Amsterdam · self-guided walk

Begijnhof, the Amstel and the Jewish Quarter

From the hidden courtyard of the Begijnhof past the flower market and the Munttoren to the Amstel and the Magere Brug, then through the old Jewish Quarter and Rembrandt's house back to the Oude Kerk, the city's oldest building.

10 stops · 3.4 km · about 85 min

Distance and time are our curators' estimates for the whole walk, stops included.

The stops

The short version of each stop. In aiGuide, open Amsterdam, choose “Begijnhof, the Amstel and the Jewish Quarter” and tap Begin walking tour; then lock your phone, and each story starts as you reach the stop.

1. 1Begijnhof

   Late Middle Ages to Dutch Golden Age, 14th to 17th century

   

   You step through a gateway off the Spui and the noise of the city drops away. The courtyard lies almost a metre below the surrounding streets, at the old medieval ground level. Find number 34, the Houten Huys, with its dark wooden front. People still live here, so keep your voice low.

   • A court for beguines is first recorded in 1389.
   • The only Amsterdam hofje founded in the Middle Ages.

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2. 2Bloemenmarkt

   19th century (on the Singel since 1862)

   

   You are walking along the Bloemenmarkt, a row of greenhouse-like stalls on the Singel. Step to the side and look down at the water: every stall rests on a platform fixed in the canal, the successor to the boats that once brought trees and plants in from nurseries outside the city.

   • First recorded in 1620, on the Sint-Luciënwal by the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.
   • Moved to the Singel between Muntplein and Koningsplein in 1862.

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3. 3Munttoren

   Late medieval gate, rebuilt in the Dutch Golden Age (1480s and 1620)

   

   You are standing where the Amstel meets the Singel, beneath the Mint Tower. Look up past the four clock faces: the sturdy base is medieval, but the eight-sided upper stage and the open lantern on top were added after a fire in 1618. Every quarter hour, its bells play a short tune.

   • Built in the 1480s as part of the Regulierspoort city gate.
   • Upper stage and spire designed by Hendrick de Keyser, 1619 to 1620.

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4. 4Rembrandtplein

   Golden Age market, 19th-century square (1669 and 1876)

   

   You are on Rembrandtplein, once the city's butter market. In the middle, Rembrandt stands in painted cast iron, an etching needle in his right hand, a palette and books at his side. When the square was redesigned in 2009, he was turned to look west, away from the Amstelstraat.

   • Became the Botermarkt, the city's butter market, in 1669.
   • Louis Royer's cast-iron Rembrandt statue was unveiled on 27 May 1852.

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5. 5Magere Brug

   Late 17th-century crossing, rebuilt 1934

   

   You are at the Skinny Bridge, the best-known drawbridge in Amsterdam. Look at the white timber frame above the deck: chains run from its pivoting balance beams to the two halves of the roadway, which lift apart to let boats pass on the Amstel. After dark, strings of small lights trace its outline.

   • First bridge built in or soon after 1691, with 13 openings.
   • Present bridge completed in 1934 to a design by Piet Kramer.

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6. 6Portugees-Israëlietische Synagoge

   Dutch Golden Age, 17th century

   

   The massive brick block in front of you was the largest synagogue in the world when it opened in 1675. Look at its windows, 72 in all, which still light the hall by day. There is no electric lighting in the main sanctuary, only candles in brass chandeliers.

   • Construction began on 17 April 1671 under architect Elias Bouman.
   • Inaugurated on 2 August 1675 with eight days of celebrations.

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7. 7Museum Het Rembrandthuis

   Dutch Golden Age, 17th century

   

   You are standing outside the house Rembrandt bought in 1639 for thirteen thousand guilders, a debt that would help ruin him. Look for the small stone tablet carved with 1606, the year the house was built, set between two brick arches above the lower windows. He finished The Night Watch while living here.

   • Rembrandt bought the house on 5 January 1639 for 13,000 guilders.
   • He lived and worked here until it was auctioned in 1658.

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8. 8Zuiderkerk

   Dutch Golden Age, 17th century

   

   Look up at the tower: a square base, then an octagonal sandstone stage with free-standing columns at its corners, and finally a lead-covered wooden spire. Hendrick de Keyser designed it, and he lies buried inside. Rembrandt, who lived around the corner, had his son Titus baptised here in 1641.

   • First stone laid on 22 August 1603; church opened on Whit Sunday 1611.
   • Tower completed in 1614; the Hemony brothers' carillon installed in 1656.

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9. 9De Waag

   Late Middle Ages and Dutch Golden Age, 15th to 17th century

   

   The turreted brick building in the middle of Nieuwmarkt looks like a small castle because it began as a gate in the medieval city wall, and the square you stand on covers the old moat. Walk around it and look above the small doors: one still reads Theatrum Anatomicum, the surgeons' entrance.

   • A gable stone dates the gate's first stone to 28 April 1488.
   • Converted from city gate to public weigh house in 1617.

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10. 10Oude Kerk

    Middle Ages, 14th to 16th century

    

    You are standing beside the oldest building in Amsterdam, in the middle of the city's oldest quarter. Look up at the tower: its graceful spire was added in the 1560s, and its bells still ring out over De Wallen. Inside, the whole floor is made of gravestones, among them the grave of Rembrandt's wife Saskia.

    • Consecrated in 1306; the oldest surviving building in Amsterdam.
    • About 2,500 gravestones form the floor; burials continued until 1865.

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