We think we know everything about Amsterdam. Its canals, its coffee shops, its brown cafes, its red-light district, its beguinage … Except that the city stretches and deploys its originality in the center, but also on its ends and on the port side.

In the north, in the east, new neighborhoods emerge while the Dutch metropolis is clearing its working past and constantly renewing itself. We take you on board, without a riverboat, for a tour, very offbeat, of an Amsterdam that is still little known.

Northeast of Amsterdam, you can’t miss the NEMO Science Museum and its verdigris structure. It was the Italian Renzo Piano, to whom we also owe the Center Pompidou, who set about building the museum between 1992 and 1997 with one main constraint: to build the building on the tunnel of the S116 road. 22 m above sea level.

With its liner-like appearance rising from the water and its inclined terrace (1,000 m² all the same) which receives, at least in the summer, families, local music groups and afterworks bohemian, NEMO has established itself in the architectural landscape and Amsterdam culture. Note that, since 2013, the roof terrace has gone green with 17,500 plants and two hives of 20,000 bees. The interior is rather sober so as not to distract the visitor from his scientific reflections, even if the playfulness displayed of the exhibitions makes it a place that will delight, as a priority, children.

We then get on our bicycle to storm east of Amsterdam. The walk along the railway to Zeeburg is not very interesting. On the other hand, it suffices to confront the “seafront” of the port area of IJhaven and Ertshaven to understand the changes in the city and its gentrification. For several years, the municipality has been rehabilitating the old warehouses into housing. Here everything is just iron balconies and trendy sports halls, while the open doors on the ground floor let you see the privacy of the inhabitants of these new blocks.

It almost feels like a seaside resort, whose calm contrasts with the frenzy of the hypercentre. But in the evening, Panama (1,050 people), which has seen shoe sizes such as Boy George, Fatboy Slim or Faithless, takes care of animating Oostelijk Havengebied and brewing a population of beautiful people who participate in the boboïsation of this district.

A few pedal strokes away, two other neighborhoods have completely changed faces in 30 years. In the 1980s, the islands of Sporenburg and Borneo were only containers and depots. These are now dense residential areas with individual houses which overlap like dominoes. We are in the filling of population (100 housing units per hectare!), Not necessarily unhappy with its patios, its gardens, its terraces, its garages surrounded by ivy and its view on the Spoorwegbassin or on the Entrepothaven.

The two islands are connected by three bridges which are worth seeing. The east bridge and the west bridge are the most impressive with their bright red steel, especially the footbridge to the east, a sort of arched sea serpent of 93 m. No wonder the Amstellodamois renamed it the ” Python Bridge “.

To the south, the Indische Buurt, the Indian district with a rather Turkish accent, is discovered by taking the Molukenstraat. A temple of the hipster sphere opened its doors nearby, the Botanical Bar with its luxuriant vegetation and its noble marble bar.

Amsterdam, towers on the Noord side

3 minutes. This is the time it takes to reach by ferry, Amsterdam Centraal, the EYE Film Museum, dedicated to the 7 th Art. In 2012, the museum left its green Vondelpark setting to settle on the north bank of the Ij, the lake of Amsterdam.

At night, you only have eyes for its futuristic architecture that lights up. Angular, polymorphic depending on the observation point, its facade organized with white aluminum panels shimmers in colors that change according to the climate. But the interior also throws light: Olafur Eliasson’s lighting system, spectacular bar in Corian (composite material) while orthogonally and this terrace, indoor / outdoor, which makes the eyes soft on the banks of the IJ.

In this still popular district of Noord, the EYE Filmmuseum leaves the summits, a stone’s throw away, to the old Shell tower or “Toren Overhoeks”, now called A’ADAM. This tower, work of the Dutch architect Arthur Staal, housed the offices of the oil company from 1971 to 2009. Since May 2016, its spaces have been occupied by several restaurants (Moon, Ma’dam), by reception rooms (The Loft), coworking places, music companies, a biergarten and a hotel.

We recommend the A’DAM Lookout on floors 20 and 21. If you survive the psyche and slightly barred elevator, you can enjoy (12.50 € anyway) a breathtaking view of Amsterdam. The most daring will defy gravity and risk a 5-minute swing in a vacuum. Something to delight their Instagram followers.

Architecture fans will go for a mini hook at the corner of Badhuiske and Overhoeksplein . De Prinsendam (74 apartments, 8 floors) and its alternation of square windows and rectangular patio doors is a residential complex designed by the British Tony Fretton. With its masonry façade in travertine, the building, however massive, gives off a rather airy impression, perhaps due to the balconies and transparent balustrades which cut its surface.

De Prinsendam courted (which he shared) with another building, De Europa, this time built by Alvaro Siza, who opted for a facade covered with marble slabs and loggias. Suffice to say that we only give a few years to the Overhoek district to lose what remains popular.

And it is not De Ceuvel, which has been operating since 2014, that will reverse the trend. On a former shipyard, near the Johan van Hasselt canal, a group of hard-working entrepreneurs has set up an alternative form of office, De Ceuvel, for companies working in the social or creative sector. It is green, renewable, eco-responsible, autonomous and low in energy consumption. Creative workshops, spaces for rent and soon a bed and breakfast on the water. Without forgetting the cafe-restaurant (we advise you to book), all in wood (from an old lifeguard aid station at sea), with its hammocks, its recuperated decor and its young and trendy population.

Another old site and another, more opulent atmosphere, with the Hotel De Goudfazant and its restaurant, which has kept the raw side of a garage with its Cyclopean doors and its suspended cars.

Creativity in the wasteland of Amsterdam

For lack of space, we are rehabilitating abandoned districts or old factories and wasteland, which gives the Dutch capital that je ne sais quoi of the end of the world.

To the west, From Westergasfabriek, the former plant in west Amsterdam gas, was built in a style dear Dutch Neo-Renaissance architect Isaac Gosschalk her in the late 19th century. Closed in 1967, it found a second youth and juice in 2003. Amstellodamois like to wander between these elevations of perfectly ordered red briquettes, which today host several bars and restaurants (we have a weakness for breakfast at home From Bakkerswinkel). In summer, we take out the tables and the guinguette spirit enlivens the place, especially since the surrounding park, the Westerpark, is perfect for a bucolic picnic break.

How long seems the time when De Hallen, built between 1902 and 1928 in Oud-West, served to give a second lease of life to the first electric trams in Amsterdam! A century later, its transformation has transformed it into a multidisciplinary center, both a covered food market (Foodhallen , since October 2014), an exhibition space, a craft center, TV studios, but also a chic hotel. If Foodhallen resembles other markets of this type in Europe (central tables surrounded by stalls), we like the large volumes framed by the renovated steel structures of De Hallen, its paved floor and its red briquettes in a style very Dutch. Little crush on the decor and the pool bar at Kanarie Club by Modijefsky studio.

With Rem Eiland and its purple and gray staircases that go in all directions, it feels like Mad Max or the dystopian turnip Waterworld. Brought back to the Amsterdam port area of Houthavens (north-east of Amsterdam) , this metallic water lily, a sort of offshore oil platform that was never one, hosted, offshore, the TV Noordzee, popular until the 1960s It is now a restaurant on two floors and a popular rooftop , perched 80 m above the water.

Touched, but not sunk! The municipality has long wondered about the redevelopment of the disused shipyard NDSM (Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij), 15 minutes by ferry from the Amsterdam Centraal. From 1920 to 1984, this site was one of the most dynamic in the world. Abandoned, he was later squatted by pioneers of Dutch alternative art, such as the theater group Dogtroep.

And since? We give it to you in a thousand (sailor), this gigantic site has become… an Art-Factory of 80,000 m². The shed dedicated to the construction of ships has been transformed into Kunststad (or artistic city) where we now come across designers and architects of all stripes who phosphorize within artistic incubators. And projects abound. Including making the shed called Lasloods, unmissable with its facade tribute to Anne Frank, the world’s largest temple of urban art. To be continued…

It takes time to discover this small town in the town that has seduced MTV Benelux, HEMA and Red Bull who have set up offices there. In this steel decor, the ‘ Amstel Botel, cruise ship, reinvested in 3-star hotel, the tone, ruddy and round with his big typography very 1970s can sip a beer on the deck terrace of this hotel a bit special.

Not far away, the architecture of the Kraanspoor building, like a gem set, captivates. Very long, 270 m, on three floors, it spans the raceway with two vintage loading cranes.

Also, in the district, the Faralda Crane Hotel has invested in a port crane and now offers three chic suites with a 360 ° view of the city. The decor is a bit too much, but the experience, above the void, remains dizzying. Sensitive souls refrain.

Every weekend in summer and some in autumn and winter (calendar here), the IJ-Hallen settles in the surrounding area. It is neither more nor less than the largest flea market in the world (€ 5 for adults). A gigantic open-air bazaar, a labyrinth of stands, each more original than the last, where there are rusques, scrap metal, but also some good surprises (like a lithography by a local “raw” artist).

In the port of Amsterdam. There are sailors who dance while rubbing their bellies… sang Jacques Brel. After the wasteland, the frichti! Since 1957, the IJ-Kantine, a masterful brown monolith, with large glass surfaces and open to the IJ, has proudly established itself in the district. After the bankruptcy of the NDSM shipyard in the 1980s, the workers with technical unemployment joined together in an association and occupied this shed, then renamed Baanderij, which previously housed the NDSM cafeteria. In July 2005, the IJ-Kantine as we know it today landed on the ground floor, while the upper floors are still occupied by companies. The menu, rather marine, is basic, but the terrace, open from March to October, remains pleasant. Possibility to dock by boat. The class.

As long as you live an apocalyptic day, you might as well go free and extend it until the end of the night. We can start with a drink at the Noordelicht, translate as the Aurora Borealis, a greenhouse cafe-restaurant, surrounded by gutted metal tubes and sheds. In the evening, the lighting effects on the rounded structure offer a spectacle in technicolor.

The Pllek offers simple, organic gastronomy, but also live music and, in summer, open-air cinema sessions. Arranged with several containers, he even set up a sandy beach and screwed up large wooden tables at the door for more conviviality.

Finally, since 1st January 2017 a new club tendency Sexyland, squatting a former warehouse of the NDSM. The principle: give, every day (out of 365), carte blanche to a different “owner” who is free to do what he wants with the place. Bikers meeting, aftershows, temporary exhibition (even very temporary therefore), block party, playback show … This is what we call here “a conceptual club “

When you get closer to the center, former convents ( Mayer Manor ) and churches ( Swigtershofje ) are rejuvenated in luxury rooms, bakeries ( Van Wonderen Stroopwafels , Confectionery Lanksroon , Original Stroopwafels ) reinvent the essential wafers with molasses syrup, the stroopwafels , and neighborhoods stand out as the new places to be seen ( De Pijp ).

Just to the west of De Pijp, in the Museumplein museum district, the Stedelijk Museum, which gives pride of place to modern and contemporary art and design, always stands out through its architecture. In 2012, the original building, built in 1895 (but the museum was founded in 1874), was entitled to its extension, more modern (by the agency Benthem Crouwel architects). The current building is therefore the clever graft of an existing white stone and red brick (again!), A cantilevered roof, as if gravitating above the void, and a smooth milky structure a little ovniesque, “the bathtub”. Perfect for taking a bath of contemporary art!

A little further north-west, the Jordaan district smells of plants, relaxation and encourages walking. And to think that this district to become prohibitive rents, was laid in the early 17th century to house the workers! Everything is downright cute: human-sized houses, localities flowery names, the five channels World Heritage of Unesco, the Westerkerk, Church of the 17th century Dutch Renaissance style (Rembrandt would be there buried). Bourgeois, the Jordaan!

Around Place Noordermarkt, traditional brown cafes spawn with the new places of Amsterdam trendiness, concept stores and other detox restaurants. The addicts design tries to flush out the last productions of Jongeriuslab, Studio Drift, Formafantasma or Puik. If you want to eat “typical”, we recommend the Moeders. The walls are generous as are the plates and the staff.

And, at the southern tip of the Jordaan, why not end up at the indestructible Melkweg, the former sugar and then dairy factory in Amsterdam, for a concert or a wild evening until the end of the night?

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