Where to Stay in Amsterdam – Amsterdam’s Historic Areas & Places
1. Where to stay in Amsterdam – best areas & places
2. The history of Amsterdam
3. The canals
4. Famous houses & churches
5. Museums & Dutch painters
6. Zaanse Schans
Where to stay in Amsterdam (hotels) – What is the history of Amsterdam, and where are the best historic places and areas to see?
Today, the city plays a significant role in Europe and the world. Amsterdam Port is the fifth in Europe, and the airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, is the third busiest in Europe.
Both inside and outside Amsterdam, hundreds of bicycle paths line the canals! The city is extraordinarily multicultural and open-minded, as the Red-Light District has a considerable offer of cannabis coffee shops (which are found side by side with famous architecture such as the Oude Kerk and the Basilica of Saint Nicholas). The hash market is liberal, and so are the Dutch residents!
Cannabis Museum Shop | Photo: Travel In Culture
Art and art history are also significant elements in Amsterdam. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is world-famous for its Golden Age painters, and the multi-faceted culture thrives in the city. Everywhere, there are traces from Holland’s colonial times, both when it comes to rijsttafel restaurants and numerous buildings and monuments revealing the fascinating past and history of Amsterdam.
The Rijksmuseum | Photo: Travel In Culture
Where are the best hotels situated – When looking for places to stay in Amsterdam, you should consider the various districts and areas in the city centre. Would you like to have breakfast along the historic canals, be near famous Amsterdam icons, or do you want to delve into the Red-Light District ambience? Perhaps you prefer a more local vibe away from the crowded tourist areas of Amsterdam? All districts and places have their specific characteristics, but in one way or another, they each link to the past and tell their part of the history of Amsterdam.
Beurspassage | Photo: Travel In Culture
Beurspassage | Photo: Travel In Culture
In addition to the picturesque and unique canals, the city has many surprising places, such as the Art Deco Beurspassage (called Amsterdam Oersoep), an artistically decorated passage with references to the city’s canals and sea elements. Another fascinating sight is the floating flower market (Bloemenmarkt) on the Singel Canal, with loads of tulips and other flowers.
Amsterdam was a small fishing community in the 12th century, which was the early start of the city’s development into a major port city. During the 14th and 15th centuries, a growing trade with the Hanseatic League and later independent trade with countries surrounding the Baltic Sea put Amsterdam on the map. Herring fishing thrived and became a dominating industry in the Netherlands.
Photo: djedj / Pixabay
Already in the 17th century, also known as the Dutch Golden Age (1588 – 1672), the concentric Amsterdam canals and port became a hub for domestic and international trade. During this period, the city flourished and experienced a cultural renaissance, e.g. within secular art, and a rapid development with ground-breaking scientific initiatives.
The intricate canal ring system in Amsterdam saw the light of day at that time (160 canals spanning over 100 km), a canal project unparalleled anywhere else.
Photo: Travel In Culture
Dutch colonialists established colonies and trading posts worldwide, including Asia, America, and South Africa, for example, through the East India Company and West India Company. Also, the Dutch had a dominating role in the triangular trade (slave trade). However, the city’s heyday was over towards the end of the 18th century due to conflicts and a declining economy.
During World War II, when the Nazis invaded the country, some citizens of Amsterdam helped Dutch Jews to hide to avoid the concentration camps. One of the famous faiths is the one of the Jewish girl Anne Frank, whose house is today open to visitors.
Photo: Travel In Culture
The Amsterdam canals represent one of the most unique examples of urban planning at the time.
Most famous is the canal belt (Grachtengordel) with the 3 grand canals Herengracht, Keizersgracht (named after the Roman Emperor Maximilian I), and Prinsengracht (named after the Prince of Orange, ancestor of the Dutch monarchs). They are lined with spectacular narrow and tall 17th-century mansions, built by prosperous merchants in Amsterdam’s heyday.
Flower Market Singel | Photo: Travel In Culture
In addition to these semicircular canals, the interior 16th-century canal Singel also attracts tourists and locals alike as the oldest canal in Amsterdam. In the Middle Ages, Singel was part of the city moat. However, only a few medieval buildings have been preserved in the city. See where to stay in the Canal District/Singel
Whether strolling around or taking a boat tour on the canals, you will immediately discover the ambience of the charming canal streets and a particular Amsterdam vibe. The setting includes elegant gables and façades, with Renaissance and Baroque details, small quays, bicycle-lined bridges, antique shops, and picturesque cafés. It is unique and one of the reasons that Amsterdam has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Flower Market Singel | Photo: Travel In Culture
Not only is the crescent-shaped ring system known as a unique feature of Amsterdam. The waterways expand far beyond the city centre to the suburbs and rural areas surrounding the city. A large part of the land lies below sea level, and without the canals and ditches, many fields and villages would be flooded.
Famous cheese store: Cheese & More | Photo: Travel In Culture
The canal houses, built in the Golden Age, were often erected on wooden poles, which reduced the risk of flooding. Although they were usually constructed with a forward-leaning incline to ease the hoisting of goods from the canal boats, the tilting has only increased over time. Today, many houses have sunk a little or lean slightly to one side.
Only a few of the medieval houses have been preserved. These include the Old and New Churches and the Houten Huis.
The medieval Oude Kerk (Old Church), founded in 1213, is Amsterdam’s oldest building. Although the church was once a Catholic church, which was converted into a Dutch Protestant church, the construction has retained a rich interior of sculptural details and opulent architecture. Inside, there are impressive gravestones and a remarkable 17th-century grand organ. The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), next to the Royal Palace, became the main church in the 15th century.
The old Verf- en Vernisfabriek, next to the Basilica of Saint Nicholas | Photo: Travel In Culture
Another church, along the canals in the Red-Light District and next to the old Verf- en Vernisfabriek, is the Basilica of Saint Nicholas, filled with art artefacts.
Westerkerk is the 17th-century protestant church, built 1620-1631, and the church where Rembrandt was buried.
Amsterdam Stock Exchange, built in 1602, is another spectacular building with a fascinating history in the city centre, claimed to be the oldest ‘modern time’ stock exchange worldwide.
Amsterdam Stock Exchange, Beurs van Berlage | Photo: Travel In Culture
Other Golden Age buildings include the Town Hall on Dam Square (since the rule of King Louis Napoleon, it has been a Royal Palace (Koninklijk Paleis), and, since 1936, it has belonged to the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Zuiderkerk, and a load of canal houses, e.g., De Dolfijn, the Bartolotti Huis, and the Trippenhuis.
Anne Frank House is the famous house from 1635 that housed Jewish Anne Frank and her family, hiding from the Nazis during World War II and where she wrote her world-known diary. Today, it is a biographical museum telling her life in hiding.
The Rijksmuseum | Photo: Travel In Culture
Regarding art and art history, Amsterdam is also a cultural pearl with several outstanding art museums. The Rijksmuseum is one of the most famous Amsterdam museums, a state museum displaying world-class paintings by a range of Dutch artists, including the collection of the Dutch Golden Age masterworks. Rembrandt’s (1606-1669) ‘The Night Watch’ is probably the most famous Golden Age painting. Also, collections by other famous Dutch artists, such as Vermeer and van Dyck, are represented.
The Rijksmuseum | Photo: Travel In Culture
The Rijksmuseum | Photo: Travel In Culture
Another museum that attracts many tourists is the Van Gogh Museum, displaying the artist’s outstanding works. As the most comprehensive collection of paintings, drawings, letters, and more, the museum of the famous painter Van Gogh (1853-1890) attracts 1.6 million visitors annually. See where to stay in Amsterdam near the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum
Photo: Travel In Culture
To explore the waterways and an area north of the city centre, which has played a significant role in the history of Amsterdam and the Netherlands, a canal cruise up to Zaanse Schans in Zaandam is a must! On a day trip, it is possible to visit the windmills and heritage buildings north of Amsterdam to relive the 18th-century Dutch (Amsterdam) industrial history. Read more about Zaanse Schans and see where to stay in Amsterdam near Zaanse Schans/Zaandam
Zaanse Schans | Photo: Travel In Culture
You can get more inspiration for Amsterdam and read about the history of Amsterdam.
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Where to Stay in Historic Amsterdam – Best Areas, Places, Hotels & History
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Where to Stay in Amsterdam – Best Historic Areas, Places & Hotels:
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Amsterdam history, heritage & best hotels
