The tour begins right in the middle of town, on Dam Square. Around the square, you can take a walk past highlights like the Royal Palace and De Nieuwe Kerk. A bit further, but closer to the IJ lies the architecturally interesting Public Library, which is used as a meeting point and internet cafe. If you search around, you will find a handful of cafe’s where the radio is turned off and where all kinds of beer and jenever (traditional Dutch hard liquor) are served.
If you walk from the middle towards the outskirts of town, you cross the Canal Belt (recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list). The further you wander off, the more recent the architecture of the houses. Outside the Canal Belt you find the first streets without tourists. Go on and let yourself get carried away by the buzzing of terraces, the remarkable ornament styles, the flickering of neon commercials, slamming doors – and just see where you end up. You might stumble upon famous sights like the Hortus Botanicus, a botanic garden with exotic plants; or prairie animals in the Artis zoo; perhaps the Van Gogh Museum or the Concertgebouw (Concert Hall) with its world famous acoustics. And why not enter the Tropenmuseum (Museum of Tropics) with an exhibition of Papua’s or Native Americans?
