Private Tour Amsterdam's Western Islands A Village Within a City

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

• 1

  Tucked away on Realeneiland, one of Amsterdam's Western Islands, the Zandhoek ("Sand Corner") is one of the most picturesque quays in the city. It takes its name from the 17th century, when boats unloaded sand here — used as ballast in ships and to raise the ground for new streets in the growing city. Along the waterfront stands a beautiful row of thirteen former captains' houses, built around 1645–1646, with a colourful mix of step, neck and bell gables. On the corner is the house "In den Gouden Reael," named after a golden real — a Spanish coin bearing the image of Emperor Charles V — depicted on its gable stone; the influential Reael family, after whom the island itself is named, built a herring-packing house here in 1648. That building later became a beloved inn, immortalised in a 1940 novel by Jan Mens, and today houses a well-known French restaurant.

  10 minutes • Admission ticket free
• 2
  Westelijke Eilanden

  Bickerseiland, Prinseneiland and Realeneiland. A unique and undiscovered part of Amsterdam.

  1 hour • Admission ticket free
• Drieharingenbrug (Pass by)

  The Drieharingenbrug ("Three Herrings Bridge") is a charming double wooden drawbridge connecting Realeneiland to Prinseneiland across the Realengracht, in the heart of the Western Islands. It is known as the narrowest bridge in Amsterdam's city centre — so narrow that two cyclists can barely pass each other on it. There has been a bridge on this exact spot for some 400 years: the very first mapmaker to chart these islands, Balthasar Florisz. van Berckenrode, already drew a double wooden drawbridge here in 1625. The bridge takes its name from the three herrings above the door of the house "De Drie Haringen" at Vierwindenstraat no. 1, and it once carried the nickname "Vliegende Brug" (Flying Bridge) because it opened and closed so lightning-fast.

  Admission ticket free
• Realengracht (Pass by)

  Lining the Realengracht are some of Amsterdam's most atmospheric 17th-century warehouses, a proud reminder of the Western Islands' bustling maritime past. When the islands were laid out in the early 1600s, they became the working heart of the harbour, and these warehouses were once packed with goods from across the seas — herring, grain, tobacco, wine, salt, hides, pitch and tar. Many still bear the names and gable stones that recall what was once stored inside, so it pays to look up as you walk. With their characteristic spout gables, wooden hoisting beams and shutters, these buildings have a robust, no-nonsense beauty quite different from the elegant mansions of the main canals.

  Admission ticket free

Additional info

• Wheelchair accessible
• Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
• Service animals allowed
• Public transportation options are available nearby
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels

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