Jordaan District Lanes

A bronze statue of a man with an accordion sits on a bench at Johnny Jordaanplein, capturing the spirit of the neighborhood's most famous street singer. Johnny Jordaan spent his life singing songs about the grit and soul of the Jordaan,…

The Westerkerk features an open, crown-topped spire that rises nearly three hundred feet above the Prinsengracht canal. This seventeenth-century Protestant church serves as the final resting place of Rembrandt van Rijn, who was buried here…

The slim, dark wood exterior of Café 't Smalle sits right on the edge of the Egelantiersgracht canal. Inside, the stained glass windows catch the afternoon light, illuminating shelves packed with jenever bottles. Pieter Smalle opened a…

A narrow, unassuming wooden door set into the brick wall of Egelantiersgracht marks the entrance to Claes Claeszhofje. Behind that threshold lies a secluded courtyard garden surrounded by tiny, seventeenth-century houses. Claes Claesz…

The Karthuizerhof features a deep, quiet courtyard hidden behind a simple brick facade on the Karthuizersstraat. Originally built in the seventeenth century, this site housed a Carthusian monastery until the Reformation forced the monks…

The Geelvinck Pianola Museum occupies a narrow canal house defined by its facade of weathered brick and a distinct, rounded doorway. Inside, a collection of self-playing pianos preserves the mechanical music technology of the early…

The Noorderkerk rises above the surrounding canal houses with a distinct floor plan shaped like a Greek cross. Built in the early seventeenth century, it served as a place of worship for the working-class residents of the Jordaan district.…

The Papiermolensluis is a humpbacked stone bridge that spans the Brouwersgracht with a single, sturdy arch. It earned its name from the paper mill that operated on this canal in the seventeenth century, back when the area served as a hub…