Amsterdam's 17th-century expansion built two very different cities side by side: the Jordaan for workers and craftsmen, and the grand canal ring for the merchants who ran the city. This guide follows that contrast from north to south, through the Jordaan and its Noorderkerk, along the Golden Bend of the Herengracht, into a canal house you can actually enter at Museum Van Loon, and down to the Magere Brug on the Amstel.
The Jordaan
Building in the Jordaan began in 1612, when the area was simply called the New Work, as part of the city's great expansion. It lies between the Prinsengracht and the Singelgracht, from the Brouwersgracht in the north to the Leidsegracht in the south. Most of its streets and canals are named after trees and flowers, and the most common theory says the name itself comes from the French jardin, garden, though that is not certain.
For centuries this was a crowded working-class district, and it saw heavy riots in 1835, 1886, 1917 and 1934. From the 1960s many of the original residents moved out, many of them to the new towns of Almere and Purmerend, and the Jordaan has since become one of the most expensive places to live in the Netherlands.
- Look for the hofjes, quiet inner courtyards built by wealthy citizens as charity homes for elderly women; many have been restored and now house artists, students and some older residents. Most are private, so if a door is open, keep your voice down.
- The district has statues of several popular Amsterdam musicians at the Prinsengracht and the Elandsgracht, and markets on the Noordermarkt, the Lindengracht and the Westerstraat, where the Lapjesmarkt sells fabric.
Noorderkerk
On the Noordermarkt, by the Prinsengracht, stands the Noorderkerk, the Protestant church built from 1620 to 1623 for the northern part of the Jordaan. It was designed by Hendrick de Keyser; after his death in 1621 his son Pieter finished it. Unlike the long churches of the old town, it was built on an octagonal plan with four equal arms in the shape of a Greek cross.
- On the south side of the church, find the plaque for the secret public meetings held on the Noordermarkt in 1941 by the organisers of the February Strike.
The Golden Bend (Gouden Bocht)
Walk south through the canal ring to the Herengracht between the Leidsestraat and the Vijzelstraat. This stretch is the Golden Bend, the most prestigious part of the Herengracht. The canal only reached as far as the present Leidsegracht until 1663, when the city extended its fortifications and dug the Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht on towards the Amstel.
On the new section, buyers were encouraged to buy two plots and build double-width mansions, and the canals were laid out further apart, so the plots were deeper too. That is why the houses here are so much wider than elsewhere, with classical facades, stucco ceilings and large gardens behind. The name Golden Bend is a later label, given because the city's richest citizens lived here.
- Herengracht 446, the Huis van der Graeff, built in 1672 for the burgomaster Andries de Graeff, and the De Neufville house at numbers 475 and 476, from 1731, often called the finest facades on the canal.
- Herengracht 466 on the corner of the Nieuwe Spiegelstraat, designed by Philip Vingboons, and number 497, home to the Kattenkabinet, a small private museum.
Museum Van Loon
The Golden Bend houses are mostly private, but a short walk away, at Keizersgracht 672, you can go inside one. The house was built in 1672 to a design by Adriaan Dortsman, the architect of the Round Lutheran Church, and one of its early residents was the painter Ferdinand Bol.
The Van Loon family lived here from 1884 to 1945; one of them, Thora van Loon-Egidius, was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Wilhelmina. The house opened as a museum in 1973 and has been restored to look as it did in the 18th century, with wood panelling and stucco work.
- On the roof, find the four statues of Ceres, Mars, Minerva and Vulcan, and look out for the fake painted doors inside, added only to keep the rooms symmetrical.
- Do not miss the garden behind the house, a rare chance to see what lies behind the long canal facades.
Magere Brug
Continue to the Amstel and the Magere Brug, the Skinny Bridge, which crosses the river at the Kerkstraat between the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht. The first bridge here was built in 1691 and replaced in 1871; today's bridge dates from 1934. Its central section is a white-painted wooden bascule that lifts to let boats through; it was worked by hand until 1994 and has been automatic since. Since 2003 it has been open only to pedestrians and cyclists.
A well-known tourist legend credits two sisters: in one version the bridge was narrow because they could not afford a wider one, in another their surname was simply Mager, meaning skinny. Recent research in the city archives suggests a duller story: a planned grand stone bridge was scaled back after the economic setback of 1672.
- Come back after dark, when about 1,200 light bulbs outline the bridge.
How to see them in one walk
Start at the Brouwersgracht and walk into the Jordaan to the Noordermarkt and the Noorderkerk. Follow the Prinsengracht south past the Westerkerk, then cut through the canal ring to the Herengracht and walk along the Golden Bend. From the Vijzelstraat it is a short walk east to Museum Van Loon on the Keizersgracht, and from there to the Amstel for the Magere Brug.
See Amsterdam with World City Trail
Our Amsterdam scavenger hunt turns the old centre into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops, from Centraal Station to De 9 Straatjes. None of the places in this guide are stops, but they make a good second walk: the route includes the Westerkerk on the edge of the Jordaan and finishes in De 9 Straatjes, between the canals you walk along here. At each stop you solve a puzzle and learn a story, at your own pace.
There is also a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game in Amsterdam, for people who prefer a different format.
Play the Amsterdam scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Amsterdam →
Play the outdoor escape game in Amsterdam →
Facts checked in October 2026.