For the first stretch of our journey, we follow the Amstel River, where the city’s dark and mysterious past lingers along its banks. As we walk, we’ll pass beautiful historic landmarks linked to a couple urban legends.
At Rembrandtplein, elegance meets intrigue. Here, we share a story of a royal visitor whose presence stirred the city—and how a nearby tower holds the key to a legend about Amsterdam’s very beginnings.
We pass one of Amsterdam's former city gates, where you'll hear the oldest legend of the tour. It has a surprising connection to a traditional Amsterdam sweet that you'll get to taste.
Our next stop is the Rasphuis Gate, one of the few remaining traces of Amsterdam's former correctional institution. Here, you'll discover the building's remarkable past and the surprising origin of a Dutch expression that is still used today.
Next, we arrive at Spui, a lively square filled with cafes and restaurants, each with its own unique charm. Among them is one café that’s tied to a fascinating story.
Our next stop is the Begijnhof, a peaceful, hidden courtyard with an interesting past. Here, we’ll uncover an eerie story about one of its former residents. You’ll also have time to explore the serene chapel, adding a moment of reflection to this mysterious stop.
Next, we head to Rokin, a historic spot with not one, but two captivating stories. One of them, the Miracle of Amsterdam, dates back to the 13th century. This miraculous event not only shaped the city’s history but also turned Amsterdam into a renowned destination for pilgrims and tourists alike.
Dam Square, where history and legend intertwine. Here, you'll stand before the grand Royal Palace — once the city hall, now the royal residence — a masterpiece of Baroque architecture that has witnessed centuries of royal drama. Just across the square, the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) stands, its towering spire hiding an interesting tale.
We had a nice tour on a less busy Monday morning with guide L. We enjoy walking tours as they provide a bounty of information about city we're visiting, and this one was no different. We really enjoyed the urban legends and having the evidence for and against them presented to us by L. He was a great guide and a native Dutchie.
Luuk was great! Very entertaining and knowledgeable! Thank you so much for such a fun tour!!!
It was a great experience. The guide can tell very interesting stories and legends about the buildings we have seen during the Jordaan and Canalstour.
This tour was absolutely wonderful. It ended up being just myself and my wife due to scheduling, but the tour guide, Luke, still graciously gave the full tour and made it a very enjoyable experience. Learned a lot about urban legends and the real stories behind them! We greatly appreciated that they research the information and have visual aids to show as well as the stories and the stops on the tour. Ask for a bingo card -- it's no extra cost and worth the effort!
We did the Urban Legends City Quest tour in Amsterdam. It is truly a fun and educational experience. It’s definitely not the standard tour you might expect. You get to see Amsterdam from a different perspective, and they share fascinating stories along the way. The guide is very knowledgeable and knows a lot about the history of Amsterdam. They also offer other tours, which we will definitely sign up for.
We have engaged in this very interesting and entertaining tour through the centre of Amsterdam. Luuk was our guide and welcomed us by handig us a bingo-card. This helped some of us to stay engaged more easily and brings some competition to the tour. Luuk had very interesting facts about Amsterdam, while touching both on the usual highlights, but also on some highlights that are less well known. I would recommend to pick this tour as your tour through the centre of Amsterdam!
We had an amazing time on the city walk with Luuk yesterday and couldn’t recommend it more. Luuk is incredibly friendly and sympathetic, which immediately makes the tour feel relaxed and personal. The route is very easy to walk, with a perfect balance between strolling through the city and stopping for stories and explanations. What really sets this walk apart is the way Luuk tells his stories: engaging, fun, and full of surprising, non-standard facts you won’t find in a typical guidebook. You can tell he genuinely loves the city and enjoys sharing it with others. The bingo card adds a playful extra element, turning the walk into a small game and making it even more interactive and memorable. We truly enjoyed every moment of it and would 100% recommend this city walk! Whether you’re a tourist, a Dutch visitor, or even an Amsterdam local. You’ll definitely see the city through fresh eyes.
We were very lucky to join the Urban Legends Guided City Walk, led by Luuk on our trip to Amsterdam. Luuk was incredibly knowledgable, engaging and friendly throughout the tour. He told us lots of fascinating tales about Amsterdam that we surely wouldn’t have heard on any other tour. It’s very clear that Luuk and the rest of the team have put a lot of effort into researching and curating a variety of compelling stories, which ranged from spooky to funny to moving - and all very interesting. We had such a lovely time and look forward to doing one of the other tours they offer next time we’re in Amsterdam. Thank you, Luuk!
An original fun way to learn about Amsterdam's urban legends. An enthusiastic guide (Luuk) who knew what he was talking about and who also offered other tips on what to do in Amsterdam.
Great tour with a smart, easygoing, and informative guide - which you can tell is really passionate about history and passing/discussing the knowledge he acquired.
Wonderful walking tour of Amsterdam - highly recommend it. Luke was very knowledgable which made the tour very enjoyable. Great way to begin to explore the city having never visited before. 5*.
Super nice tour with new information about Amsterdam i never knew! It was very interesting! Our guide was very nice and spoke very well. I really recomment this tour if you like to see the highlights of the city of Amsterdam, combined with some historical stories and facts!
Super nice tour with a very nice guy. Very interesting tour with facts and legends that he tried a good as he can to fact-check. I really recomment this tour if you like to see the highlights from the city of Amsterdam, combined with some historical stories and facts!
This Legend & history tour through Amsterdam was absolutely great. I've been living in Amsterdam for over 30 years, but tour guide Luuk showed me a completely new Amsterdam with intriguing, interesting and thrilling fun facts and historical information. The tour is recommended for Amsterdam people as well as for tourists. Luuk is a very entertaining narrator, who knows a lot more than just the contents of the tour, so he could answer all our other questions about Amsterdam and its history. We weren't bored one second! Thank you, Luuk, for a delightful afternoon and a new look on Old Amsterdam!
Such a fun and memorable tour. The urban legend bingo was a great touch, and our guide Luuk made it even better with his humor and deep knowledge of Amsterdam. He even had an extra umbrella for us when it started to rain which was super thoughtful. The weather didn’t dampen the mood and the views were still amazing.
It was an amazing way of experiencing the city! There are so many legends, myths and tales about Amsterdam, and to actually see where the stories presumably originated from was fantastic. Even for me, quite knowledgeable about Amsterdam, learned new insights of the legends, myths and tales of Amsterdam! So even for the most experienced Amsterdammer it is a great way to look with different perspectives at this great city! Luuk is a wonderful host, a fabulous guide, and extremely knowledgeable about the stories he tells. Fun facts, a little joke here and there, the whole tour was just so well organized and prepared with lots of interesting extra’s like photos/ paintings/ maps etc. to illustrate the tour. The tour took about 4hrs including a stop at one of the nicest bars of Amsterdam, Hoppe where we enjoyed a cold drink with the famous “bitterball”. Consider wearing comfy shoes, as you walk and stand most of the time.
We had an incredible time on the Urban Legends tour through the heart of Amsterdam! Our guide was not only deeply knowledgeable about the city's rich history and hidden stories but also brought each tale to life with his captivating storytelling and passion for the city. He took us on a journey that made us see Amsterdam in a completely new light. His friendly and engaging approach made the experience both informative and thoroughly enjoyable. If you're looking for a unique way to explore this beautiful city and uncover its secrets, I can't recommend this tour enough. Thank you for an unforgettable adventure!
The 2 hours passed by quickly. Interesting stories and nice places where you normally wouldn't come or just pass by without knowing. The guide was very friendly and has a lot of knowledge. Thnx for the lovely tour!
A real treat this walking tour! The guide had very interesting stories and I saw new things on buildings I walked by a few times before. I recommand it to anyone who wants to know more about Amsterdam :)
We made a very nice and interesting private city walk. Luuk is very enthusiastic, tells very interesting and has a lot of (background) knowledge. Highly recommended, definitely worth it.
Fun city walk with fun facts! Luuk keeps up the pace so you stay active and stay involved in the topics and explanations.
Highly recommended this city walk! Our guide Luuk showed us beautiful and sometimes lurid stories, in places you might normally pass by. We came to interesting places. There was also a nice game element added. The next tour is already planned!
Very much enjoyed so many new legends and stories. Nice guide who enjoys “guiding” Luuk thanks for the nice afternoon
Nice tour of my own city and so looking at her in a completely different way. Our guide had chosen a few unique locations and connected them to different Legends. Supported by good research, an exciting story and fun visuals, he gave the story colour. Is there truth behind these Legends? Of course, you have to find out for yourself. There are definitely a few places I look at differently now when I pass them again.
A nice experience to get a nice piece of background information at buildings you may already know. Very good research has been done and nicely worked out with printed archive documents and beautiful illustrations.
We had a very nice guide with interesting stories, there was a game element in the walk so you pay extra attention to what he tells... definitely recommended for families too
What a great experience in your own city! Luuk knows a lot to tell and the combination between the real story and the truth of which is not certain is hilarious to hear. Nice route, brought with a lot of passion, love and attention!
Was a nice walking route with lots of information. The guide was friendly and clear to understand. The information collected about Amsterdam was also checked by the guide in the city archives. As a result, you got to hear the stories that have arisen but also what really happened. Was a successful outing.
What a fun creative walking tour with Luuk.De legends where there can also be a kernel of truth is enthusiastically told by Luuk with info from the city archive and photos attached.Door the bingo it also becomes a playful cozy walk. Patiently you go through the neighborhood with places or sights that you will see differently through the legend.This tour is absolutely worth it! Can also be done in English..I enjoyed it!
A nice tour through the center of Amsterdam. The guide told stories and legends that I had not heard before as a local from Amsterdam. Highly recommended.
We did this tour with friends from Australia and we really enjoyed it. Also for us as locals there were many new places and we learned a lot about the history of the city. What was totally amazing is that our guide (Luuk) changed the route slightly, so that we came out better in terms of location with our next activity. In a word, great.
Very nice tour of Amsterdam. Many historical news stories told in a light-hearted way by our guide Luuk. Very rewarding!
Nice and enthusiastically narrated by Lisa. You will learn more about Amsterdam in a different way. You go to places that are sometimes familiar to you but then hear the stories. So nice really recommended
I found the tour really super interesting. Do you think you already know Amsterdam well? Think again! I have learned a lot of new things and also enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. 10/10, definitely recommended if you want to discover Amsterdam in a different way.
Yesterday with 3 couples had a very nice city walk, Luuk managed to entertain us well with his 'legends' about Amsterdam. Very nice that the stories were reinforced by beautiful illustrations and documents and factual facts. In short, a must for one nice friends weekend. Again something different from the standard tours We have enjoyed
With a knowledgeable guide, he will let you see and enjoy history in a different way.
The tone was set at the starting location with three fantastic stories about the Skinny Bridge. We passed places where you would normally walk past, but now suddenly a story fits, sometimes funny, sometimes quite bizarre. It felt like we were discovering secrets about Amsterdam together and the guide knew how to deliver the stories in an appealing way. In short: not a dry history lesson but a mix of fun facts, beautiful places and surprising stories. This walk is more than worth the extra steps!
Experience a fun and informative afternoon in Amsterdam thanks to this tour. Heard many new stories and saw special places. You could clearly tell that the guide had a lot of passion for the city and its history and he told the stories in an accessible way with a touch of humor. 10/10
Very fun and educational way to explore Amsterdam. The guide had beautiful materials that made the stories even more appealing to the imagination and took us to places where you will not always go as a day tourist. Definitely worth it.
Interesting, again discovered things about Amsterdam that I didn't know yet. Good, informative information, visualized and with humor. The guide has his knowledge in order, is open to questions and reactions. Highly recommended!
We walked along famous and unknown places of Amsterdam during this walking tour, with stories we had never heard before. The legend bingo provided a fun twist, and guide Luuk showed us unique materials that brought the stories even more to life. Truly an original city walk!
I'm not really into guided tours, but I liked this one! It wasn't just someone telling stories, but the guide really knew what he was talking about. He could answer many questions and let us guess what the historically correct version of the legend was. The game element and price was a nice addition!
This was a very nice city walk with special facts / legends about Amsterdam. Even as a resident of the city heard and saw a lot of new things.
Enjoyed a surprising and amazing city walk this afternoon! The guide and his assistant have shared with us so many beautiful stories about certain locations from Amsterdam city center in a fascinating and funny way! Highly recommended!
After playing the city game before, we now enjoyed an interesting tour of the center of Amsterdam. The guide (Luuk) not only took us into the (romanticized) city stories, but had also done thorough research into the real stories behind them. The drawings, photos and archive documents made it complete. The bingo was a nice twist during this city tour.
The excellent guide led us past interesting places in the old town. At each place he told something about the history and the legends about the place.
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