When in Amsterdam last weekend (as the first #STA Travel Insider), the best travel tip I received was from Ashley (AmsterdamBlog.co.uk). Rather than explore the more touristic areas of A’dam near the Centraal Station, we ducked underground and crossed to the ferry port on the opposite side. There we took one of the free (seriously: FREE – how cool is Amsterdam?!) ferries to Noord (NDSM-werf).
Upon stepping off the ferry in Noord and seeing a Green Peace boat on one side and a submarine painted with graffiti on the other, it was pretty apparent this wasn’t your stereotypical Dutch ‘hood. And after following some colorfully painted signs leading us to the beach (just a 5-minute walk away), we were at the super cool Pllek bar & restaurant.
Exploring Amsterdam’s Hipster ‘Hood in the North
Watch the video below to see what Ashley and I got up to in Noord. Basically it involved some organic food at Pleek, some urban exploring at a warehouse full of artist studios (including a giant sandbox) and some quality chill-out time on the beach. WATCH!
Warehouses, Beaches and Organic Food in Noord
And some photos… enjoy!
Taking the ferry from behind Centraal Station — Hello, I’m A’dam ;)
Filming at Amsterdam Centraal – getting ready to get on the ferry
On the ferry — Amsterdam’s weird architecture
Submarine at NTSDM-werf
Pllek (“Place” in Dutch) – restaurant made out of shipping containers
At Pllek – on the beach in Noord
Inside Pllek – the food is Texas-themed! What were the odds?!
Pllek
Wandering around Noord, there were plenty of photo opportunities
Graffiti and street art in the docks
Norderlicht Café
Sunset at Amsterdam Centraal by the ferries
Awesome! I’m really glad you went over to Amsterdam North, it kind of feels like a little village cut off from the rest of the city. I LOVE the free ferry; it’s the whole reason why I went over and explored the place one day :)
Thanks Caitlyn! And I didn’t realize you lived in A’dam otherwise I would’ve loved to have met up. Hope you had a nice Sunday at the brewery :)
I think it’s funny how many people I know who’ve been to Amsterdam but didn’t realize there was the whole north to explore!
Reminds me of some of the regenerated parts of East London near the Olympic area. I’ll be sure we check this part of town out when we get to Amsterdam (hopefully later this year)!
Yep, Sam – definitely reminded me of parts of East London – not the Shoreditchy parts, but the ones a bit more rough around the edges. Definitely try to visit when you get to A’dam—you can easily just go for a few hours and on a sunny day it’s just so awesome! There are festival grounds over there too so you might find a concert or festival happening as well. Pretty cool!
hi there, love the post about Amsterdam, I heard a lot abpur the North, but never been there. Hopefully one weekend this year:-)
great photos.
regina from travelschick.de
Thanks Regina – definitely plan to check out Amsterdam North when you visit – it’s super cool!
[…] about Adam’s Dutch adventure over at his blog, Travels of Adam. For our full insider’s guide to Amsterdam, check out our Dec. 2012 issue […]
Loved the video. The area with all the shipping container restaurants and such reminds me of the Rino neighborhood in Denver. It’s full of all these cool old warehouses that are being converted into art galleries, shared work spaces, and markets. I love it!
Thanks Erin! I haven’t been to Denver since I was a little kid, but nice to hear about the Rino neighborhood – sounds like just my kind of place!
I went to Noord last year during a children’s festival– it made that strange colorful place even stranger and more colorful. And I LOVE Pllek.
A children’s festival!! Cool! It must’ve been colorful :) Glad to hear others have been to Pllek and enjoyed it – definitely thought it was one of the more cool places I visited in Amsterdam
i m houssam