Welcome to this tour in Amsterdam

We are now standing in front of the famous railway station of Amsterdam, also considered by many to be one of the most beautiful buildings in all of the Netherlands.

But, can you imagine that if we travel back 150 years in time, there was no railway station here at all? If you were standing where we are right now, you would be looking at the Lake IJ. So, when the plans for a new and larger railway station were presented, many citizens were furious. The brand-new station would block the view of the lake and forever change the panorama of the city. And in a way, that is exactly what happened. Still, out of the different options, the plan to place it right here was the one that won.

The building was designed by Pierre Cuypers, the same architect who also designed the Rijksmuseum. He gave the station its characteristic façade, filled with neo-Gothic and neo-Renaissance details. But before construction could even begin, workers had to create land for the building to stand on, as this area was originally just water. Sand from the recently completed North Sea Canal was used to fill up the lakebed, creating a foundation. And to make the structure stable, nearly 9,000 wooden poles were driven into the ground before construction of the station itself could start.

Finally, in 1889, Amsterdam Centraal was finished, and the city proudly welcomed its new railway hub.

Since then, the station has grown into one of the most important transport hubs in the country. Today, four out of five metro lines of Amsterdam pass through Amsterdam Centraal. A large bus terminal was later built on a separate island next to the station, and in recent years, the city has also opened modern underground bicycle parking facilities with space for 7,000 and 4,000 bicycles.

Even though Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands with nearly 900,000 inhabitants, the busiest railway station in the country is actually located in Utrecht. Still, Amsterdam Centraal remains one of the most iconic and busiest transport hubs, welcoming millions of travelers every year.

And one more fascinating fact: the station is actually built on three small islands, hidden beneath the foundations.

If you’d like to learn more stories like this, you can join a guided tour in Amsterdam. A walk with a local guide will give you even more insight into the city’s history, architecture, and hidden gems.