerly a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, H'Art Museum cut ties with Russia and now operates as an independent museum.
Nearby attractions
0.1 MILES
Boundary-pushing photography is the focus of this gallery in the Western Islands, which hosts rotating exhibitions by emerging and established…
0.13 MILES
This narrow bridge links the Western Islands of Prinseneiland and Realeneiland. It's a quaint replacement for the pontoon that used to be pulled aside to…
0.35 MILES
Once a defensive gateway to the city, the Haarlemmerpoort marked the start of the journey to Haarlem, which was a major trading route. The neoclassical…
0.44 MILES
Pretty as a Golden Age painting, the Brewers Canal took its name from the many breweries located here in the 16th and 17th centuries. Goods such as…
0.49 MILES
At this modernist architectural triumph that seems to balance on its edge on the banks of the IJ (also pronounced 'eye') River, the institute screens…
0.51 MILES
Eco-urban Westerpark – with grassy expanses of lawns (packed in summer with picnickers, sun worshippers and families), tree-shaded walkways and cycleways,…
0.54 MILES
Built in 1617 as a meat market and militia barracks, this historical building was rented by the Dutch West India Company (Geoctroyeerde West-Indische…
0.58 MILES
Near the Prinsengracht's northern end, this imposing Calvinist church was completed in 1623 for the 'common' people in the Jordaan. (The upper classes…