Absolutely Amsterdam - the Essential Introductory Walking Tour

Overview

Join us for a fun, thought-provoking, and genuinely local experience through the heart of Amsterdam, and discover the stories, history, and strange contradictions that make Amsterdam so… Absolutely Amsterdam. Together with one of our passionate local guides, you’ll explore how freedom, tolerance, trade, rebellion, and creativity shaped the city, and why Amsterdam still feels unlike anywhere else in the world today. This isn’t a generic, scripted tour filled with endless dates and names you won’t remember. We keep things personal, interactive, and honest. Expect fascinating stories, dark history, local gossip, humor, awkward Dutch habits, and the kind of insights you only get from people who actually live here. Every guide brings their own personality, expertise, humor, and perspective, which means no two tours are ever the same. Be prepared to challenge all your preconceived ideas about this city because after this tour you will never look and think of Amsterdam the same way!

Itinerary

1. Beurs van Berlage

   In front of the stock and commodities exchange buildings, built where the Amstel River used to flow, we discuss the origins of Amsterdam and how water and finance influenced the city.

   · 20 min

2. Damrak

   In the old harbor, we discuss the origins of the Red Light District, the role of the Church, and how the holy and the profane have found surprising ways to work and profit from each other over time & the state of prostitution in the 20th and 21st Century: how and why prostitution became a legal profession, how the neighbourhood has changed over time and the current challenges facing the most infamous neighbourhood of Amsterdam.

   · 15 min

3. Musée Amstelkring

   Here we discuss how (Religious) tolerance worked in practice once Catholicism became illegal in the 17th Century but was 'tolerated' under some very peculiar conditions. Form the underlying principles we draw parallels to how tolerance works today, in the 21st Century. (note: we don't actually enter the hidden church, but we see it form the outside and have pictures of it's interior)

   · 15 min· Admission not included

4. Quartier chinois

   Dutch drug policies explained. Find out how this area became an absolute no go area in the 1970's and how this sparked the beginning of the infamous ‘Coffeeshops’ dedicated to the selling of Marjauana.

   · 15 min

5. The Waag

   Discovering where Rembrandt painted his first major work ...and how it revolutionised the art of portrait making. We have a copy of the painting to show you all the details!

   · 10 min· Admission not included

6. Maison des Indes Orientales

   In a stunning 17th Century Courtyard hidden inside this building (only accessible during week-days) you will learn how Amsterdam was able to become the center of a global trading empire, making Amsterdam the richest city on the planet in the17th century (aka 'The Golden Age), and how this place, the Headquarters of the first and biggest corporation in human history, kickstarted modern-day capitalism. We discuss the good, but definitely don't shy away from darker legacy of this period.

   · 15 min

7. Waterlooplein Market

   The Oldest Market of Amsterdam located in the (former) Jewish Quarter, that was almost completely destroyed at the end of the Second World War - but not why who you think! Find out about the disastrous consequences of the Nazi occupation, that decimated the Jewish populations of what once was a safe haven for persecuted jews from all over Europe, and what the Amsterdammers had to do to survive the last 'hunger-winter' of the war.

   · 15 min

8. Amstel

   Here, or (depending on weather / guide) at another canal we discuss why Amsterdam has canals, and the architecture of the famous canal houses: why are they so skinny, why do they lean in all kinds of directions (some of it is on purpose), why do all the houses have a hook, and why do Dutch people keep their curtains open at ALL times. Everything will be revealed!

   · 15 min

9. Oudemanhuispoort

   In this beautiful, hard to find former monastery, turned into hospital and now part of the University of Amsterdam we discuss the unique Dutch Bike Culture: find out why there are more bikes than people and why in the most famous, proud cycling city on the planet most of the bikes look so....ugly.

   · 10 min

10. Palais Royal

    Learn about the very peculiar history of our Royal Palace, why and how we made the transition from a Republic to a Monarchy. Meet our current Royal Family (we have pictures), and get up to speed with the latest juicy Royal gossip! Dam square is also where the tour ends.

    · 15 min· Admission not included

How to use your ticket

Ticket to be presented at the departure point

MEETING POINT ADDRESS: Beursplein DIRECTIONS: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3Kcs1JD1ffxEJMD17 (in front of the main entrance of the Euronext Stock exchange, by the statue of the bull) Get your name checked off the guest list and sign up with one of the guides holding a yellow umbrella who will be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour. ━━━━━━━━━━ ⚠️ PLEASE NOTE ━━━━━━━━━━ This is a tip-based tour, but we can't describe it this way on this platform, because we can't 'sell' you a ticket for free. The price you paid covers the booking and marketing fees for Viator, not the guide who will be giving your tour. On the day of the tour, you can tip your guide what you think the tour was worth to you. That motivates us to give you the best possible tour, and you will always get the best value for your money. You can tip cash (in €), card, or phone. If you don't agree with this concept, we kindly ask you to cancel this booking, and you will be refunded. ━━━━━━━━━━ ⏰ PLEASE BE ON TIME! ━━━━━━━━━━ If you arrive late, we may not be able to accommodate you, especially if other groups are already full. To help everything run smoothly, please aim to arrive at least 10 minutes early. ━━━━━━━━━━ ️ BEFORE OR AFTER YOUR TOUR ━━━━━━━━━━ We highly recommend Bistro Berlage, located right at our meeting point inside the historic Beurs van Berlage — Amsterdam’s former commodities exchange building. With its beautiful historic architecture, elegant interior décor, and warm atmosphere, Bistro Berlage is the perfect place for coffee, drinks, lunch, or dinner before or after your tour. Their menu features Dutch classics with a modern twist, and as a guest of our tours, you’ll receive: 10% off all food Simply mention that you joined a FreeDam Tours tour to receive the discount. Reserve a table here: https://bistroberlage.com/en/book-a-table/ Beursplein 1, Amsterdam https://maps.app.goo.gl/qeHD7ks71cGQsFCg9 The FreeDam Tours team.

Meeting point

What to 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

Travelers

Cancellation policy

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

• From 1 days before : 100% refunded
• From 0 days before : 0% refunded

This activity can be canceled in case of bad weather or if there aren't enough participants.

Reviews

Product code: 152260P2

Activity offered by FreeDam Tours via Viator.