Nieuwmarkt: the medieval harbour rim
A 15th-century weighhouse, a leaning defence tower, and the first Amsterdam School building in the city. Walked and written by the editor.

1. The Waag, Nieuwmarkt
Start at the squat brick weighhouse in the middle of the square — a 15th-century city gate that became a guildhall, with the surgeons' anatomy theatre upstairs. Take a coffee at one of the terraces around it before you set off; the rest of the walk has fewer chairs.

2. Trippenhuis, Kloveniersburgwal
South down the broad Kloveniersburgwal to the grandest house on it: the Trippenhuis, built 1660–62 for two arms-dealing brothers, which is why the chimneys are shaped like mortars. Look across to the *Kleine Trippenhuis* opposite, said to be the narrowest house front in the city.

3. Montelbaanstoren, Oudeschans
Cut east to the Oudeschans, the old defensive moat, where the Montelbaanstoren leans over the water. The base is a 1516 defence tower; Hendrick de Keyser added the playful spire in 1606. This is the view that says harbour city better than anything else on the route.

4. Scheepvaarthuis
North to the *Scheepvaarthuis*, generally counted the first true Amsterdam School building (1913–16), by Van der Mey with De Klerk and Kramer. It's a hotel now; walk into the lobby and look up at the main stairwell, all stained glass and sea-creature ironwork — that part you can see for free.

5. Prins Hendrikkade
Out onto the Prins Hendrikkade, the working waterfront where the open harbour begins. Turn west with the water on your right; the gulls and the ferries tell you the IJ is close.

6. Amsterdam Centraal
The waterfront walks you straight into the back of Centraal, itself a Cuypers pile on three artificial islands. Trains, metros and ferries all leave from here, so the walk ends wherever you need it to.

Nieuwmarkt: the medieval harbour rim