Amsterdam's Eastern Docklands: KNSM, Java and Borneo-Sporenburg

The eastern islands at a glance

The first eastern islands were created during the city's great 17th-century expansion. Between 1650 and 1662, Amsterdam laid out Kattenburg, Wittenburg and Oostenburg in turn, surrounded by water and linked to the city by bridges. Kattenburg housed the Admiralty, Wittenburg the private shipyards and Oostenburg the Dutch East India Company (VOC), which set up its shipyards, offices and warehouses there.

Further north-east, the Oostelijk Havengebied was reclaimed from the IJ from 1874, following the construction of Central Station, and developed over some fifty years. In 1903 the shipping company KNSM (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot-Maatschappij) moved to the eastern tip of the island that now bears its name. The names of its quays, Levantkade and Surinamekade, recall its destinations. On the neighbouring island, Java-eiland, the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland ran the services to the Dutch East Indies.

After Indonesian independence, traffic declined and the KNSM left at the end of the 1970s. Squatters and artists occupied the empty warehouses in the early 1980s. In 1975 the city had decided to devote the area to housing: redevelopment began at the end of the 1980s and continued into the early 2000s. Today the area has around 10,000 homes, most of them rented, and remains above all residential.

Oosterdok and the Oostelijke Eilanden: museums and old shipyards

The easiest place to start is the Oosterdok, the basin that opens just east of Central Station. Three major sites face each other across the water:

• OBA Oosterdok library: Amsterdam's central library, on the edge of the basin. Entry is free and the café-restaurant on the top floor has an open view over the city.
• NEMO Science Museum: Renzo Piano's green, ship's-bow-shaped building, opened in 1997. Its roof terrace is free to visit, without a ticket, from Tuesday to Sunday.
• Het Scheepvaartmuseum: the national maritime museum, in the former Admiralty storehouse built in 1656 on Kattenburg, with the replica of the VOC ship Amsterdam moored at the jetty.

Behind the maritime museum, Kattenburg, Wittenburg and Oostenburg have become residential neighbourhoods, largely rebuilt in the 20th century. Along the Oostenburgergracht, a few buildings still recall the islands' industrial and naval past.

To the south, the Entrepotdok lines up 84 warehouses built between 1708 and 1829. They became a state bonded warehouse in 1827 and were converted in 1985 into homes and offices: it is the largest complex of inhabited warehouses in Amsterdam. The quay faces Artis Zoo and links up with the Plantage.

Further east, on the Funenkade, the De Gooyer windmill stands at the water's edge. This wooden corn mill on a stone base has stood on this spot since 1814 and is a listed national monument. The craft brewery Brouwerij 't IJ has set up at its foot, in a former public bathhouse.

Java-eiland and KNSM-eiland

Java-eiland and KNSM-eiland form a long strip of land between the IJ and the harbour basins. They meet at the Azartplein, the central square, which is also the terminus of tram 1.

Java-eiland, the western part, was redesigned in the 1990s to a plan by Amsterdam architect Sjoerd Soeters. Four small transverse canals cut it into blocks, lined with narrow houses designed by different architects: a contemporary take on the canal houses of the centre. The steel footbridges over these canals, with their winding railings, are the work of artists Guy Rombouts and Monica Droste. To the west, the Jan Schaefer bridge links the island to the Piet Heinkade.

KNSM-eiland, to the east, follows a master plan by Jo Coenen from the late 1980s, made up of large blocks lined up along a central avenue, the KNSM-laan, echoing the old warehouses. Several buildings are worth a detour:

• Piraeus: a large dark-brick block by Hans Kollhoff and Christian Rapp, completed in 1994, which wraps around a former port building. It contains 304 homes.
• Barcelona: a complex by Belgian architect Bruno Albert, completed in 1993, arranged around a circular courtyard.
• Emerald Empire: a building by Jo Coenen, finished in 1996.
• Skydome: the residential tower by Wiel Arets that rises above the island.
• Loods 6: a preserved 1922 shed housing artists' studios and exhibition spaces.

On the Azartplein, the Amphitrite fountain and the two buildings by the Swiss firm Diener & Diener mark the junction between the two islands.

Borneo-Sporenburg and the Python Bridge

South of KNSM-eiland, the twin peninsulas of Borneo and Sporenburg are the most striking part of the area. From 1993, the landscape architecture firm West 8, led by Adriaan Geuze, planned around 2,500 homes here, almost all low-rise, at a density of about a hundred homes per hectare. The model is a three-storey house opening onto a patio or roof terrace, a reinterpretation of the canal house. A few large buildings break up these rows, such as De Walvis (the Whale) by Frits van Dongen, completed in 2000 on Sporenburg.

On Borneo, the Scheepstimmermanstraat shows the principle most clearly: some sixty houses built on individual plots by different architects, completed in 2001, each with its own street front and water front.

The red, undulating Python Bridge (Pythonbrug), 90 metres long, has spanned the basin between Sporenburg and Borneo since 2001. Designed by Adriaan Geuze, it is for pedestrians only and its steps are steep; cyclists use the low bridge nearby. Don't stand on the private jetties for photos: they belong to the residents.

The Oostelijke Handelskade: Muziekgebouw, Bimhuis and Lloyd

Along the IJ, between the station and Sporenburg, the Oostelijke Handelskade and the Piet Heinkade bring together the area's cultural venues.

• Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ: the concert hall for contemporary music, at Piet Heinkade 1, opened in 2005 above the IJ tunnel. The glass building is the work of the Danish firm 3XN. It also houses the Bimhuis, a venue devoted to jazz and improvised music.
• Pakhuis de Zwijger: a 1934 warehouse that became a venue for debates and talks in 2006.
• The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam: the former emigrants' hotel of the Koninklijke Hollandsche Lloyd, at Oostelijke Handelskade 34, built from 1918 to 1921 by Evert Breman. From 1921 to 1936 it housed emigrants, mostly Jews from Eastern Europe, bound for South America. The building later served as a prison, then as artists' studios, before being renovated by MVRDV and opening as the Lloyd Hotel in 2004. Closed at the end of 2021 for works, it reopened in September 2023 under The Hoxton name.

For the season's concerts, see our guide to concerts and shows in Amsterdam.

The sights at a glance

Adult prices checked in October 2026. NEMO and the maritime museum are free with the Museumkaart and the I amsterdam City Card; at NEMO you still need to book a time slot.

Where to eat and drink

The area is residential and places are spread out: look them up before you set off.

• Brouwerij 't IJ, Funenkade 7: the De Molen tasting room, at the foot of the De Gooyer windmill, serves the brewery's beers. According to I amsterdam, it opens from 14:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and from 12:00 to 22:00 at weekends. There are no reservations, and the terrace fills up quickly in good weather. Café Struis, under the windmill at Zeeburgerstraat 1, belongs to the same brewery.
• The top floor of the OBA: a café-restaurant with a terrace in summer, handy for a break at the start of the walk.
• The Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ: a grand café on the ground floor, with a terrace on the IJ.
• NEMO's roof: the museum restaurant and a bar have their terrace there.
• The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam: the hotel's brasserie and bar are open to non-residents.

For more local beer, read our guide to craft beer in Amsterdam.

A half-day walk or bike ride

Allow half a day on foot with breaks, or two hours by bike, not counting museum visits. The route is entirely flat.

1. Start at Central Station and follow the Oosterdokskade to the OBA library: go up to the top floor for the view.
2. Continue along the basin to NEMO's roof, then cross over to the maritime museum on Kattenburg.
3. Head to the Piet Heinkade and the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, then cross the Jan Schaefer bridge to Java-eiland.
4. Cross Java-eiland from west to east, zigzagging between its four canals, to the Azartplein.
5. Walk along the KNSM-laan to Piraeus and Barcelona, then return to the Azartplein.
6. Head down to Borneo-eiland via the Scheepstimmermanstraat, cross the Python Bridge to Sporenburg and pass De Walvis.
7. Finish at the De Gooyer windmill, further south, for a beer at Brouwerij 't IJ, or catch the tram at the Rietlandpark stop.

The quays are well suited to cycling, but the Python Bridge is for pedestrians only: use the low bridge nearby. Our guide to getting around Amsterdam explains how to rent a bike.

Getting to the eastern islands

The Oosterdok is a few minutes' walk from Central Station, and the Muziekgebouw about ten minutes. To go further east, several GVB lines serve the area:

Lines and stops checked in October 2026. Since the network reorganisation of 29 March 2026, bus 22 no longer serves the east of the city: bus 42 has replaced it. Bus 43 runs every 10 minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes the rest of the time. For a quiet place to stay by the water, see our guide on where to stay in Amsterdam.

Further reading

The eastern islands lead naturally south to the Plantage and east to the Oost districts: read our guide to Amsterdam-Oost to carry on your day. If contemporary architecture interests you, our guide to Amsterdam's architecture places these neighbourhoods in the city's history. And to find the views from the OBA or NEMO among other viewpoints, see our selection of the best views over Amsterdam.