“Look up there,” says Lex van Buuren, as we pull our bikes up outside a restaurant on a rainy late afternoon in Cruquiuseiland, an area in the Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam.
My to-the-waist anorak keeps my top half dry, but the rest of my clothes are soaked from the kind of downpour that the Dutch know only too well.
I turn my eyes upward to see three white circular rooftop homes above an apartment block.
These houses were once industrial wine silos, says van Buuren, who offers tours through Lex and the City (he’s hard to miss kitted out in a red T-shirt and yellow cap). The redevelopment is all part of the revival of the Eastern Docklands.
“This area was a thriving shipping port until it started declining in the 1950s,” says van Buuren.
“Then squatters and artists arrived. It used to be dangerous, dirty and filthy, but now it has been redeveloped with parts of it reconverted in a way that’s considerate to its heritage,” he adds.
A former industrial crane was converted into a hanging holiday let on KNSM island, for example.
The Eastern Docklands area, which features man-made islands constructed for the use of freight and passenger ships, was, in its heyday, a busy port with ships sailing to places such as Indonesia and Brazil. Fast forward to today and it’s an urban development with warehouses turned into apartments, restaurants and hotels.
Most tourists won’t venture to Amsterdam Oost (East), a borough comprised of neighbourhoods such as the Eastern Docklands (Oostelijk Havengebied), IJBurg, Oud-Oost and Watergraafsmeer during their visit, despite the tourism board’s persistent campaign to reduce tourists in the heaving centre of Amsterdam. The city receives around 20 million visitors annually, but most will stop in the canal district.
While this part of the city lacks the gabled facades that you’d see in the canal belt, there’s more space, and less chance of having to jump out of the way of a speeding cyclist.
“Look around,” says van Buuren as we take shelter from the insistent rain.
“It’s commuting time and how many bikes do you see?”
Indeed, this peace is what appealed to van Buuren so much that he lives in the east.
“This is where I want to be. It’s quiet.”
Perhaps in a sign of how it expects tourism to evolve in the area, the well-loved Hoxton brand opened its second hotel in Amsterdam in the Eastern Docklands area in autumn 2023.
Housed in a 20th century art-deco style building, the The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam has had a colourful past. Built for a shipping company in the 1920s to house emigrants waiting to board ships to South America, it later turned into a Nazi prison and then a youth prison.
These days, it’s kitted out with the retro details that are usually associated with Hoxton properties, complete with a buzzy restaurant, Bremen Brasserie, where on the night I dine, the Dutch royal family also make an appearance.
For me, the more important addition would be a wider selection of vegan options (although I’m informed by staff that is due an update).
Tessa Westerfield, general manager at the hotel, which has rooms from €200 (£169) a night, says the location is up and coming. While it attracts a mix of clients, including corporate guests, its family rooms mean it also appeals to travellers with children.
“It’s a little quieter here, Oosterpark [a large city park] is nearby and the tram is close to the hotel (the station is a five-minute walk away).”
In the wider vicinity, there’s plenty to entertain without a trip to the canal district.
The National Maritime Museum can keep visitors anchored for an hour or two, while the Nemo Science Museum is the largest in the Netherlands and its rooftop has views across the city.
A few scorching days encourage me to join residents for a dip in the Buitenzwembad Marineterrein, an inner harbour from which you can see both museums.
After such thirsty work, a drink on the terrace of Pension Homeland calls. For shopping, rather than the tourist heavy Albert Cuypmarkt, I try Dappermarket, a street market selling everything from freshly squeezed orange juice to batteries.
A mix of cultures, including Turkish, Moroccan and Eastern European, shapes the area.
I wander along Czaar Peterstraat, a wide and tree-lined street, where independent book shops are mixed with neighbourhood style bars and restaurants. You can buy – or make your own – rug at Shaggies, there are pizzerias, an Italian deli, vintage stores, and even a Cacao Museum, a shop with an exhibition that pays homage to the cacao trade.
I catch a moment with owner Henkjan Laats, who tells me this area is the centre of the Amsterdam’s chocolate history, with cacao warehouses once in this vicinity, and even a chocolate mill on this street.
“This used to be biggest cacao port of the world while now Amsterdam is one of the cities that is an avant garde leader when it comes to fair trade chocolate.”
Elsewhere is Muziekgebouw, a large concert hall hosting live music performances, and Bimhius, a modern jazz house –they are housed in the same building. Then there are cultural spaces such as Pakhuis De Zwijger, full of debates and lively talks, and artist hub Mezrab.
East Amsterdam also has plenty of options for food. For a fine dining affair, Entrepot serves up an imaginative menu including seasonal dishes such as white asparagus and a trio of seaweeds. The decor has a warehouse feel with great touches such as hanging white bowl lights and wooden beams.
Meanwhile, Soil Vegan Café’s eastern branch on Javastraat in the oldest part of the Zeeburg District is a cosy affair with an extensive vegan menu and dishes such as beetroot tzatziki and creamy ben ben udon noodles in sesame sauce with vegan meatballs.
For a memorable evening, there’s also MediaMatic, a waterfront plant-based restaurant with individual greenhouses in which you can dine and a packed calendar of events including a seven-course knots, weeds and roots event (I learnt about the history of Japanese knotweed). For beer lovers, there’s the taproom Brouwerij ‘t IJ, which is housed in a former windmill.
On a sun-filled Saturday afternoon along a lively Czaar Peterstraat, where shop owners chat on the doorsteps, I pop into vintage designer store Onley Desirables and am greeted with a huge smile by owner Gerard Onley, an American who has lived on Java Island in the Eastern Docklands for over a decade. He’s hugely positive about the area’s makeover.
“Years ago it was prostitutes, drugs, and you wouldn’t come over unless you knew someone here.
“Now it has become more extravagant, businesses here are ever-changing but it has become a well-known street. It’s a unique area.”
Getting there
Take the Eurostar to Amsterdam, with tickets starting from £39 one way. To the east, you can cycle, or take the tram from Centraal Station. For Eastern Docklands, you can take the number 26 tram.
What to do
Book walking and cycling tours through Lex and the City.
Where to stay around Amsterdam
The Hoxton, Llyod Amsterdam has doubles from €200 per night, thehoxton.com/amsterdam/lloyd/
Former Royal Navy officer’s home Pension Homeland has doubles from €136/£115 per night, pensionhomeland.com/en
ClinkMama is a hostel offering private rooms featuring recycled furniture and fair trade and eco-friendly products with a private double room for two from around €200 per night, clinkhostels.com/rooms/
Numa Amsterdam Docklands offers apartments from €187 per night, numastays.com