Westerpark: the gasworks that became the living room
A neo-Renaissance gasworks turned cinema, club and canteen, set in the city's long west lawn. Walked and written by the editor.

1. Haarlemmerpoort
Start at the last surviving city gate, a heavy neoclassical arch from 1840 that now marks where the centre stops and the west begins. Walk under it and the streets open out; the park is straight ahead.

2. Westerpark lawns
The long green that gives the district its name — lawns, a stream, dogs, students with picnics. Take the path along the water rather than the main drag; it threads you toward the gasworks the slow way.

3. The Gashouder
A vast round brick gas-holder from 1902, once the largest in Europe, now a column-free hall that holds club nights and fairs under its iron dome. Peer in if a door's open; the empty volume of it is the thing to see.

4. Het Ketelhuis
The old boiler house, now a three-screen cinema that leans Dutch and European. A good rainy-afternoon pivot for this walk, or just a coffee on the terrace while you read the listings.

5. Zuiveringshal
The former gas-purifying hall, kept for its blast-proof ceiling and now leased to galleries, studios and a light-show venue. Wander the lanes between the brick halls; the whole complex rewards aimlessness more than a plan.

6. Haarlemmervaart
Leave the complex at its west end and pick up the old Haarlem canal, a straight green waterway out toward the tram. Quiet, low, and lined with trees — the calm after the busy middle of the walk.

Westerpark: the gasworks that became the living room