Western Islands

It's worth finding your way to this eclectic restaurant on Bickers Island, where the funky design is vaguely nautically themed–-a tall communal table with turquoise seats lines one side of the dining room, and there are also individual tables amid the indoor trees. The food is a patchwork of cuisines: everything from Malaysian beef rendang to Caesar salad.

Not far from Westerpark and just across the main canal that borders the Jordaan, Checkpoint Charlie serves excellent, locally produced snacks, like homemade vegetarian quiche, and organic grilled-cheese sandwiches—the little cheese croquettes are recommended. At night, there are DJs, acoustic rock, and spoken-word performances.

This casual neighborhood bistro draws a relaxed local crowd with its seasonal preparations of seafood and meat served with farm-fresh vegetables. The menu changes daily—ingredients are chosen from the morning market by the chef, who trained at Berkeley's Chez Panisse—and are offered on a four-course prix-fixe menu (three courses are available for lighter appetites, weeknights only).

A meal at this former offshore TV tower transported from the North Sea—and perched (thankfully not precariously) out on the IJ River—is one of the most unique dining experiences you can have in Amsterdam. The food does take a bit of a backseat to the location, but bistro-style offerings like burger and fries are good; and at dinner, you can't go wrong with the sea bass.

This cozy corner pub, run by a friendly Anglo-Dutch couple, always has a warm welcome for everyone, and it stocks a great range of beers.

This Neoclassical ceremonial gateway was built in 1840 as an excise post to replace one of the former city gates, which had to be demolished. It has been variously used as a police station, fire station, and public works office; in 1986 it was restored and converted into apartments. It's a useful landmark to find your way to the Westerpark.

The former headquarters of the Dutch West India Company (WIC) has major historical significance. Although not as sovereign as the Dutch East India Company, it was essentially given free rein to trade on Africa's west coast, the Americas, and all the islands of the West Pacific and New Guinea. The WIC also oversaw the infamous export of 275,000 slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean in the 17th century. In these rooms, the decision was made to buy Manhattan for the equivalent of 60 guilders. The building is now largely used as an events space; but there's also a wonderful wine bar, and you can visit the courtyard to see the statue of Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch director-general of Nieuw-Nederland–-today better known as New York City.

Just beyond the Jordaan and across from the main canal that borders the Western Islands is one of contemporary Amsterdam's most cherished spaces. It's a park first and foremost, with lawns, playgrounds, water fountains, a fabulous designer paddling pool, a barbecue area, and a couple of tennis courts. The sprawling terrain of the city's old Western gasworks has been turned into the Westergasfabriek: cafés, galleries, clubs, shops, and an art-house cinema occupy the former industrial landscape that has been lovingly detoxed, replanted, and refurbished building by building. There's even a bit of natural wilderness (or at least the organized Dutch brand of "wilderness") behind the park, with a community farm, a petting zoo, a natural playground for kids, and some polder areas with footpaths between them. The lovely late-19th-century Sint Barbara cemetery is here, too.