Amsterdam Scheepvaartbuurt

Scheepvaartbuurt, or the Shipping Quarter, was once one of Amsterdam's most important neighborhoods. In the 18th and 19th centuries, its location along the banks of the IJ made the area an ideal base for the city's flourishing trade companies. Alas, toward the end of the 1800s, the center of the shipping industry shifted and spread, leaving the neighborhood a shell of its former glory. For a long time, this was one of the rougher parts of Amsterdam, full of little more than criminals and junkies. Urban renewal efforts have had their effects here as well, though, and now Scheepvaartbuurt is a perfectly pleasant area. As for remnants of the neighborhood's salty seadog days, bronze ship-related monuments like propellers, anchors, and nautical steering wheels dot the sidewalks. We like to think that you can also detect a faint whiff of the sea breeze that blew ships to and from this shore oh so long ago. Otherwise, the only real sight in the neighborhood is the West-Indische Huis building, below.

West-Indische Huis, Haarlemmerstraat 75 Back when the Dutch ruled the seas, the Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie, or Chartered West India Company, was a pretty big deal. This building in Herenmarkt was their headquarters from 1623-1647, and it was here that New York City was born when the company's board of governors decided to construct a fort on the island of Manhattan in 1625. Before and after its tenure as the West India Company's headquarters, the building served as a meat market, a hotel, and a home for orphans and the elderly. Today, different companies and organizations as well as private parties rent the space. It's not open to the public, but the elegant white building's exterior gives you a sense of the company's power back in the days when Scheepvaartbuurt was still the city's shipping quarter. Make a right when leaving Centraal Station; the building's on your left a few blocks after crossing the Singel. Wheelchair access. Has outdoor seating.