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Offered languages
- English
Walk Amsterdam's seafaring past with an expert guide in a small private group. From the Tower of Tears where Henry Hudson set sail, through the VOC warehouses and past admirals' houses, to a private guided visit inside the National Maritime Museum — museum admission included. Starts with a welcome drink and snack. The story of how a small city traded its way to global dominance, told on the streets where it happened.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
Please re confirm exact pickup location and time 24h before the tour, to double check we meet at the right place.
Itinerary
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1Weeping Tower
Your guide meets you at the Tower of Tears, a 15th-century watchtower on Prins Hendrikkade where Henry Hudson set sail for America in 1609. The VOC story starts here over a welcome drink and snack included in the tour price.
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
Zeedijk (Pass by)
A walk along Amsterdam's old sailor strip past Café het Aapje, one of the city's oldest bars. Sailors returning from the tropics paid their tabs with exotic animals. Your guide explains the VOC crew culture and where the Dutch expression 'broodje aap' comes from.
Admission ticket free -
2Nieuwmarkt
The square is dominated by De Waag, Amsterdam's oldest surviving castle gateway turned weighing house, dating to 1488. Your guide brings the spice trade alive here — the VOC used the Waag to weigh exotic goods from the East Indies, and the square once buzzed with merchants and sailors from across the world.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Montelbaanstoren
A 16th-century watchtower on the Oudeschans canal, the Montelbaanstoren was used by the VOC to muster sailors before departure. Rembrandt sketched it many times from the opposite bank. Your guide shares stories of the sailors who assembled here for voyages that could last three years.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4Scheepvaarthuis
Amsterdam's most beautiful Art Nouveau building, completed in 1916 as the headquarters for six major shipping companies. The ornate facade is packed with maritime motifs — anchors, sea creatures and compasses — celebrating Dutch dominance of world trade. Your guide decodes the symbolism and explains how the building marked the peak of the VOC's legacy.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5Prins Hendrik Bust
Along this grand waterfront boulevard your guide points out the house where Admiral Michiel de Ruyter lived — the man who twice defeated the English and French fleets and is buried in the Nieuwe Kerk. De Ruyter rose from rope-maker's son to commander of the Dutch navy, an extraordinary story of social mobility in the Golden Age.
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6Entrepotdok
Europe's largest 19th-century warehouse complex, built to store colonial goods from the VOC trading routes. The 84 warehouses each carry the name of a Dutch colony or trading post — from Batavia to Ceylon. Today it's a charming residential canal, and your guide explains how the spice trade that once filled these stores shaped the modern world.
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7Het Scheepvaartmuseum| The National Maritime Museum
Your tour concludes with a guided visit inside the National Maritime Museum, one of the world's finest collections of seafaring history. Housed in a stunning 17th-century naval storehouse, highlights include the full-scale replica VOC ship Amsterdam, historic sea charts, and the globe collection that once guided Dutch navigators to the ends of the earth. Admission is included in your tour price.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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