The Jordaan, Amsterdam: A Local’s Guide to the City’s Prettiest Neighbourhood

Everyone tells you to “see the Jordaan,” but not what to actually do once the pretty canals stop being a novelty. So you drift, get clipped by a cyclist, and queue for a café that tourists rate and locals quietly avoid. Here is the half-day the way we walk it: which canals, which hidden courtyards you can step into, the brown cafés worth your time, and how to handle the Anne Frank House so it doesn’t wreck your plans.

Where is the Jordaan — and why it feels different

The Jordaan sits just west of the historic centre, boxed in by the Prinsengracht, the Brouwersgracht, the Lijnbaansgracht and the Rozengracht. That last street matters: north of the Rozengracht is the pretty, residential Jordaan people fall in love with; south of it is busier and more commercial. Building began here in 1612, on land laid out along old drainage ditches and footpaths — which is why the streets sit at a slightly drunken angle to the tidy main canal ring. The name most likely comes from the French jardin (garden), and true to that, the streets and canals are named after trees and flowers: Egelantiers, Bloem, Rozen, Laurier.

It was a poor, crowded workers’ district for centuries — around 80,000 people were packed in here in 1900. Today roughly 20,000 live in what has become one of the most sought-after (and expensive) corners of the Netherlands. To see exactly how it fits against the Canal Belt and the old centre, our map of Amsterdam lays out the neighbourhoods side by side.

How to get to the Jordaan

From Amsterdam Centraal, take tram 13 or 17 to Westermarkt — that drops you at the Jordaan’s eastern edge, right by the Westerkerk and the Anne Frank House. Tram 17 carries on to Elandsgracht for the southern and western side. Honestly, though, it is a pleasant 15-minute walk from Centraal or Dam Square, and walking in is the nicest way to arrive. Don’t drive: parking here is scarce and punishing, and the neighbourhood is made for feet and bikes. One warning — Amsterdam’s cyclists move fast and have right of way, so look both ways before you step across a bike lane for a photo.

The best way to see the Jordaan: a half-day walking route

The Jordaan rewards wandering more than ticking off sights. This loop takes a relaxed half-day and strings together the prettiest of it.

Start on the Brouwersgracht along the northern edge — regularly voted the most beautiful street in Amsterdam, its old warehouses now converted into homes, houseboats lined up below. Follow the Prinsengracht down and cut into the neighbourhood’s two loveliest inner canals: the Egelantiersgracht and the Bloemgracht, sometimes called “the Herengracht of the Jordaan” for its handsome gabled houses. Stop on one of the little humpback bridges where the side canals meet the Prinsengracht for the postcard view — several canals and their leaning gables lining up at once. From there, lose yourself in the narrow cross-streets — the dwarsstraten — where the galleries, tiny shops and cafés hide. Pause at Johnny Jordaanplein, the little square honouring the local folk singers, and time your loop to finish at a market or a brown café (both below).

Top things to do in the Jordaan

The Anne Frank House — and how to actually get in

On the Jordaan’s eastern edge, at Prinsengracht 263, is the canal house where Anne Frank and her family hid for just over two years and where she wrote her diary. The museum around the Secret Annex opened in 1960 and is one of the most moving visits in the city. It is also one of the hardest to get into, so read this carefully: tickets are sold only online, only through the official site (annefrank.org), on a timed-entry basis — there are no tickets at the door. They are released every Tuesday at 10:00 (Amsterdam time) for a date roughly six weeks ahead, and in high season they sell out within minutes. Set a reminder, be online early, and — importantly — ignore the lookalike resale sites that appear in search ads; buy only from annefrank.org.

If you miss the ticket window, don’t despair. A guided Jordaan and Anne Frank walking tour tells her story on the very streets she knew and needs no museum ticket — a genuinely good plan B.

The Westerkerk and its tower

Next door rises the Westerkerk, whose blue-crowned Westertoren is the Jordaan’s landmark and, at around 85 metres, the tallest church tower in the city — the one Anne Frank wrote about hearing chime. You can climb it by guided tour (roughly every half hour in the warmer months); numbers are limited and it is worth booking ahead, so check the current times on the church’s own site. Rembrandt is buried inside the church, though the exact spot was lost long ago.

The Homomonument

Just behind the church, on the Westermarkt by the Keizersgracht, three pink-granite triangles form one large triangle — the Homomonument, opened in 1987 as the world’s first memorial to LGBTQ+ people persecuted for their sexuality. The triangle that steps down to the canal points quietly toward the Anne Frank House. It is marked on the LGBTQ+ layer of our Amsterdam map.

Noordermarkt and the Jordaan markets

The square around the 1623 Noorderkerk hosts the neighbourhood’s best markets. Come Monday morning for the flea market, or Saturday for the organic farmers’ market — and don’t miss the nearby Lindengracht market, a favourite with locals for everything from cheese to flowers.

The hofjes — the Jordaan’s hidden courtyards

The Jordaan’s best-kept secret is its hofjes: tranquil almshouse courtyards, built centuries ago by wealthy benefactors as free housing for elderly women, tucked behind unmarked doors. Around nineteen survive. Push open a gate that stands ajar at the Sint Andrieshofje (one of the oldest, from 1614, off the Egelantiersgracht) or the Karthuizerhof and you step from a busy lane into sudden green silence.

Quirky little museums

The Jordaan specialises in small, odd museums. The Houseboat Museum lets you poke around a real 1914 canal barge, the Hendrika Maria, moored at Prinsengracht 296. Electric Ladyland bills itself as the world’s first museum of fluorescent art — a tiny, glowing cellar you visit in slippers; its opening hours are limited, so check ahead. The Pianola Museum plays self-playing pianos from a collection of tens of thousands of music rolls. And on the Prinsengracht you’ll find the Amsterdam Tulip Museum, small but a neat primer on the tulip-mania story.

The Nine Streets: shopping just south

Cross the Rozengracht and you reach the Nine Streets (Negen Straatjes) — a grid of nine little lanes threaded between the main canals. Technically this is the Canal Belt rather than the Jordaan proper, but every visitor pairs the two. It is the city’s best patch for vintage clothing, independent design and concept stores, broken up by good coffee. Half an hour of browsing here rounds off a Jordaan morning nicely.

Brown cafés and where to eat

The Jordaan is the spiritual home of the brown café (bruine kroeg) — the dark, wood-panelled, deeply gezellig pubs that define Amsterdam drinking. Some are genuinely old: Café Chris has poured since 1624, making it the oldest in the Jordaan; Café Papeneiland dates to 1642 and sits on the Brouwersgracht corner; canal-side Café ‘t Smalle goes back to 1786. The neighbourhood also clings to a rowdy folk-music heritage: at cafés like De Twee Zwaantjes you can still catch a Saturday-night sing-along of old Amsterdam levenslied ballads, led by an accordion. For a local’s tip, choose the low-key Café Hegeraad over the perpetually queued Winkel 43 — though Winkel’s apple pie really is as good as the line suggests. For the full run-down, see our guide to the best brown cafés in Amsterdam.

For a proper meal, Moeders serves Dutch home cooking (book ahead — its walls are covered in photos of mothers), Toscanini has been a beloved Italian since 1985, and Long Pura does elegant Indonesian. For something sweeter, join the (usually quick) queue for the famous apple pie at Winkel 43 beside the Noordermarkt, pick up pastries from the SAINT-JEAN bakery, or an artisan scoop from Monte Pelmo. Grab a canalside terrace on a warm afternoon and you have the Jordaan at its best.

The best time to visit the Jordaan

Early morning, any day, the canals are unbelievably serene — this is when photographers come. Saturday mornings bring the markets to life but also the crowds; Monday is the day for the flea markets. Late spring and summer are best for terrace-sitting, while the third weekend of June opens up the hidden gardens. Whenever you come, the Jordaan is a place to slow down.

Local tips for visiting the Jordaan

• Come early to have the canals to yourself — the best free “sight” here is simply getting lost north of the Rozengracht.
• Remember this is a residential neighbourhood: you’re a guest, so keep the noise down at night, especially near the hofjes.
• If Anne Frank tickets eluded you, a walking tour gives you the story and the streets without the queue.
• Many canal cruises depart right here by the Anne Frank House — a relaxing way to see the Jordaan from the water.
• Watch for cyclists, and never stop in a bike lane for a photo.

Veelgestelde vragen

Reviewed by the Tours in Amsterdam editorial team · Opening times and ticket details change, so confirm on official sites before you visit · Last updated July 2026.