Page 105 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2016 - Amsterdam

Central Canal Ring ❮❮ 103

Golden Bend
1
MAP M6 • Kattenkabinet:
Herengracht 497 • 020 626 9040
• Open 10am–5pm Mon–Fri, noon–
5pm Sat–Sun • Closed 1 Jan, 27 Apr,
25 Dec • Admission charge
• www.kattenkabinet.nl/en
So named because of the
concentration of wealth amongst its
first residents, this stretch of the
Herengracht between Vijzelstraat
and Leidsestraat feels grand but
bland, unless you pick out eye-
catching details as you stroll. Look
out for Louis XIV-style No. 475, said
to be Amsterdam’s most beautiful Kattenkabinet, Golden Bend
house; and No. 476, elegantly
Stadsarchief Amsterdam
restyled in the 1730s and topped 3
with an eagle. No. 497 is open to the MAP 4 F2 • Vijzelstraat 32
public, but you have to like cats: it’s • Tram 16, 24, 25 • 020 251 1511
the Kattenkabinet, a unique museum • Open 10am–5pm Tue–Fri, noon–5pm
devoted to cats in art. Be careful not Sat–Sun • Closed 1 Jan, 27 Apr, 25 Dec
to trip over one of the many felines. • www.stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl
The Stadsarchief houses the city’s
Bijbels Museum
2 municipal archives and occupies a
monumental building designed by
MAP L5 • Herengracht 366–
368 • 020 624 2436 • Open 11am– the Amsterdamse School architect
5pm Tue–Sun • Closed 27 Apr De Bazel. It was completed in 1926
• Admission charge and is full of original features. One
• www.bijbelsmuseum.nl of the lar gest buildings in the city
Far lovelier than the Golden Bend is centre, it was originally the
the stretch of Heren gracht between headquarters of the Netherlands
Huidenstraat and Leidsestraat, Trading Corpora tion (now ABN
particularly Nos. 364–370, four Amro). Treasures from the archives
houses built by Philips Vingboons in are on display in the former bank
1662. Two of them house the Bible vaults downstairs.
Museum, where apart from biblical
De Negen Straatjes
arti facts you can admire the early 4
18th-century interior and take a MAP L4
stroll in the peaceful garden. Nestling in the centre of the canal
ring are these three parallel rows of
cross-streets bordered by Singel and
Prinsengracht to east and west, and
Raadhuisstraat and Leidsegracht to
north and south. Known collectively
as The Nine Streets, these charming
roads were once a centre for the
leather trade. Today, they are packed
with amusing, imagin ative and
eccentric shops such as De Witte
Tandenwinkel, which sells all kinds
of toothbrushes (see p108). In
Gasthuismolensteeg, don’t miss the
Brilmuseum at No. 7, an enchanting
museum-shop devoted to spectacles
Bijbels Museum (open noon–5pm Wed–Sat).

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