Stretching across the Singel is the Torensluis, one of the oldest and widest bridges in the city. The big moustached bust is of Multatuli, aka 19th-century author Eduard Douwes Dekker, who exposed colonial narrow-mindedness in his 1860 novel about a coffee merchant, Max Havelaar. The nearby Multatuli Museum tells his story.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Nieuwe Kerk

0.09 MILES

This 15th-century late-Gothic basilica is only ‘new’ in relation to the Oude Kerk – the city's Old Church, dating from 1306. A few monumental items…

2. Bartolotti House

0.11 MILES

Built in 1617, this ornate neck-gabled building was designed by famed architect Hendrick de Keyser, and has two bends in the facade to follow the course…

3. Royal Palace

0.14 MILES

Opened as a town hall in 1655, this resplendent building became a palace in the 19th century. The interiors gleam, especially the marble work – at its…

4. Huis Met de Hoofden

0.16 MILES

A whimsical example of Dutch Renaissance style, this 1622 canal house designed by Hendrick de Keyser and his son Pieter has a beautiful step gable with…

5. Dam

0.17 MILES

This square is the very spot where Amsterdam was founded around 1270. Today pigeons, tourists, buskers and the occasional funfair (complete with Ferris…

6. Madame Tussauds Amsterdam

0.19 MILES

Sure, Madame Tussauds wax museum is overpriced and cheesy, but its focus on local culture makes it fun: 'meet' the Dutch royals, politicians, painters and…

7. Homomonument

0.19 MILES

Behind the Westerkerk, this 1987-installed cluster of three 10m by 10m by 10m granite triangles recalls persecution by the Nazis, who forced gay men to…

8. De Rode Hoed

0.21 MILES

Occupying three glorious 17th-century canal houses – which once sheltered the Vrijburg, the largest clandestine church in the Netherlands – this cultural…