Jordaan: hofjes and brown cafés
The almshouse courtyards, the blue-tiled corridor, and a canal terrace under the Westertoren. Walked and written by the editor.

1. Westermarkt
Start under the *Westertoren*, the tower Rembrandt is buried beneath and the one everyone in the Jordaan navigates by. Get your bearings here; you'll see it again at the end.

2. Noordermarkt
The square at the Jordaan's top, with a Saturday organic farmers' market and a Monday flea market spilling into the Westerstraat. On any other day it's just the church and the café terraces, which is its own reward.

3. Karthuizerhof
A wide 17th-century *hofje* — an almshouse courtyard — off the Karthuizersstraat, built for widows. Push the door if it's open, stand quietly in the garden, and leave the way you came. People live here.

4. Sint-Andrieshofje
Through an unmarked door at Egelantiersgracht 107, a corridor of blue Delft tiles opens onto the oldest *hofje* garden in the city. Open daily 10–5, no fee. Keep your voice right down; the residents are at home.

5. Café 't Smalle
An 18th-century *bruine kroeg* — a brown café — with the best canal terrace in the Jordaan, right on the Egelantiersgracht. Take the water's edge if a table's free; lean on the bar if it isn't.

6. Bloemgracht
The Jordaan's grandest canal, once lined with dye-works and now its quietest stretch of stepped gables. Walk the south bank slowly. This is the one you'll picture later.

Jordaan: hofjes and brown cafés