Coffeeshops in Old Center
The Old Center holds more coffeeshops per square kilometer than anywhere else in the Netherlands. This is the medieval core — De Wallen, Nieuwmarkt, Zeedijk, Warmoesstraat and the canals running down to Dam Square — and it's where the oldest names in the business set up in the 1970s, back when the tolerance policy was still being invented around them.
Density cuts both ways. Some of the best shops in Amsterdam are here, and so are the ones staying afloat purely on foot traffic from Centraal Station. A rough rule: the shops on Damrak and the busiest stretches of De Wallen are priced for people who will never return, while a two-minute walk east toward Nieuwmarkt and the Zeedijk gets you places that have to keep locals happy. The listings below note which is which.
The one rule you need before you walk out the door: smoking cannabis in public is prohibited across most of this district. The ban covers De Wallen, Dam Square, Damrak and Nieuwmarkt, and it's enforced with a €100 fine. Coffeeshops here are small and often standing-room-only, so plan on smoking inside where you buy, or walking to a canal bench outside the marked zone. Shops can't serve alcohol, and can't allow tobacco indoors — ask for pure or use the house vaporizer.
Everything below is walkable from Centraal Station in under fifteen minutes.
Areas in Old Center
Found 14 coffeeshops
Bagheera
Named after the black panther from The Jungle Book, with a teeth-baring version of him on the logo — which is misleading, because the shop is one of t...
Kloveniersburgwal 60, 1012 CX Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopBasjoe
The Coffeeshop Basjoe is located on the Kloveniersburgwal in Amsterdam.
Kloveniersburgwal 62, 1012 CX Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopBlue Bird
The Coffeeshop Blue Bird is located on the Sint Antoniesbreestraat in Amsterdam.
Sint Antoniesbreestraat 71, 1011 HB Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopDe Jolly Joker
The Jolly Joker sits directly on the Nieuwmarkt, and the location is the whole proposition. The square is an open public space with the Waag at its ce...
Nieuwmarkt 4-A, 1012 CR Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopGoa
The Coffeeshop Goa is located on the Kloveniersburgwal in Amsterdam.
Kloveniersburgwal 42, 1012 CW Amsterdam, Nederland
CoffeeshopGreen House Centrum
The Coffeeshop Green House Centrum is located in the Oudezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam.
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 191, 1012 EW Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopGreen House Namaste
The Green House Namaste is part of the Green House chain of coffeeshops. You might already know them since they also operate a seed farm and are featu...
Waterlooplein 345, 1011 PG Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopGrey Area
Grey Area, damn where to start.
Grey Area’s located just behind Dam Square. When you walk for about 5 minutes behind the Palace, you will find one of...
Oude Leliestraat 2, 1015 AW Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopReefer
The Coffeeshop Reefer is located at the Sint Antoniesbreestraat in Amsterdam.
Sint Antoniesbreestraat 77, 1011 HB Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopRock-It
The Coffeeshop Rock-It is located at the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam.
Nieuwmarkt 12, 1012 CR Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopSolo
The Coffeeshop Solo is located on the Korte Koningsstraat in Amsterdam.
Korte Koningsstraat 2, 1011 GA Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopThe Bulldog Energy
The Coffeeshop The Bulldog Energy is located on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam.
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 218, 1012 GA Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopThe Bulldog The First
Henk de Vries opened this in 1975, converting a family property in the red-light district into a coffeeshop — the first in Amsterdam, and the template...
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 90 II, 1012 GG Amsterdam, NL
CoffeeshopTyson 2.0
The Coffeeshop Tyson 2.0 is located at the Nieuwmarkt in Amsterdam.
Nieuwmarkt 14, 1012 CR Amsterdam, NL
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