IJburg: the archipelago built from scratch
Over 'the bra' bridge, through a grid on stilts, past the floating houses to a reclaimed wild. Walked and written by the editor.

1. Enneüs Heermabrug
The bridge onto the islands, with two steel arches the locals call 'the bra' — and once you've heard it you can't unsee it. Walk across rather than tram over it; the IJmeer opens out on both sides.

2. Haveneiland grid
The main island, laid out as a strict grid of blocks barely twenty years old. Pick any cross street toward the water; the architecture changes house by house, every plot let to a different hand.

3. Bert Haanstrakade
The harbour-front quay where IJburg faces its own marina. The cafés here look out over moored boats; this is the island at its most pleased with itself.

4. Waterbuurt, Steigereiland
Marlies Rohmer's floating houses, sitting on concrete hulls in a sheltered pool off the IJmeer. Walk the jetties between them; people live here, so walk it like a street, not a viewing gallery.

5. Diemerpark
A capped former landfill — household and chemical waste through the 1960s and 70s, sealed and remediated by 2001, opened as a park in 2004. Nature took the rest; it's now ninety hectares of rough green over a buried past.

6. IJburglaan tram stop
Land back on the spine where tram 26 runs the length of the islands to Centraal. Time it for late afternoon and the light comes off the water all the way home.

IJburg: the archipelago built from scratch