Nieuwendammerdijk: the dike village inside the city
Amsterdam's oldest municipal wood, then a kilometre of leaning timber houses along the old sea dike. Walked and written by the editor.

1. W.H. Vliegenbos
Amsterdam's oldest municipal wood, planted from 1913 so the city's workers had somewhere green on a Sunday. Walk in under the high trees; it's denser and quieter than a city this size has any right to keep. Take the diagonal paths, not the edge.

2. Nieuwendammerdijk, west end
Step up onto the old sea dike and the road narrows to a village lane. From here it runs east for a kilometre, houses below you on one side and the water on the other. Slow right down — this is the walk.

3. The wooden dike houses
Sea-captains' houses built in timber rather than brick, so their weight wouldn't crack the dike — canal-house gables in wood, leaning gently with two centuries of settling. Look up at the gables and down the side-alleys to the water.

4. Café 't Sluisje
A *bruine kroeg* (the dark old neighbourhood pub) in a building from the 1560s, beside the little lock it's named for. Famous in Noord for its homemade appeltaart and a terrace right on the water. Stop here whether or not you're thirsty.

5. Nieuwendammer lock and harbour
The oldest and smallest lock in Amsterdam, with a pocket harbour of wooden boats tucked below the dike. Walk down off the dike to the waterline — almost nobody does, and it's the best view back up at the leaning facades.

6. Nieuwendammerdijk, east end
The dike runs on toward Schellingwoude, but the village character thins here and the bus is at the Meeuwenlaan corner. Turn back for one last look down the lane before you leave — it doesn't photograph; you have to have walked it.

Nieuwendammerdijk: the dike village inside the city