Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam
One coffee plant from this garden seeded the entire coffee culture of Central and South America.
Coming soon on iOS — be first to walk Amsterdam offline.
Founded in 1638 as a medicine garden for Amsterdam's doctors and apothecaries — not a pleasure park. Dutch East India Company traders brought back plants for commercial potential; two potted oil palms from Mauritius later seeded Southeast Asia's entire palm oil industry. Nearly closed in 1987 when the University of Amsterdam stopped funding it. Community supporters kept it alive; the Amsterdam City Council now backs it.
What to look for
- The Snippendaal Garden: the 796-species medicinal collection catalogued in 1646, still growing — called the 17th-century pharmacopoeia of Amsterdam
- The Palm House (1912) in Amsterdam School expressionist architecture, built specifically to keep director Hugo de Vries from leaving
- The hexagonal pavilion from the late 1600s, one of the oldest standing structures on the grounds
In the Plantage district; the entrance gate dates from the early 1700s.
Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Amsterdam, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Amsterdam pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Amsterdam
- RijksmuseumOne million objects collected over 200 years — and the 8,000 on display include the Dutch Golden Age painters who changed what art could be.
- Amstel RiverAmsterdam literally means "Amstel Dam" — the city takes its name from a medieval dam built across this river.
- Van Gogh MuseumThe world's largest Van Gogh collection exists because his sister-in-law spent years refusing to let his unsold work disappear.
- WeespA town that Holland deliberately over-fortified — then flooded on purpose to hold back armies.
- Johan Cruyff ArenaThe Netherlands' largest stadium exists because Amsterdam lost the 1992 Olympics bid to Barcelona — and built something better anyway.
- Defence Line of Amsterdam (Stelling van Amsterdam)Dutch engineers turned the polder itself into a weapon: flood the fields to about 30 centimetres — too shallow for boats to cross — and Amsterdam becomes an island.