- On September 3, 2026
- Bezienswaardigheden
Trying to find the 9 straatjes Amsterdam and worried you will burn an afternoon wandering the wrong lanes? Plenty of visitors do. They drift past the boutiques, miss the best cross-streets, and never quite work out how the little grid fits together. I have spent years pottering around these canals, so here is exactly what the Nine Streets are, where to find them, and how to make a short visit feel like a real one.
What are the 9 straatjes Amsterdam?
The Nine Streets (De 9 Straatjes in Dutch) are nine short shopping lanes in the western canal ring. Confirmed against the official de9straatjes.nl site and I amsterdam, they are: Reestraat, Hartenstraat, Gasthuismolensteeg, Berenstraat, Wolvenstraat, Oude Spiegelstraat, Runstraat, Huidenstraat and Wijde Heisteeg.
The clever bit is the layout. Picture four of Amsterdam’s grandest canals running side by side: Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Singel. Four canals leave three gaps between them. The Nine Streets are arranged as three parallel rows, and each row is a line of three tiny streets that step across those three gaps. Three rows times three gaps equals nine little streets. It is a neat three-by-three grid, which is why the area feels so easy to explore once the penny drops.
| Row (north to south) | The three little streets | They step across |
|---|---|---|
| Northern row | Reestraat, Hartenstraat, Gasthuismolensteeg | Prinsengracht to Singel |
| Middle row | Berenstraat, Wolvenstraat, Oude Spiegelstraat | Prinsengracht to Singel |
| Southern row | Runstraat, Huidenstraat, Wijde Heisteeg | Prinsengracht to Singel |
One quick warning, because a couple of guides get it wrong: the ninth street in that middle row is Oude Spiegelstraat, not Spuistraat. Spuistraat is a separate parallel street and is not one of the nine.
Where are the Nine Streets, and how do you get there?
You will find the district in the western canal belt, the Grachtengordel, in the Centrum. It sits just west and southwest of Dam Square and the Royal Palace, immediately south of the Jordaan, and it falls inside the UNESCO-listed canal ring. If you want to see how it stitches into the rest of the centre, this map of Amsterdam puts the canal belt in context.
The nearest tram stop is Spui, served by trams 2 and 12. From Dam Square it is only a short walk. Follow Paleisstraat along the left side of the Royal Palace and you will hit the eastern edge within a few minutes. The Westermarkt and the Anne Frank House are close by too, so it slots neatly into a wider afternoon of things to do in Amsterdam. Because it borders the water on every side, it also makes sense alongside the canals in Amsterdam more broadly.
A little history: why they are called the Nine Streets
The cross-streets were laid out during the 17th-century Golden Age, when the city expanded and dug the great canal belt. Several of the names give away what happened here back then. This was the heart of Amsterdam’s leather-tanning and fur trade, and you can read it straight off the street signs: Huidenstraat means Skins Street, Reestraat means Deer Street, Berenstraat means Bears Street, and Wolvenstraat means Wolves Street.
The collective name is much newer. The “De Negen Straatjes” identity was created and marketed in the 1990s, and the area was officially recognised as one of Amsterdam’s districts in 1997. That came about largely through local shopkeepers campaigning (I amsterdam credits Djoeke Wessing) to give this pocket of independent boutiques its own name and identity. It worked, and the branding stuck.
What to do and buy in the 9 straatjes Amsterdam
This is, above all, a browsing district. The official site counts more than 250 shops, eateries, hotels and small museums packed into those nine short lanes. What sets it apart from the chain-heavy Kalverstraat is the independence of it all: one-of-a-kind boutiques, vintage and second-hand clothing, concept and design stores, and specialist shops for cheese, chocolate, perfume, jewellery, books and art. The New York Times once summed the area up as a charming mix of designer boutiques, galleries, vintage stores, gift shops and places to eat and drink, and that still rings true.
If shopping is your main reason to come, it pairs naturally with a wider look at shopping in Amsterdam. A few names come up again and again in visitor guides, though I would treat these as starting points rather than gospel, since shops open and close and hours change. For vintage, people mention Laura Dols on Wolvenstraat, Episode on Berenstraat and Zipper on Huidenstraat. For edible souvenirs, De Kaaskamer on Runstraat is a well-known Dutch cheese shop, and Chocolaterie Pompadour on Huidenstraat is a much-loved chocolatier and tearoom. Worth doing your own check on current listings before you make a special trip for any single store.
Good things to carry home tend to be the same: vintage and second-hand fashion, aged Dutch cheese, artisan chocolate, a bottle of perfume, small design objects and quiet bits of jewellery. Even if you buy nothing, the 9 straatjes Amsterdam is free to wander, so it costs nothing to look.
Cafes, brown bars and the slow lunch
The Nine Streets is not only about carrier bags. Tucked between the shops are cafes and traditional Dutch brown bars, the bruine kroegen, where the woodwork has gone dark with age and time slows down over a coffee or a beer. My honest advice is to build in a long pause. Shop one row, drop into a cafe, then carry on. That rhythm is the whole point of the place.
Just be aware of the edges. Cafe Papeneiland, for instance, sits at the northern boundary near the Jordaan rather than strictly on one of the nine streets, so I would call it a lovely spot nearby rather than one that is truly inside the district. If you want more of that canal-side, village feel, the neighbouring Jordaan is a natural extension of the walk.
Combine it with a canal cruise
Because the district is boxed in by four canals, one of the nicest ways to round off a visit is from the water. Several cruises route through this part of town, and the Lovers Canal Cruise from the Anne Frank House is described as roughly a one-hour trip whose own listing takes in the Jordaan, De Pijp and the Nine Streets, so the theme lines up with an afternoon here. The listing shows free cancellation and daily timeslots, though I would confirm the current terms when you book. The price only shows once you pick a slot, so I would check the current fare on the booking page rather than trust any figure quoted elsewhere.
How long do you need, and a few practical tips
The area is small and fully walkable. If you just want to march the grid and photograph the 17th-century canal houses and their little bridges, you can do the loop in roughly 30 minutes. Add shopping, a cheese tasting and a cafe stop or two, and you are looking at around two to three hours, easily more if you are the browsing type.
A few things I always tell friends. Weekday mornings are usually the calmest, before the lanes fill up. There is no ticket and no gate, so you can wander whenever you like. And do look up: much of the charm of the 9 straatjes Amsterdam is in the gables and the reflections, not just the shop windows.
Veelgestelde vragen
What are the nine streets in Amsterdam?
They are nine short shopping lanes in the western canal belt: Reestraat, Hartenstraat, Gasthuismolensteeg, Berenstraat, Wolvenstraat, Oude Spiegelstraat, Runstraat, Huidenstraat and Wijde Heisteeg. Arranged as three rows of three, they step across four canals: Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Singel.
Why is it called De 9 Straatjes (the Nine Streets)?
Because there are nine little cross-streets forming a three-by-three grid between the canals. The collective name De Negen Straatjes was created and marketed in the 1990s, and the area was officially recognised as a district in 1997 after local shopkeepers campaigned for its own identity.
What is there to do in the Nine Streets Amsterdam?
Browse more than 250 independent boutiques, vintage and design stores and specialist shops for cheese, chocolate, perfume and jewellery. Cafe-hop, try a traditional Dutch brown bar, photograph the 17th-century canal houses, and consider a canal cruise that passes through the area. It is free to wander.
Is the Nine Streets district in Amsterdam worth visiting?
For most visitors, yes. It is one of the more characterful shopping quarters in the city, full of one-of-a-kind stores rather than chains, and it sits inside the UNESCO canal ring. Even without shopping, it is a pleasant, walkable slice of old Amsterdam.
Where exactly are the 9 Straatjes and how do you get there?
They are in the western canal belt in the Centrum, just west of Dam Square and the Royal Palace and south of the Jordaan. The nearest tram stop is Spui (trams 2 and 12), or walk from Dam Square along Paleisstraat in a few minutes.
How long does it take to walk the Nine Streets?
A straight stroll of the grid takes roughly 30 minutes. With shopping, cafe stops and a cheese or chocolate tasting, plan on around two to three hours, and more if you like to browse slowly. The area is small and fully walkable.
Are the shops in the Nine Streets open on Sunday?
Central Amsterdam shopping streets generally open on Sundays, and the Nine Streets is a busy retail area, so most boutiques tend to trade. That said, independent shops set their own hours, so it is best to check individual listings or the official site before you go.
What is the best time of day to visit the 9 Straatjes?
Weekday mornings are usually quietest, before the lanes get busy. Late morning into early afternoon suits shopping and lunch, and the light on the canals is lovely on a clear day. Weekends are livelier, which some people prefer and others avoid.