Nieuwmarkt & Waag
Nieuwmarkt & Waag is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Amsterdam audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~30 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Amsterdam Amsterdam guide
About Nieuwmarkt & Waag
A lively square anchored by the 15th-century Waag, a former city gate turned weighing house, now a restaurant, with a daily market and Chinatown nearby.
Nieuwmarkt is one of Amsterdam's liveliest squares, dominated by the magnificent Waag, a multi-turreted 15th-century building that began life as one of Amsterdam's city gates (Sint Antoniespoort, built around 1488), became a weighing house (waag) for goods entering the city, and later housed the surgeons' guild where Rembrandt famously observed an anatomy lesson for his painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. Today it operates as a popular restaurant and café. The square around it hosts a lively daily market, an organic food market on Saturdays, and a popular antiques market on Sundays in summer. Nieuwmarkt is the gateway to Amsterdam's small but vibrant Chinatown, which lines the nearby Zeedijk and Geldersekade streets. The area suffered greatly during WWII, when the Jewish quarter nearby was destroyed; the Nieuwmarkt itself was the site of deportation roundups during the Nazi occupation.
Did you know? Rembrandt painted The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp in 1632 based on a dissection demonstration held in the Waag's surgeons' guild room.
How long should you spend at Nieuwmarkt & Waag?
Plan about ~30 min at Nieuwmarkt & Waag. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Nieuwmarkt & Waag worth visiting?
Nieuwmarkt & Waag is one of the 42 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Amsterdam, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Amsterdam
Hear the story of Nieuwmarkt & Waag
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