The Best Street Art Tours In Amsterdam

Amsterdam has remained an important hub for street artists since at least the 1970s and over the past few decades graffiti has become an important part of the city’s urban landscape. While many artists continue to tag buildings illegally, often in order to create provocative or socially conscious artwork, there are also many examples of commissioned street art in Amsterdam, including murals by Piet Parra, the London Police and R.U.A.

Guided tours

To get acquainted with the city’s diverse street art scene, it is definitely worth joining a guided tour while in Amsterdam. For instance, there’s Amsterdam Street Mural Tour, which mainly centres around larger, urban artwork located in Amsterdam-Zuidoost — a bustling neighbourhood that lies around 10 kilometres away from the city’s historic centre. The tour caters to small groups and trails through Zuidoost’s H-Buurt district, which features 14 lofty murals that were painted onto the sides of high-rise buildings by artists working with R.U.A. An experienced, local host leads this 2.5 hour excursion and explains H-Buurt’s history, culture and graffiti scene to participants throughout the tour’s duration.
Looking for something more central? Then make sure to check out Street Art & Alternative Tours which begins near Spui, then continues around the inner city. As its name suggests, the tour focuses on Amsterdam’s underground subcultures and stops at several points of interest that are associated with the city’s squatting movement, cannabis culture and street art scene. As the tour trails past many of Amsterdam’s most enduring, alternative hangouts, it lets visitors quickly familiarise themselves with the city’s less-well-known sights and cultural hotspots.

Self-guided tours

Even though the character hails from Utrecht, there are many examples of the Utrechtse Kabouter in Amsterdam. This bearded, cartoon gnome wears a red-pointed hat and often appears in areas that feature large concentrations of graffiti.

French street art luminary Invader has also mounted dozens of his signature pixellated mosaics in Amsterdam – many of which are labelled on this handy map.

An Invader mosaic near de Waag on Nieuwe Markt

There are several areas in the city that are famed for their street art. In the north there’s NDSM-Werf, an enormous, industrial shipyard that has been converted into an artistic and cultural hotbed, complete with ateliers, venues and restaurants.

Even though it is currently experiencing rapid changes, Spuistraat still features many urban artworks that reflect the area’s deep ties with Amsterdam’s squatting community. De Jordaan is also renowned for its small and large-scale street art including a building-spanning piece from Piet Parra on Tuinstraat and another, giant mural created the London Police on Prinsengracht.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.