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Old City Centre/New Side

Amsterdam's historic city centre is divided by two streets, the Damrak and the Rokin, creating a north/south axis with Dam Square and the Royal Palace in the middle. To the west of this axis is the New Side (Nieuwe Zijde) of the medieval city, which was actually settled before the Old Side (which lies east of this axis). The Nieuwe Zijde is named after the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), which is the city's second oldest church and new in relation only to the Oude Kerk (Old Church). Dam Square and the Royal Palace are also considered to be part of the New Side.

The city's two main shopping streets, the Nieuwendijk and Kalverstraat, are located in the Nieuwe Zijde, as is the Amsterdam Historic Museum, the entrance of which can be found on the Kalverstraat. Just off the busy Kalverstraat you can find Spui, a small square with cafes and a weekly book market. The Spui also has an excellent all you can eat sushi restaurant, Tokyo Café; the service is lousy but the food is good and fresh.

Near the square you will also find the city's famous flower market, the Bloemmarkt. Here you can see a wide array of beautiful flowers in the summer, and buy bulbs of the famous tulips all year long. The market also has many inexpensive souvenir shops.

Running parallel to the shopping streets is Spuistraat. Here you can see some buildings with colorfully painted facades, which are some of the city's infamous squat residences. Interspersed amongst these unconventional homes you will find some of the city's fancier restaurants, including Lucius (seafood) and Caprese (Italian).

The Magna Plaza, located behind the Royal Palace, is the city's post office of the Golden Age now converted into a shopping mall. Shops in Amsterdam are open until 6pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends, except on Thursdays, when they are open until 9pm.

Old City Centre/New Side

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