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Realen Eiland Review

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Realen Eiland

Address: Zandhoek 14, Centrum, Amsterdam | Map It
Directions: follow Haarlemmerstraat/Haarlemmerdijk from Centraal Station and go under the railway tracks at Buiten Oranjestraat or at Haarlemmerplein

Category: Neighborhoods/Streets
Location: Old City Center

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Fodor's Review:

About a dozen blocks to the west of Centraal Station, there are three off-the-beaten-track islands that were built on landfill back in the 17th century. These Western Islands—known in Dutch as Westelijke Eilanden—were constructed as a safe warehouse zone. The nautical ambience is particularly beloved by Amsterdammers, who all seem to have recreational boats, and other seafaring folk. Most visitors bypass the largest island, Bickers Eiland, jammed as it is with boatyards and modern apartment buildings. Easier access is via the Nieuwe Teruinen and over the bridge to the smallest island, Prinsen Eiland. Follow the Galgenstraat (Gallows Street)—which once offered a vista of the town gallows across the water—then head north across the wooden drawbridge, to Realen Eiland. The island's eastern shore is a peaceful photogenic waterside getaway. Zandhoek, a street named after a sand market that used to take place here, reminds you that the city is sinking and the only way to keep the water at bay was by stacking sandbags and raising the dikes. A charming row of 17th-century houses were built here by Laurens Reael, a renegade Catholic famous for smuggling religious treasures out of city monasteries before they were confiscated by Protestants during the rather violent Dutch Reformation. "De Gouden Reael" is the name Reael gave his own house, wittily referring to his namesake, a valuable gold coin that is also displayed on the decorative gable stone. Now a waterside café and restaurant, it is a perfect spot to raise a toast to the old days and watch boats sail along the Westerdok.

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