Netherlands · Provincie Noord-Holland · Amsterdam
Jordaan, Amsterdam — Area Guide & Where to Stay
The Jordaan is a neighbourhood in the centre of Amsterdam, part of the Amsterdam-Centrum borough. Once a working-class quarter, it is now one of the most sought-after addresses in the Netherlands, lined with art galleries, speciality shops and small restaurants. The Westerkerk rises over its eastern edge. Among the Dutch it is remembered above all for its folk singers.
About Jordaan
Where to stay in Jordaan
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Staying in the Jordaan puts you in a quiet, residential pocket of central Amsterdam, a few minutes' walk from the Anne Frank House and the Westerkerk on the Prinsengracht. The streets are narrow and low-rise, so beds here run to canal-house B&Bs and small hotels rather than large chains. It suits visitors who want galleries, speciality shops and cafes over nightlife, and who don't mind walking or taking a tram to the big museums.
Book early. If the handful of rooms fills up, the wider Amsterdam-Centrum has far more capacity a short walk east.
About Jordaan
What are the main landmarks in Jordaan?
The Westerkerk is the Jordaan's signature landmark. Its tower overlooks the Prinsengracht at the eastern edge of the neighbourhood, and on the same canal stands the Anne Frank House, where the diarist and her family hid during the war. To the north, the Noorderkerk anchors a second corner of the district.
The great city museums lie elsewhere: the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam are all a tram ride south, beyond the Jordaan.
What is the history of Jordaan?
For most of its history the Jordaan was a working-class neighbourhood, home to labourers, tradespeople and successive waves of newcomers. Over the years it changed character completely, becoming one of the most upscale quarters in the Netherlands, its old workshops giving way to art galleries, speciality shops and small restaurants. One tradition outlived the change.
The Jordaan is known among the Dutch for its folk singers, several of them commemorated by statues at the corner of the Prinsengracht and the Elandsgracht.
Where is Jordaan?
The Jordaan sits just west of Amsterdam's main canal belt, hemmed in on four sides by water. The Prinsengracht forms its eastern boundary and the Singelgracht its western one, with the Brouwersgracht closing it off to the north and the Leidsegracht to the south. Beyond the Singelgracht lies the Frederik Hendrikbuurt.
The Rozengracht, a filled-in canal, cuts through the middle as the neighbourhood's main traffic artery.
Good for
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Updated July 2026