Tour with official guide in Amsterdam

What's included

What you'll see and do

1. Centraal Station

   Neo-Renaissance style building built by architect Pierre Kuiper. For the construction of Amsterdam Central Station it was necessary to build three artificial islands and use more than eight thousand wooden pillars to support the structure. This train station is very close to the city center and all the trains that connect Amsterdam with all of Europe leave (and arrive) from it.

   20 minutes here

2. Beurs van Berlage

   La Bours van The first fair in Holland The first Stock Exchange in the Netherlands was founded by the Dutch East India Company in 1602. They decided to issue shares to finance their maritime activities. However, they needed an exchange building to trade the shares. In 1896, the city council decided to build a new stock exchange. The Stock Exchange building fell to the architect and urban planner Berlage to design a completely new building, among which the clock tower stands out. Berlage, as a fervent socialist, believed that the Beurshandel would not last long. But he resolved this dilemma intelligently and creatively, he decided to design the new Stock Exchange building in such a way that in the future, after the triumph of socialism, it could serve as a large community house, a people's palace. He built a de facto kind of symbolic town hall, a "people's palace" that could temporarily serve as a Stock Exchange.

   10 minutes here

3. Damrak

   The Damrak is the original mouth of the Amstel River. The dam at Amstel created an open seaport called Damrak and an inland port (Rokin) with a market square, Dam Square. The development around the dam formed the basis for it to become a powerful commercial city. At the beginning of the 13th century, Amsterdam received city rights. Due to increasing trade contacts in the 14th century, mainly with the Scandinavian countries, Amsterdam grew rapidly. Defense walls and mainly commercial houses were built to store grain, wood and beer. The population grew to 3,000 inhabitants. In the 19th century the canal was filled in, except for the boat docks. Gabled houses with different and ancient architectural styles make this "Damrak" street a trip back to the 17th / 18th century with its Renaissance, Classicist, "Jugendstil" / Art Nouveau facades are among the most picturesque in the city.

   20 minutes here

4. Het Damplein

   Dam Square is a square in the center of Amsterdam. It is the historic heart of the city and the site of many events of national importance. Dam Square is home to the Royal Palace, the New Church and the National Monument, where National Remembrance Day is celebrated annually. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is a palace located on Dam Square in the city center of Amsterdam. The palace is used by the Royal Household as a reception palace and is used for exhibitions. It was built between 1648 and 1665 as a town hall, designed by the architect Jacob van Campen. The structure is considered the most important historical and cultural monument of the Golden Age of the Netherlands. Nieuwe kerk. The church is used for Dutch royal investiture ceremonies (according to article 32 of the Dutch Constitution), most recently that of King Willem-Alexander in 2013, as well as royal weddings, most recently Willem-Alexander's wedding to Máxima in 2002.

   15 minutes here

5. The Waag

   The Waag located in the heart of Amsterdam, in the middle of the Nieuwmarkt, surrounded by a canal system. It was built in 1488 as the gateway to the city and was named Sint Antoniespoort. The oldest stone facade in Amsterdam. Sint Antoniespoort, along with Haarlemmerpoort, was considered one of the strongest main gates in Amsterdam. The city, initially quite open, was provided with walls and later with a wall. Throughout the 16th century, the city wall became more than just a physical barrier: over time it became a political, economic and social border. For centuries, the city was hermetically closed to the outside world every evening at half past nine. The soldiers took the keys to the town hall doors and placed them in a special key box. They took the key to this chest to one of the mayors. At dawn, the entire ritual took place in reverse order.

   10 minutes here

6. Red Light District (De Wallen)

   The red light district of Amsterdam is famous for its history, its architecture, its cultural life and for being one of the most liberalized neighborhoods in the world in terms of attitudes towards prostitution, drugs and sexual diversity. Known for the shop windows that adorn its very narrow alleys, where prostitutes have carried out their professional activities for centuries. Prostitution is completely regulated in the Netherlands, so that each prostitute is required by law to have private social security contracted (like any Dutch worker), to pay taxes to the state, make tax declarations and all the legal processes to which that a worker or company must carry out to maintain their legal status. They also undergo annual medical check-ups.2​ Prostitution establishments are open both day and night, but the maximum influx of public takes place on weekend nights.

   15 minutes here

7. Some 400 years ago, the canal belt was arguably the most impressive urban sprawl in the world. It is made up of 4 semicircles that extend over 165 channels is enormous, even by today's standards. The expansion was a combination of a grid city and a fortified city. Trees have been planted along the canals and outside the houses there are many flowering plants, which creates a very pleasant atmosphere. What is the reason for such enormous urban expansion? Why the famous geometric shape in the form of rings? No other city in Europe experienced such a large population growth. The space problem had to be resolved, planning was not an artistic choice, the canal belt was never built as a "work of art", but rather "with the best plans taking advantage of the space and the lowest costs." The main objective was to build houses for the new inhabitants and spend little money.

   20 minutes here

8. Bloemenmarkt

   The Bloemenmarkt is on the Singel canal. Flowers and plants are displayed on barges that from the outside look like real shops, colorful and fragrant. The barges are lined up with each other, as if they formed a shopping street, they are supported by poles and are full of tulips, daffodils and bulbs of all kinds. The Amsterdam flower market dates back to 1862, when merchants used barges to transport flowers from the suburbs to the city center and displayed the beauty of their colorful flowers along the Singel. This tradition has remained unchanged over time, and even today you can relive the atmosphere of that time and be fascinated and attracted by it. The trade used to be delivered daily by water from nurseries outside the city. The flower market has increasingly become a tourist attraction and the offer consists mainly of flower bulbs and souvenirs. In the past, gondola-type boats brought those flowers.

   10 minutes here

Where it starts and ends

Options you can book

• Official tour guide in Amsterdam

• Private tour guide in Amsterdam

  Historical Center Pickup included

Before you book

Cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Languages

fr, es

Ticket

Mobile Only

Runs on

Every day

Group size

Up to 15 travelers per booking

Operated by

Raíces tours

Know before you go

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
• All areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• There are no child seats for children
• It is not advisable for people who cannot walk or have difficulty walking.

Photos

Traveler reviews

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