Plantage

Just east of the old centre lies De Plantage, Amsterdam's green "cultural garden" — a genteel district of tree-lined avenues laid out in the 17th century as a leafy escape for the city's well-to-do. Today it's one of the calmest, most cultured corners of the city, home to a historic zoo, one of the world's oldest botanical gardens, and a profound stretch of Jewish history.

The green heart

The neighbourhood's two anchors are living museums in their own right. Artis, founded in 1838, is the country's oldest zoo — and also a botanical garden, with a planetarium and aquarium on the grounds. A few steps away, the Hortus Botanicus is one of the world's oldest botanical gardens, its historic greenhouses sheltering thousands of plant species. Next to Artis, the one-of-a-kind Micropia reveals the invisible world of microbes.

A quarter of remembrance

For centuries De Plantage was a heart of Jewish Amsterdam, and several of its institutions tell that history with great care. The Hollandsche Schouwburg, a theatre the occupiers turned into a deportation centre, is now a memorial; opposite it, the National Holocaust Museum stands in a former college from which Jewish children were smuggled to safety. Nearby, the Dutch Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum) — often called the country's best historical museum — recreates daily life and resistance under occupation. The wider Jewish Cultural Quarter, with the Jewish Museum and the candlelit Portuguese Synagogue, sits just to the west.

Quiet and local

Away from the crowds, De Plantage rewards a slow wander: elegant streets, the waterside Entrepotdok, and easy cafés. Reach it by metro to Waterlooplein, close to the main sights, or a short tram from the centre.