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Amstelveen is a town in Amstelland. It is a suburb of Amsterdam in an area that used to be known as Nieuwer-Amstel until 1964.

Understand

The new city centre, Stadshart.

Amstelveen, known as Nieuwer-Amstel until 1964, is a city in the Amstelland. The city grew from a town founded for the harvesting of bog, which was a popular fuel at the time. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, wealthy Amsterdammers moved to the town in search of some peace and quiet. Originally, Southern Amsterdam was a part of the municipality. After annexation of Amsterdam Zuid, the former town hall of Nieuwer-Amstel housed the Amsterdam city archives from 1914 to 2007.

Not late after the first annexation, in 1921, another annexation followed taking away the northern and most densely populated part of Amstelveen. This left the municipality to conclude of the town of Amstelveen as well as several small towns. Amstelveen, however, kept its appeal to the wealthier citizens of Amsterdam, which shows from the suburbs built around 1930 in the northwest of the municipality.

After the Second World War, Nieuwer-Amstel became an overflow for Amsterdam, housing more and more people that could not find or did not want a home in Amsterdam, as well as people that worked at the growing Schiphol Airport. During the 1960s Amstelveen was even the largest growing city of the Netherlands. In 1964 the municipality was renamed after the city that by now was considered an extension of Amsterdam.

Since the last half of the 1990s, Amstelveen's expansion has become more and more gradual. At this time, no further expansion is planned. The most recent expansion is Westwijk to the southwest of town. To suit the needs of the already existing population, the Stadshart has been created to replace the former town centre. Here you will find a central library, large mall, as well as cultural and gastronomical services and offices. In 2003 Amstelveen was named Most attractive city of the Netherlands for its proximity to the nation's capital Amsterdam, its safety, accessibility and richness of culture.

Get in

Line 5 tram terminal at the Binnenhof in Amstelveen.

By car

The A9 crosses straight through the municipality and functions as a ring-road for traffic that does not need to go to Amsterdam per se. Amstelveen can be reached from The Hague, Rotterdam and Leiden using the A4 followed by the A9 once having passed by Schiphol. Utrecht, Den Bosch and Eindhoven can use the A2, followed by the A9 after passing by Abcoude. Apeldoorn and everything north there of is best off using the A1, followed by a kilometre of A2 heading away from Amsterdam, quickly followed by the A9.

By public transit

Tram line  5  comes from Leidesplein in Amsterdam (connecting there with other tram lines from Amsterdam Centraal station), passes Amsterdam Zuid station and terminates at 1 Binnenhof in Amstelveen. The 2 Amstelveen bus station is about 700 metres east of the Binnenhof tram terminal, near the Stadsplein. Busses also run from the central busstation to Aalsmeer (line 171 and 357), Uithoorn (line 174 and 374), Haarlem (line 300 and 356), Amsterdam Bijlmer ArenA (line 356) and Amsterdam Centraal (line 347 and 357).

By museum tram

On Sundays from April to November, one can take a vintage tram (operating as Electrische Museumtramlijn Amsterdam) from Amsterdam/Zuid to 3 Station Amstelveen near an attractive small-town area with restaurants.

Get around

The former country retreat of Amstelveen still has a lot of beautiful nature to explore.

Amstelveen's city centre is navigable on foot, with tram lines  5  and  6  connecting Amsterdam Zuid station with the Binnenhof/Stadshart. (Line  6  operates during rush hours only.)

Since March 3, 2019, Metro line  51  no longer serves Amstelveen south of Amsterdam Zuid railway station, and from that date, there is no rail service south of Oranjebaan near where tram lines  5  and  6  end at Binnenhof/Stadshart. However, a new tram line running south of Oranjebaan to Westwijk and Uithoorn is expected to open after 2020.

See

  • 1 Molen de Dikkert, Amsterdamseweg 104a (Corner of Molenweg and Amsterdamseweg), ☏ +31 20 643 3333. Windmill, which serves as a restaurant now. Molen de Dikkert (Q20824323) on Wikidata Molen De Dikkert on Wikipedia 
  • 2 Amsterdamse Bos. A larger forest/park that straddles the border between Amstelveen and Amsterdam. Access from Amstelveenseweg. Horse rental, canoe rental and an open air theater are some of the attractions. Amsterdamse Bos (Q511560) on Wikidata Amsterdamse Bos on Wikipedia 
  • 3 Cobra Museum of Modern Art. The collection of the museum consists of key works by artists of the movements Vrij Beelden (1945), Cobra (1948–1951), and Creatie (1950–1955). Cobra Museum (Q2161858) on Wikidata Cobra Museum on Wikipedia (updated Sep 2017)
  • 4 Museum Jan van der Togt. A modern visual art museum, which was established in 1991 by Jan van der Togt, an industrialist and founder of the company Tomado who was a collector of contemporary art. Museum Jan van der Togt (Q2514360) on Wikidata Museum Jan van der Togt on Wikipedia (updated Sep 2017)
  • 5 Poppodium P60, Stadsplein 100a, ☏ +31 203 453 445, . P60 offers an audience to up and coming pop artists, as well as already established artists, whether they are Dutch or not. (Q2177438) on Wikidata (updated Mar 2018)

Do

Buy

  • 1 Winkelcentrum Stadshart Amstelveen (Stadshart Amstelveen shopping centre) (near tram line 5's Binnenhof terminus). Tu-Sa 10:00-18:00, Su-M 12:00-18:00. This modern shopping centre has 145 stores, exterior pedestrian streets and a town square (Stadsplein). (updated Jan 2020)
  • 2 De Markt van Amstelveen (Market Place of Amstelveen), Stadsplein 98 (on a square within the Winkelcentrum Stadshart Amstelveen). Fr 8:00-17.00. A weekly farmers' and flee market with 400 stalls. (updated Jan 2020)

Eat

Drink

Sleep

The former train station of Amstelveen is not only a hotel, but is also located along the heritage tram line of Amsterdam.

Connect

Go next

Using the metro and tram network of Amsterdam, the city centre of Amsterdam is just thirty minutes away. On the way there via line 51, you will come through Zuid, Oost and Plantage. Other cities surrounding Amsterdam are Hoofddorp and Zaandam. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, from which you can fly virtually anywhere, isn't far either.

Routes through Amstelveen
Alkmaar ← Schiphol ←  N Rijksweg 9 E  → Amsterdam Zuidoost
Amsterdam Centraal ← Amsterdam Zuid ←  N Amsterdam Tram, line 5 S  → END
Amsterdam Centraal ←  N Amsterdam Metro, line 51 S  → END


This city travel guide to Amstelveen is a usable article. It has information on how to get there and on restaurants and hotels. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.
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