Jordaan

Neighborhood

Neighborhood · Amsterdam, Netherlands 52.3792°N 4.8803°E

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Jordaan

Time needed

3 hoursA full day with markets

Best time

Weekday morningsWeekends get crowded

Cost

FreeStreets and squares

Effort

Flat streets45 minutes end to end

Season

Spring, summerCourtyard gardens in leaf

Access

TramFrom Centraal Station

Guide

Not neededGo on your own

Market days

When is the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam open?

On Monday and Saturday. As of 2026 the Noordermarkt trades from 9am to 2pm on a Monday and from 9am to 4pm on a Saturday. The Monday market is the flea market, and the Saturday one the farmers' market.

Hofjes

Can you visit the hofjes in the Jordaan?

Some. Many are lived in and open only on the Open Garden Days. The Raepenhofje at Palmgracht 28 and the courtyard at Karthuizersstraat 61 to 71 admit visitors.

How long

How much time do you need in the Jordaan?

About three hours. A focused walk of the main canals and the Westerkerk, with stops at two or three cafés, takes two and a half to three hours. Adding the markets and the hofje gardens stretches the visit to most of a day.

Best time

What is the best time to visit the Jordaan?

Spring and summer, when the courtyard gardens are at their best. Mornings are the calmest part of the day, and weekends are the most crowded.

Worth it

Is the Jordaan worth visiting?

Yes. Its hofje gardens offer a quiet break from the crowds of the city centre, and entry to the streets, squares and open hofjes is free.

Walk the Bloemgracht and the Egelantiersgracht, then step through a street door into a hofje garden that admits visitors. On a Monday or a Saturday, end the walk at the Noordermarkt.

What makes it special

The Bloemgracht and the Egelantiersgracht are two of the prettiest canals in Amsterdam, and both run through the Jordaan.

The hofjes are rows of small houses built round an inner garden, reached through an ordinary street door. The first were founded early in the 17th century for poor elderly people living alone, who lived in them rent-free. Many are still lived in today.

The Noordermarkt is the neighbourhood's market square, and it has held a market for four centuries. On a Saturday it is one of three markets in the Jordaan, alongside the Lindengracht market, a general market close to a kilometre long. On a Monday morning, a general goods market also sets up along the Westerstraat.

Visiting

Start at the Westerkerk, open 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday, and Monday to Saturday in July and August.

From there, walk west along the Bloemgracht. At its end, turn north and come back east along the Egelantiersgracht. Cross the Westerstraat to the hofje garden at Karthuizersstraat 61 to 71.

Carry on north to the Raepenhofje at Palmgracht 28, which admits visitors. Finish at the Noordermarkt if it is a Monday or a Saturday; on other days, the Raepenhofje garden is the last stop.

Know before you goAs of autumn 2026, the Westerkerk tower cannot be visited, and the church itself may close without notice. Many hofjes are still lived in and not all admit visitors, so keep your voice down inside the ones that do.On King's Day the city advises parents to keep children away from the Jordaan and Westerstraat because of the crowds. From 2027 Westerstraat and the Noordermarkt become official event grounds for the day.