Amstel to the Plantage

Start in the middle of Rembrandtplein, the open square with the statue of Rembrandt at its centre. Stand on the square and face east, so that the far end of it, where Utrechtsestraat leaves, is ahead of you and slightly to your right. The whole walk runs a little over three kilometres from here to the Plantage, with thirteen stops and no hills, so take it at an easy pace. Press Play here before you set off; the square itself is the first story.

Walk east across Rembrandtplein to its far end and turn right onto Utrechtsestraat. After one short block, turn left onto Herengracht and follow the canal. The whole leg is about 200 metres and no more than three minutes. The museum is one of the grand canal houses on your left, a short way along the water. From outside it looks like a private mansion rather than a museum, which is exactly the point. Press Play as you stop in front of it.

Keep going east along Herengracht until the canal meets the river, then turn right onto Amstel and walk along the water, which is now on your left. It is about 400 metres, five minutes. The Skinny Bridge is the white wooden drawbridge spanning the river ahead of you; you cannot mistake it. Turn left to step onto it and walk out to the middle, where you have the river in both directions. Listen there, on the bridge.

Cross the bridge to the far bank and turn left onto Amstel, so the river stays on your left. This is a short, flat leg, around 230 metres and three minutes. You are looking for a very long, plain brick building that stretches along the riverbank, far longer than any house around it. That is the former Amstelhof, now the H'ART Museum. A short walkway leads you off the river towards it. Stop when you have the whole length of the façade in front of you.

Go back to the river and continue along Amstel, then turn right onto Waterlooplein. From there, follow the square round, bearing right and keeping to the edge of it; the footpaths wind a little, but all of them bring you to the same open space. Count on about 450 metres, six minutes. You have arrived when the open square spreads out beside the large modern bulk of the Stopera, the city hall and opera house. On market days the flea market stalls fill it; on quiet days it is simply the square itself.

Walk northwest across Waterlooplein, then cut right through Houtkopersdwarsstraat, a short side street, and turn left onto Jodenbreestraat. It is under 200 metres, three minutes. The Rembrandt House is on your left: a tall old brick house with its modern museum building beside it, clearly older than most of what surrounds it here. Stand across from it so you can take in the whole front before you press Play.

Follow Jodenbreestraat southeast for about 200 metres. At the end of the street, bear right and then turn left; the museum comes up on your right. The whole leg is roughly 350 metres, five minutes. The Jewish Museum is housed in a group of former synagogue buildings that have been joined into one museum, so look for several old brick fronts rather than a single entrance. This is the heart of the old Jewish quarter, and the next three stops are all within a few minutes of each other.

This is a two-minute hop of about 150 metres. Head north from the museum, cross the walkway onto Meester Visserplein, a wide traffic junction, and turn right onto Muiderstraat. The Portuguese Synagogue is the massive freestanding brick block on your right, with tall arched windows and lower buildings ringed around it. It stands apart from the street in a way that nothing else here does.

Continue southeast along Muiderstraat and over the canal; this is where the city changes from the old quarter to the leafy Plantage. Past the bridge, the footpaths lead you the last few steps to the garden, about 200 metres and three minutes in all. The Hortus Botanicus is on your left. You know it by the trees and glasshouse roofs rising behind the railings before you reach the gate.

Return to the footpaths and keep right where they fork, then bear right onto Plantage Middenlaan, the broad, tree-lined avenue that gives this district its character. It is about 300 metres, five minutes, nearly all of it under the trees. The former Dutch Theatre, the Hollandsche Schouwburg, is on your right, its old theatre front still facing you as you arrive. Stop in front of it; this is a quiet place, and the story is a heavy one.

The shortest leg of the walk, under 100 metres. Walk a few steps southeast along Plantage Middenlaan, cross the avenue, and walk back the other way. The National Holocaust Museum is now on your right, almost directly across the street from the theatre you have just left. The two buildings face each other across the avenue and belong to the same story, which is why they sit together on this walk.

Continue southeast along Plantage Middenlaan and turn left onto Plantage Kerklaan. It is just over 200 metres, three minutes, and you follow Kerklaan for most of that distance. The Dutch Resistance Museum is on your left, in a large older building on this quieter side road, a step away from the busier Plantage Middenlaan. Press Play as you reach it; the last two stops of the walk are both close by.

Walk back down Plantage Kerklaan to the avenue and turn left onto Plantage Middenlaan for the final stretch, about 300 metres more. In all it is roughly 470 metres, six minutes. The grounds of ARTIS, the city zoo, run along your left the whole way, behind railings and trees. The walk ends on the avenue beside the zoo. Press Play here for the last stop, then decide whether to go in or carry on into the Plantage.