Amsterdam’s Nine Streets, ideal for walking and shopping

travel videos & photos at: townsofeurope.com/ with text, maps & links.
One of Amsterdam's best neighborhoods for walking and shopping is called the Nine Streets.
Amsterdam is among the world's great cities for walking. There are so many neighborhoods in this city that are wonderful to explore on foot, or perhaps on a bicycle, as so many locals get around, including entire families.
There's an excellent website put together by the merchants of the area that describes in great detail everything that you'll find in the Nine Streets, with a listing of the shops, with photos, maps and a brochure you can download. So take a look at that website de9straatjes.nl/nl/home
Among all of the favorite spots in Europe for walking through a town, this has to rank among the best. It's right next to the Dam, Amsterdam's main square. It looks like it's three streets, but each one has three parts, so that's a total of the nine streets.
I'm going to take you on an organized walking tour through all of those main streets from south to north. You will be delighted to see how friendly it is to pedestrians, and how many little independent shops there are here. And we will also be looking at the beautiful canals that run throughout this district - four major waterways that add to the special character of the Nine Streets.
Singel is one of the main streets along the canal of the same name, and this is part of that great charm of the neighborhood - you've got waterways along with these pedestrian lanes lined with shops, with an old pissoir, part of that historic heritage of the neighborhood.
Here you also find apartments, offices, and some hotels. It's a complete neighborhood, very attractive for both the visitors and the local residents.
This is a compact zone with basically a square shape, just 400 meters from one end to the other, making it so easy to walk and see all of it in a day. The paving is great, you're welcome to walk in the street and the terrain is flat.
There are quaint and picturesque neighborhoods throughout the Netherlands, and in other sections of Amsterdam, indeed all over Europe there are hundreds of charming towns with wonderful places for strolling, but it's hard to find one that has all of these characteristics in one place: sidewalk cafés, major canals, pedestrian lanes, a thick concentration of independent little shops, amid a large collection of attractive historic buildings, with a central location that's easy to get to. This is clearly someplace very special.
From the very beginning 400 years ago, this charming neighborhood was dominated by trade and culture, and still it has a great bustling atmosphere full of quirky little shops, designer boutiques and hidden cafés.
There are 60 boutiques, 40 places for food and drink and sleep, 5 for vintage 12, shops for shoes and bags, 16 for accessories and jewelry, 14 for hair, health and beauty, 18 home and lifestyle, 8 art, culture and books, and 25 specialties.
Most of the shops here are unique little boutiques.
There are hardly any tourists, souvenir shops, but you'll find plenty of places to buy a keepsake to bring home.
In the old days, these streets served the merchant families and businesses who worked along the canals. There were milking establishments, gas and fire shops, and liqueur distilleries. In the 60s, the hippies discovered the neighborhood. They not only came to live there, but also started shops selling secondhand clothes, furniture, lamps and curiosities, some of which can still be found today.
As you've noticed there are no shopping malls or big department stores here. It's just not that kind of place, but instead it's laced with authentic shops and picturesque scenes. There are big department stores elsewhere in Amsterdam, of course, you can find them along some of the main boulevards, but don't look for them here.
Most shops are open every day from about 10 or 11 in the morning until six or seven in the evening, all year round. While this neighborhood is a slice of heaven for shoppers, it's fun even if you don't intend to buy anything. Just walking around through these streets is a pure pleasure. And we have the added bonus of seeing row after row of houses along the canal.
There are thousands of boats of all shapes and sizes here, including quite a few houseboats, some of which are available as vacation rentals, although Amsterdam has been reducing the number of vacation rentals available to protect the housing market. There are several excellent hotels in the Nine Streets that have converted rows of canal houses into deluxe accommodations, including the Pulitzer, the Dylan, the Hockston and the Andaz. You can get a room with a view looking out over the canal, or a quiet room at the back looking out over a garden.
Another way to get around is to rent a bicycle, which makes a great way to see this neighborhood and the rest of town, one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Europe.

[@AtefBandary]

Thank for the video , it brought me thought beautiful memories walking in the streets of beautiful Amsterdam

[@finleyfendt3750]

Thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍

[@bobm.4268]

Whenever you post a new video, my lady and I kind of announce it to one another, and schedule it like an event. Something about your narration and quality of videography etc makes us feel good. We've got a little bucket list going, keep it up! Your videos just keep getting better and better. Thanks Dennis!

[@denniscallan]

Thank you Bob and Lady very much! I appreciate that a lot, and am always working on new movies.

[@ems9097]

theres something just magical about your videos! easy to understand, the narrating is great, the background music is calming (unlike alot of videos out there these days), the pace is not too fast not too slow. Thanks Dennis !

[@rolling-home]

Thank you for an update! nice quality, keep the videos going!

[@tertiasom1]

Great coverage as always very informative!!!!

[@hvellos1831]

Such a relaxed and easily digestible commentary and video. Great job. I will look forward to exploring your other videos. Thanks

[@muhammadrashid6135]

Beautiful walk of the city.

[@yoshimajestic1666]

Your videos are a community service. Thank you!

[@denniscallan]

Thanks Yoshi, that's exactly why I am doing it, to entertain and provide useful travel information.

[@Azhar4612]

Everyone looks new, good job, keep it up, Dennis!

[@tc2904]

I absolutely loved Amsterdam. I hope I get to go back and visit soon.

[@itsmetaran]

Great video Dennis. Thanks a lot.

[@jasminmaria2]

Hello from Brazil. Very interesting city. Beautiful architecture. ☕🇧🇷

[@yolondafowler4285]

Wonderful info. I will view more for sure . Thanks !!!

[@pennywhitaker7092]

Great video thank you!

[@haraldmatosek7570]

diese stadt ist sehr sehenswert unbedingt einmal hinfahren

[@MindBlower18]

Great information 👍 Thx from Munich 😉

[@3103suman]

Very good video Sir

[@peterdyson9590]

I want to go to Amsterdam, soon maybe. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@imy5279]

Pedestrians be extra careful crossing the streets where the bike lanes are! If I remember correctly the bike lane lines are jagged. You must look carefully for oncoming bicyclists! Especially faster moving bicycles. Many accidents happen. (Per the locals) Lovely city! If your visiting a canal boat trip is a must! Greetings from USA 🇺🇸

[@denniscallan]

Good advice, always. Fortunately on these 9 streets, while there are bicycles, there are no bike lanes, so they all go slow and pay attention.

[@imy5279]

@@denniscallan Yes only where there is a lot of congestion is where you have to be careful. But all in all Amsterdam is a fantastic city!

[@user-tq1es3tl1d]

سلام تسلم ايدك اخي ما شاءالله 👍👍👍👍👍🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@haraldmatosek7570]

in amsterdam gibt es sicher viele tolle shops good shopping

[@lifewithgrandmabev]

Where were the kitty cats?

[@jemcrazon]

Hi, your video was really nice, what kind of camera you use, do you use a cellphone as well? Thanks

[@denniscallan]

This was photographed with my SONY FS5, a professional 4K camera, mostly on a tripod. A superb camera in every way. Plus I had good weather, mostly sunny. However, lately I've been using the iPhone 13 in 4K mode, almost as good, and much easier to carry around.

[@amsterdamwalks]

One of the best places in Amsterdam ;-)

[@denniscallan]

Like a village in the heart of the city.

[@miri8075]

I’m visiting the first week of February, how’s the weather there??

[@Walker1152]

i wouldnt say these are the top 9 streets in amsterdam a person needs to visit but i would say its one of the most beautiful parts. im going to sub because my gf is from amsterdam and i feel i need to learn more then the weed spots lol

[@denniscallan]

OK, we can agree -- one of the most beautiful parts. I never said they were the top. I carefully said "this has to rank among the best." I know superlatives are silly, Top Ten this and that, utter nonsense. But no doubt, these are wonderful streets.

[@Walker1152]

@@denniscallan i wasn't having a dig i wish my girlfriend still lived there so i could join her in the laid back dutch lifestyle, i have many stories about being in the city but i think we will try to spend a day or two in haarlem too as this isn't far and looks great for food and drink. i mean that as its a bit more intimate to have a meal and drink there lol im a romantic i suppose

[@denniscallan]

@@Walker1152 Thanks again for responding, got it. Take a look at my Haarlem movies, in this playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLke86NFI6R8yHA2T5e7P38pniCONuuN_3 It is one of the very best, yet so often overlooked due to Amsterdam proximity.

[@Walker1152]

@@denniscallan i only know about haarlem because of my girlfriend im sure we will enjoy these videos thank you, not many youtubers respond so quickly keep doing what your doing may see you in holland sometime

[@CALLMEGENESIS]

Loved this video, thank you, but was this filmed recently? I see no one wearing masks. What is the covid situation there ?

[@denniscallan]

It was filmed just before Covid.

[@hdibart]

Are there any shops?

[@mrwatermelon3123]

no

[@kevinl8440]

You are better than Rick Steves

[@denniscallan]

Of course! That is a high compliment, considering Steves is the travel champ, and does many wonderful things, but I do go more in-depth to a place, showing you all around, focusing on the subject rather than my face, not sitting around inside eating and talking with locals as he spends much of his time.

[@christinad7945]

Great video! Thank you