Blauw aan de Wal

Medieval Centre & Red Light District


Refined Blauw aan de Wal is a rose among thorns. A long, often-graffiti-covered laneway off Oudezijds Achterburgwal 99 in the Red Light District leads to this 17th-century former herb warehouse where the whitewashed, exposed-brick, multilevel space features old steel weights, and tables fill the romantic garden in summer. Seasonally changing multicourse menus are artistically presented; service is first rate.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Medieval Centre & Red Light District attractions

1. Cannabis College

0.04 MILES

This nonprofit centre offers visitors tips and tricks for having a positive smoking experience and provides the low-down on local cannabis laws. There are…

2. Hemp Gallery

0.05 MILES

Part of the Hash, Marijuana & Hemp Museum, the Hemp Gallery has displays on hemp art and history.

3. Kleine Trippenhuis

0.05 MILES

The creamy confection of the Kleine Trippenhuis, just 2.44m wide, looks as if the builders made the most of the infill between two normal-sized canal…

4. Hash, Marijuana & Hemp Museum

0.08 MILES

Simple exhibits here cover dope botany and the relationship between cannabis and religion. Highlights include an impressive pipe collection, an…

5. Oude Hoogstraat 22

0.09 MILES

Property in Amsterdam used to be taxed on frontage. So the narrower your facade, the less you paid. The slender house at Oude Hoogstraat 22 must have…

6. Waag

0.09 MILES

The multi-turreted Waag was built as a gate in the city walls in 1488. In 1601 the walls were destroyed to allow the city to expand, and the building was…

7. Trippenhuis

0.09 MILES

Built from the lucrative profits of arms dealing, this elaborate grey stone mansion was designed by young Dutch architect Justus Vingboons in 1660 for the…

8. Red Light Secrets

0.09 MILES

Inside a former brothel in a 17th-century canal house, this museum fills a gap by showing curious visitors what a Red Light room looks like and answering…