The lush landscape of the Artis Zoo buildings, photo by basheem

Of course you know about Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District or perhaps its fabulous Old Center. But, what about Plantagebuurt?

A neighborhood with flair

We the Cheapos do love us some far-flung city character. So, when last in the city of Rembrandt and pancake houses, we opted to stay in Plantagebuurt, where today university buildings and historic remnants reign supreme.

Nestled in the northeastern most part of Amsterdam’s city center, the neighborhood is lush with tree-lined sidewalks and smaller parks and is about a 10 to thirty-minute walk from many sights. Neighborhood attractions include the Rembrandt House Museum, Artis Zoo, and easy walking distance to Nieuwmarkt Square, where you can still see an original guild house or visit the flea markets.

Wartime past

Plantagebuurt was a Jewish neighborhood from the 16^th-century when it boasted factories, booming commerce and specialized industry. The neighborhood has always been a bit more isolated by canals and bridge constructions than other parts of Amsterdam, so it’s understandable that in World War II German armies cordoned off the area to create a Jewish ghetto.

When the war ended, many of the tragically deserted homes were destroyed here. Plantagebuurt was eventually restored in the 1970s. Today only the synagogue and the Jewish Museum remind visitors of the neighborhood’s past.

Getting around

Since Amsterdam is a city on bikes, quite literally, it will take you no time at all to get from Plantagebuurt to the rest of the city’s attractions. Or, you can always hoof it. When the Cheapos were last in Amsterdam, they noted that a good, swift pace got them from the Artis Zoo in Plantagebuurt to Centraal Station in about twenty-five minutes.

If you go, be sure to check out Cafe in de Waag and don’t miss the zoo. 

For a list of budget hotels in Amsterdam, visit our guide here.

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Photo of Cafe In de Waag by Peterhoneyman

Editor’s Note: Pete and Meredith just spent a long weekend in Amsterdam. This is a post from their recent journey.

A little bit of history

In 1488, St. Anthony’s Port - today a weigh house that stands in the center of Nieuwmarkt Square in Amsterdam - opened its doors and became one of the Dutch capital’s original city gates. Later, the building was reconstructed to function as a guild house for surgeons and doctors studying medicine and conducting experiments.

An elaborate octagonal ceiling loomed over the resident medical ampitheater where Amsterdam’s finest practioners could dissect and then study the corpses of recently executed criminals. The general public was welcomed into the demonstrations, and they became as popular as a trip to the movies might be for us today.

Making history

In 1632, Rembrandt painted “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” in the guild house ampitheater. Today, you can visit this historic stomping ground simply by stopping into the Cafe In de Waag, a restaurant and bar now housed inside the original weigh station, in the center of Amsterdam’s Nieuwmarkt Square.

Today’s special

While dinner is a tad expensive here, a Cheapo can purchase a Heineken for €2.50 or a soda for €2.20.  The evening that we visited ‘In de Waag,’ we opted for nightcaps (two glasses of wine set us back €8). Since the wait staff wasn’t busy with a crazy dinner rush, we were able to linger long over our drinks and ask lots of questions about Rembrandt’s heyday, and how the building fit in to it all.

While we couldn’t exactly peek into the original room where Rembrandt painted the masterpiece, we felt close enough to the real deal. Considering that the Rijksmuseum’s admission price is €10 per person, we felt like it was all a pretty good deal and a great Cheapo night out!

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