Cafeography
Amsterdam · De Wallen & Nieuwmarkt

Cafés in De Wallen & Nieuwmarkt

The oldest streets in Amsterdam, from the Oude Kerk and the Zeedijk to De Waag on the Nieuwmarkt and the Schreierstoren on the harbor.

Photo: Oleksiy, Pexels License

This is the oldest part of Amsterdam. The Oude Kerk, founded around 1213 and consecrated in 1306, is the oldest structure in the city, and Rembrandt's wife Saskia van Uylenburgh was buried there in 1642.1 Around it lies De Wallen, the Red Light District: leaning gabled houses with museums, theaters, pubs and restaurants behind the facades.2

The coffee is mostly at the edges, along the Zeedijk, on the Nieuwmarkt and on Prins Hendrikkade facing the harbor, the street with the most cafés in the area. The word to watch is coffeeshop: it sells cannabis, not coffee, and since 2023 smoking cannabis on the street has been banned throughout De Wallen and the Nieuwmarkt.3

Local tip: De Koffieschenkerij opens at 10:00, so start earlier at Morning Owl on the Zeedijk (08:00, Wednesday to Friday) and keep the cloister garden by the Oude Kerk for a second coffee and a slice of apple cake.2

At a glance

48Cafés listed
14With opening hours
06:30Earliest opening
22:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: LOT 61, from 06:30 (Mon–Fri 06:30–20:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–20:00).
  • Closes latest: The Stroopist, until 22:00 (Daily 08:00–22:00).
  • Most common features: partial wheelchair access (17%), outdoor seating (15%), wheelchair access (13%).

Imi Bubble Tea Shop

  • Monnikenstraat 14
  • Mon–Thu 13:00–20:00 · Fri–Sat 13:00–21:00 · Sun 13:00–20:00
  • Bubble tea
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Screaming Beans

  • Waterlooplein 129
  • Mon–Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun 09:00–18:00
  • Wi-Fi
  • Takeaway
  • Partial wheelchair access
  • Toilets
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Tony's New York City Bagels

  • Jodenbreestraat 15
  • Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00 · Sat 08:30–18:00 · Sun 09:00–18:00
  • +31 20 421 5930
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Coffee chains in De Wallen & Nieuwmarkt

Coffee in the shadow of the Oude Kerk

The Oude Kerk now doubles as an art institution, staging installations made for its space and acoustics. Next door, De Koffieschenkerij serves coffee and apple cake in the church's cloister garden.2 It opens daily from 10:00 to 18:00 at Oudekerksplein 27.

Ons' Lieve Heer op Solder (Our Lord in the Attic), on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal, hides a church in the roof of a 17th-century canal house, from the time when Catholics had to worship out of sight.2 Ivy & Bros, on the same canal at number 96A, is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00.

Zeedijk and Chinatown

The Zeedijk follows the curve of the old sea wall that protected the city from the IJ, and in 1544 it became the first street in Amsterdam with permanent street lights.4 It is now the heart of Chinatown. Chinese residents first settled in the city around 1911, the street signs carry Chinese translations, and the He Hua temple is a working Buddhist temple.5

For coffee, Morning Owl at Zeedijk 71 opens at 08:00 from Wednesday to Friday, and Latei is at number 143, near the Nieuwmarkt end of the street.

Nieuwmarkt and De Waag

De Waag began as the Sint Antoniespoort, a gate in the medieval city wall; its gable stone says 1488, though the building may date from about 1425. It became a weigh house in 1617, three years after the Nieuwmarkt was created by covering the canal on either side.6 Rembrandt painted The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp in 1632 for the surgeons' guild, whose guildhall was upstairs; the ground floor is now Café-Restaurant In de Waag.6

A small market fills the square from Monday to Friday, an organic farmers' market takes over on Saturdays, and in summer there is a Sunday flea market.5 Café Fonteyn has a large heated terrace, and Lokaal 't Loosje is a brown café with sloping floors.5 Metro lines 51, 53 and 54 stop at Nieuwmarkt station, opened in 1980.7

On the harbor: the Schreierstoren and early starts

The Schreierstoren, a defense tower of 1487 at Prins Hendrikkade 94, now holds a café and a nautical bookshop; Henry Hudson sailed from here on his voyage to North America. The story that sailors' wives wept on the tower is a myth: the name comes from old Dutch words for a sharp corner in the city wall.8 The café opens daily from 09:00 to 20:00.

For an earlier start, LOT 61 on Oosterdoksstraat opens at 06:30 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends, and de Volkslust on De Ruijterkade opens daily at 07:00.

Sources

  1. Oude Kerk (Amsterdam), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Things to do in Amsterdam's Red Light District, I amsterdam (updated February 25, 2025), accessed October 2026
  3. Sex and drugs in Amsterdam: what are the rules?, I amsterdam (updated February 27, 2025), accessed October 2026
  4. Zeedijk, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Things to do in Nieuwmarkt, I amsterdam (updated September 8, 2025), accessed October 2026
  6. Waag, Amsterdam, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Nieuwmarkt metro station, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  8. Schreierstoren, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
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In De Wallen & Nieuwmarkt, also browse: Terraces Wi-Fi Vegan & vegetarian

FAQ

De Wallen & Nieuwmarkt cafés: questions

Can you smoke cannabis on the street in Amsterdam's De Wallen?

No. Since 2023 smoking cannabis in public has been banned throughout De Wallen and on the Nieuwmarkt, and the rule applies to residents as well as visitors. A coffeeshop in Amsterdam sells cannabis, not coffee; for coffee, look for a café or koffiebar, such as De Koffieschenkerij by the Oude Kerk or Morning Owl on the Zeedijk.

Where can you get coffee near the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam?

De Koffieschenkerij, next to the Oude Kerk at Oudekerksplein 27, serves coffee and apple cake in the church's cloister garden, daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Ivy & Bros on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00, and Morning Owl on the Zeedijk opens at 08:00 from Wednesday to Friday.

What markets are held on the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam?

A small market with vegetables, flowers and cheese is held on the Nieuwmarkt from Monday to Friday. On Saturdays an organic farmers' market takes over the square, and in summer there is also a flea market on Sundays. Metro lines 51, 53 and 54 stop at Nieuwmarkt station.

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