La Tertulia

Open since 1983 and run by a mother and daughter as a family business the whole way through — one of the oldest coffeeshops in the city, and one of the few that still feels like someone's front room rather than a business plan.

It sits right on the Prinsengracht with tables outside facing the canal, a few streets from the Anne Frank House. Inside is bright: plants, art, crystals, tall windows and an upstairs balcony looking out over the water, with ceilings high enough that non-smokers tend to be comfortable too. The menu leans organic, with vegan and gluten-free edibles — genuinely rare here — and there are waterpipes to use in the shop if you'd rather not roll.

The mural

On the corner of Oude Looiersgracht and Prinsengracht, La Tertulia breaks from the dark, kitschy decor of the standard coffeeshop with a Van Gogh mural on the adjoining wall. It has been part of the view from the terrace for well over twenty years — regulars have been mentioning it in reviews since the early 2000s. The terrace beside it opens in summer. Free to look at, no purchase needed, and it photographs best in the afternoon when the light comes off the water.