King’s Day in Amsterdam: What It Actually Looks Like
I’ve done Koningsdag in Amsterdam thirty-one times. Here’s what you need to know and where to actually be on 27 April.
-
-
Amsterdam Without the Tourists: When and Where to Find the Real City
The tourist version of Amsterdam and the real city coexist in the same streets. Here’s how to spend more time in one than the other.
-
Noord in April: The Things That Still Work and Where to Find Them
People ask me about Noord like it’s a place they need tips for. Which is fine — I give tips. But I want to be clear about what Noord is in April specifically, because spring changes the neighbourhood in ways that are easy to miss if you only read the annual pieces about how it’s…
-
The Music Scene in Amsterdam Is Smaller Than You Think and Better For It
Amsterdam has a reputation for nightlife. The music scene is something different — smaller, more specific, and genuinely worth following if you know where to look.
-
Pllek on a Friday Night: What It Tells You About Noord Right Now
I’ve been going to Pllek since before it was what it is now. That’s not me being precious about it — it’s just true. The place on the NDSM wharf started as a container bar with a terrace and a function room and a programming ethos that matched what Noord was at the time: improvised,…
-
De Pijp on a Sunday, Three Scaffolds Later
I cycled through De Pijp on Sunday. I do this most weeks — it’s on the route from Noord to Oost and back via the IJ ferry, the loop I do when I need to clear my head before the week starts again. My parents are still there, same flat on Van Woustraat they’ve had…
-
Javastraat, Amsterdam-Oost: What It Was, What It Is, What That Means
Javastraat is not a famous street. It does not appear on the lists of Amsterdam’s most photogenic locations. What it has — or had, depending on when you first walked it — is the particular quality of a street that was genuinely part of a neighbourhood rather than a destination within one. What it was…
-
The Jordaan: What It Is and What It Isn’t
The Jordaan has been famous for being charming for so long that the charm has curdled slightly. Here’s what’s still genuinely worth understanding about it.
-
The Expat Experience in Amsterdam Is Not What You Think It Is
Amsterdam has had international residents for centuries. The current wave is different in scale but not in kind. What the expat community actually looks like from the inside.
-
The NDSM Warehouse Party That Reminded Me Why I Still Live Here
The venue has no name on the door. That is intentional. If you need a name on the door, you found out about it the wrong way. The NDSM wharf in Noord has been hosting parties in various states of legality since before I was old enough to attend them. My older brother went to…
-
The Brown Café Is Not Dead. Here’s Where to Find the Real Ones.
The bruine kroeg is Amsterdam’s oldest drinking tradition. Most have been replaced by cocktail bars. The ones that haven’t are worth knowing about.
-
Amsterdam’s Craft Beer Scene Has Grown Up. Here’s What’s Worth Drinking.
Brouwerij ‘t IJ under the windmill is the obvious start. But the city’s beer scene now extends well past the obvious. A guide to what’s actually good.
