AMBLING IN AMSTERDAM – de Jordaan

Bikes, bells and Better Homes and Gardens.

It was Jordaan Open Gardens Day at the weekend. We strolled from one lovely oasis to the next, reminding ourselves why we can’t afford to live in this part of town. It’s too good for the likes of us.

AMSTERDAM’S TOP 10 STREETS – my picks

The Prinsengracht is high on everybody’s list of most beautiful Amsterdam streets, and with good reason. But I was looking for lesser-known alternatives.

After a frantic few months, we now have five weeks ‘at home’ in Amsterdam, with no travel plans.

It’s a good excuse for me to spend a day in the bike saddle, my camera slung over my shoulder, getting reacquainted with my favourite spots around this beautiful town.

Two years ago I blogged about the ten streets voted Amsterdam’s most beautiful by readers of the Parool newspaper. That’s proved to be a massively popular post (thanks very much, all you people who click on it a few times every day).

So this time I’ve picked ten other places I like to take visitors to show them Amsterdam’s variety as well as its charm.