Neighbourhoods
Watergraafsmeer — the polder that eats well
A drained 17th-century lake five metres below sea level: Park Frankendael's country estate, greenhouse dining at De Kas and leafy streets that feel like a village.
- Green
- polder
- village feel
- food destination
- Oost
Photo: NICOLAI BONDARCIUC / Google
The Watergraafsmeer was a lake until 1629; today it is Amsterdam's deepest-lying quarter, a leafy polder grid where the city exhales. Its heart is Park Frankendael, around the last surviving country estate within city limits, whose historic gardens host open-air Sunday strolls and whose old municipal greenhouses became De Kas — the restaurant that made “pick it in the morning, plate it at noon” an Amsterdam institution. Add the Jaap Eden outdoor ice rink in winter and the Middenweg's unhurried café row, and you have the city's best argument for leaving the ring of canals: space, green and food with roots, literally.
Getting there
Directions from the nearest transit hubs to Watergraafsmeer — the polder that eats well.
Amsterdam's main station — intercity, sprinter, metro 51/52/53/54, most tram lines and city ferries all depart here.
Tram 19 runs along the Middenweg; ten minutes by bike from the Oosterpark.