De Dam

This is Amsterdams version of a town square. You have a royal palace turned into a museum as the backdrop and the monument on the other side of the street. There’s not a lot to see or experience to be honest, other than tourists and a lot of stores, but this place has a lot of memories for me so bam, ⁵⁄₅.

Dam Square is a must see when you’re in Amsterdam. There are many bars, cafes, restaurants. It also has a long street with many shops. There’s a Royal Palace and Madam Tussaud’s Museum which is a nice touristic attraction. There is always a lot going on at the Dam Square, also good parties at night.

De Dam — zentraler Platz Amsterdams mit Sicht auf den königlichen Palast und die langen Warteschlangen bei Madame Tussauds. Mehr aber auch nicht.

An absolutely beautiful location right in the center of downtown Amsterdam. De Dam is pretty much one of those must see structures if you’re in the Netherlands. This location is actually pretty cool as it pretty much acts as a meeting point for a lot of folks and there is a bunch of mingling centered around the main structure. Overall, it’s a great visual and something Nicole to take a picture of…

Jubel, Trubel, Heiterkeit — auf dem Dam ist irgendwie immer etwas los. Bei meinem letzten Besuch fand vor dem königlichen Palast ein Beachvolleyballturnier statt. Aber auch ohne Veranstaltungen — hier wuselts immer. Zum Glück erhält das altehrwürdige Hotel Krasnopolski einen Facelift und findet dadurch hoffentlich zu der alten Klasse zurück.
De Dam ist benannt nach dem Damm der Amstel inklusive der Schleuse. Amster-​Dam entstand hinter dem Damm und wurde durch Damm und Schleuse nicht mehr Opfer von Sturmfluten und war auch nicht mehr den Gezeiten unterworfen. Das Ganze entstand Mitte des 13. Jahrhunderts. Ende des Mittelalters wurde die Deichkrone verbreitert, so dass Platz für einen Platz entstand, der nach dem Damm benannt wurde auf dem er lag. Mit der Zeit wurde der Dam aber durch Zuschüttung der Wasserwege (z.B. der Unterlauf der Amstel, Damrak genannt) vom Wasser abgeschnitten. Heute ist de Dam jedem Niederländer ein Begriff, finden hier doch auch alle zentralen, wichtigen Kundgebungen oder Demonstrationen statt.

I like Dam Square! It’s a prime people-​watching spot. It seems that there is always something going on from a pop-​up carnival to an event in the Royal Palace. For those who want one of those places where they can just stand, twirl in a circle and think (or say) «I’m in Amsterdam!» or «I can’t believe I’m actually here!»
From someone from the U.S., the most baffling thing about Dam Square are the trams. I mean, there’s people EVERYWHERE and trams come on through. But also for somewhere that is so public, so open, and that the Palace is just there, in the middle of it all, it pretty awesome.
It’s just a cool spot in the city to take it all in.

To be honest, the square itself is kind of boring. The history is absolutely very rich as this is pretty much why it became Amsterdam. I do agree with a lot of the other reviews though, the square is very much alive and it does feel like the center of Amsterdam and like where everything is happening. Definitely a lot of people lounging around and relaxing and an easy meeting point. But the square itself is nothing exciting because there’s really not much to see. There’s quite a number of different places around it though and a lot to do in the area, so that’s cool I guess. A lot of the restaurants in the immediate area are definitely on the overpriced side though. It’s a nice center connecting the Red Light District and Jordaan and I passed by it a lot when I was walking around Amsterdam.

I was here the day before Kings Day and it was absolutely alive! People everywhere, an exciting carnival and food stores… The atmosphere was great. Definitely worth a look

Dam Square is like the Times Square of Amsterdam, minus all the crappy traffic and people. It’s a gorgeous, wide open area with several popular places such as Royal Palace, Madame Tussauds, and Bijenkorf. There are many shops and places to eat/​drink. There is also easy access to a lot of the major trams that spreads throughout the city.
This is a great place to walk in the middle of and just take it all in. The people, the birds, and sometimes performances (even soccer games!) are just brings a great vibe and gives you that «I’m Here» feeling.

Dam Square is a great open space for people to sit and drink coffee, have a smoke, take a break or have a snack while sitting on one of the benches, sitting around the monument or sitting at one of the cafes along it’s edges. It’s definitely a great place to people watch as there are people coming from Central Station, people passing through to other districts like China Town or people being offloaded from the many tourist buses. Tour groups often meet up there, usually by the monument.
It’s an easy to find area for most people to meet other people. When I have guests from out of town who don’t know their way around I often tell them to meet me at Dam Square. If you get lost there most people know where it is and can give directions to it. There are always people milling about. Walking out of Central Station you just walk straight ahead heading southwest down Damrak. That takes you to it in just a few minutes.
Occasionally, there is an event going on to celebrate or commemorate some special thing that might be seasonal, related to the King and his family or some holiday. So far I’ve seen a huge ferris wheel, a carnival related to Halloween or some demonstration of some sort. There are frequently street performers commanding the attentions of the many people passing through.
The Royal Palace is on one side with the Nieuwe Kerk next to it. Directly across the street is the War monument. On the other side is Madame Tussauds exhibit with Kalverstraat next to that funneling the many shoppers into the square. On the far side are a few department stores and restaurants. The east west street Damstraat takes you to China Town and the Red Light District if you head east.
The history behind the area and the name of the area is interesting. Dam Square gets it’s name from actually having been a dam on the Amstel river which also is how the town got it’s name. The dam connected the settlements on the two sides of the river. Over time the dam got built up and grew wider creating enough room for a square. Around this square the town grew and developed. I come here occasionally to watch the hustle and bustle of the people walking or riding by or to meet up with out of town guests.

Der zentrale Platz in Amsterdam. Hier ist immer etwas los, in der Regel findet man hier neben den Straßenkünstlern und Pantomimen vor allem Touristen, die sich entweder gegenseitig vor dem Königlichen Palast fotografieren oder bei Madame Tussaud’s in der Schlange stehen.
Neben dem Palast und der Kirche auf der einen Seite findet man aber auch das Kriegerdenkmal hier. Auf der Anderen Seite findet sich zudem der Übergang zum Rotlichtbezirk und (davor) das Traditionskaufhaus Bijenkorf.

A big square right in the middle of Amsterdam. It’s always cool to stop and see what is going on here. There are always all kind of random events so you never really know what to expect. Sometimes there may be a carnival with ride and games while at other times beach football with real sand!
Even on the days when nothing is going on you can see a variety of different people from all over the world who are touring the city. Looking around at the buildings that surround De Dam isn’t bad either.

Even De Dam is not on your list of MUST go place when you are in Amsterdam… you will walk through it, walk by it almost everyday even a few times a day.
The numerous National Monuments all makes good photo opportunities.
At least, it is a great meet up place as everyone knows about it locals and tourists alike.
Please don’t feed the pigeons… why are there bird poo everywhere?!