Jordaan brown-cafe crawl: a walk in Amsterdam

Five historic brown cafes and a Dutch-only craft beer bar, from a 1624 beer house to neon-lit sing-along bars.

Best time: Evening, Thursday to Saturday for the sing-along bars

The route, stop by stop

1
Proeflokaal Arendsnest
Dutch craft beer on the Herengracht; 40 min.
Dutch-only craft beer bar with 52 taps and about 100 bottles, in a canal house on the Herengracht.
2
Cafe Chris
The Jordaan's oldest cafe (1624), try a kopstootje; 30 min.
Established 1624 as a beer house, the Jordaan's oldest cafe, with a billiard table and a toilet cistern famously outside the toilet.
3
Cafe 't Smalle
Candlelit former distillery on the canal; 30 min.
Opened around 1780 as Pieter Hoppe's liqueur distillery; candlelit wood, a mezzanine and a tiny terrace right on the canal.
4
Cafe de Twee Zwaantjes
Karaoke and Dutch sing-alongs; 40 min.
Small Jordaan cafe with a mixed crowd, karaoke and Dutch sing-alongs.
5
Cafe Nol
Neon and Amsterdam folk songs; 45 min.
Neon-lit Jordaan bar known for Amsterdam folk sing-alongs; a slice of old Jordaan culture.