Amsterdam is one of the world's great cities for walking.
There are so many neighborhoods in this city that are wonderful to explore on foot, or
perhaps on a bicycle, as so many locals get around, including entire families.
We're going to show you one of Amsterdam's best neighborhoods for walking and shopping,
called the Nine Streets.
Among all of the favorite spots in Europe for walking through a town, this has to rank
among the best.
It's right next to the Dam, Amsterdam's main square.
It looks like it's three streets, but each one has three parts, so that's a total of
the nine streets.
When viewed on Google Earth you can see how close these nine streets are to that main
Dam square, and what a wonderful neighborhood it is, all within that red circle.
I'm going to take you on an organized walking tour through all of those main streets from
south to north.
You will be delighted to see how friendly it is to pedestrians, and how many little
independent shops there are here.
And we will also be looking at the beautiful canals that run throughout this district – four
major waterways that add to the special character of the Nine Streets.
It's so mellow and peaceful the shop dog can sit in the doorway without being disturbed
– hardly any noisy cars or scooters going by.
It's a place for pedestrians, bicycles, and little shops.
Singel is one of the main streets along the canal of the same name, and this is part of
that great charm of the neighborhood – you've got waterways along with these pedestrian
lanes lined with shops, with an old pissoir, part of that historic heritage of the neighborhood.
Here you also find apartments, offices, and some hotels.
It's a complete neighborhood, very attractive for both the visitors and the local residents.
This is a compact zone with basically a square shape, just 400 meters from one end to the
other, making it so easy to walk and see all of it in a day.
The paving is great, you're welcome to walk in the street and the terrain is flat.
Herengracht is one of the four parallel canals running through these nine streets, which
form a belt of canals around central Amsterdam.
Streets along the banks of the canal have the same names as the canal.
There are quaint and picturesque neighborhoods throughout the Netherlands, and in other sections
of Amsterdam, indeed all over Europe there are hundreds of charming towns with wonderful
places for strolling, but it's hard to find one that has all of these characteristics
in one place: sidewalk cafés, major canals, pedestrian lanes, a thick concentration of
independent little shops, amid a large collection of attractive historic buildings, with a central
location that's easy to get to.
This is clearly someplace very special.
Felix Meritis is an 18th-century building housing a European center for art, culture
and science.
There's an excellent website, put together by the merchants of the area that describes
in great detail everything that you'll find in the Nine Streets, with a listing of the
shops, there's photos, there's a brochure you can download, and maps.
So take a look at that website and here I'll share some of their descriptions about the
shops and history.
They say from the very beginning 400 years ago, this charming neighborhood was dominated
by trade and culture, and still it has a great bustling atmosphere full of quirky little
shops, designer boutiques and hidden cafés, a must if you want to hang out where the locals
do, the ideal place to get to know Amsterdam in all its variety and richness, with a great
overview of the architectural style of Amsterdam heritage.
They list all of the shops in their website and brochure, laid out in geographic order
with contact websites and phone numbers, which I can summarize for you.
Among those hundred stores, here's what we've got.
There are 60 boutiques, 40 places for food and drink and sleep, 5 for vintage 12, shops
for shoes and bags, 16 for accessories and jewelry, 14 for hair, health and beauty, 18
home and lifestyle, 8 art, culture and books, and 25 specialties.
Most of the shops here are unique little boutiques.
There are hardly any tourists, souvenir shops, but you'll find plenty of places to buy a
keepsake to bring home.
In the old days, these streets served the merchant families and businesses who worked
along the canals.
There were milking establishments, gas and fire shops, and liqueur distilleries.
In the 60s, the hippies discovered the neighborhood.
They not only came to live there, but also started shops selling secondhand clothes,
furniture, lamps and curiosities, some of which can still be found today.
As you've noticed there are no shopping malls or big department stores here.
It's just not that kind of place, but instead it's laced with authentic shops and picturesque
scenes.
There are big department stores elsewhere in Amsterdam, of course, you can find them
along some of the main boulevards, but don't look for them here.
Most shops are open every day from about 10 or 11 in the morning until six or seven in
the evening, all year round.
While this neighborhood is a slice of heaven for shoppers, it's fun even if you don't intend
to buy anything.
Just walking around through these streets is a pure pleasure.
And we have the added bonus of seeing row after row of houses along the canal.
Notice each gable has a beam extending out with a hook.
You'll find this all over Amsterdam.
And what was it for?
They attached a pulley wheel and rope to haul up heavy items and furniture, to bring them
in through a window rather than trying to carry big things up inside through those narrow
staircases.
There are thousands of boats of all shapes and sizes here, including quite a few houseboats,
some of which are available as vacation rentals, although Amsterdam has been reducing the number
of vacation rentals available to protect the housing market.
There are several excellent hotels in the Nine Streets that have converted rows of canal
houses into deluxe accommodations, including the Pulitzer, the Dylan, the Hockston and
the Andaz.
You can get a room with a view looking out over the canal, or a quiet room at the back
looking out over a garden.
Another way to get around is to rent a bicycle, which makes a great way to see this neighborhood
and the rest of town, one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Europe.
Amsterdam is a large city and many of the buildings do look quite similar to each other,
with no skyscrapers providing some kind of visible landmark, so you might find yourself
wondering where you are, but, within our Nine Streets it's quite easy to keep your orientation.
If you should get a little lost, just pop into a shop and ask for directions, and yes,
they all speak English.
We have left the Nine Streets.
That completes our visit.
We spilled into the adjacent neighborhood, called the Jordaan, and we will be taking
you through this part of town as well in our series on Amsterdam.
The Jordaan used to have 11 canals, but during the late 19th century, half of them were filled
in to make for streets and parks, including this one.
We have a couple of dozen videos about the Netherlands covering nine of the most interesting
towns in addition to Amsterdam.
Be sure to look for them in our collection.
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