☀️ Essentially Amsterdam for Wednesday 4 November: Amsterdam Museum is 100, €49 train pass may stay, tenant evicted

Wednesday November 4, 2026

Good morning, Amsterdam. Today: the Amsterdam Museum marks 100 years where it began, leaning trees turn Lomanstraat in Zuid into a photo magnet, and Tokio Hotel brings its Arena Tour 2026 to the city with Nia Ashleigh in support.

Amsterdam Museum marks 100 years where it began: Staff past and present celebrated the museum's centenary at the Waag on Nieuwmarkt, where it opened in 1926 as the Amsterdams Historisch Museum with a seven-metre statue of Goliath as its first piece. It moved to the former Burgerweeshuis orphanage on Kalverstraat in 1975, and its collection exceeds 100,000 objects.

Fort Kudelstaart is for sale, but only to monument keepers: Aalsmeer has put the UNESCO-listed fort from 1907 up for sale through a tender that only professional monument organisations can enter, and the buyer gets €981,000 for overdue repairs. Applications close at noon on 20 November; Stadsherstel Amsterdam is reportedly a serious candidate.

Leaning trees turn Zuid's Lomanstraat into a photo magnet: Social media has added to the tourist pull of the Lomanstraat in Zuid, known for its row of leaning plane trees. One resident estimates around 50 people a day come to take photos, and autumn colours are making the street an even bigger draw right now.

Agency behind I amsterdam slogan restarts on the Wallen: KesselsKramer went bankrupt this year after losing work and has been bought by Thijs Boon, former head of Vice in the Netherlands. After 28 years in a former Jordaan church complex, its fifteen staff now work in an old convent wing near the Nieuwmarkt, keeping the name.

Two million Dutch pensioners in line for higher payouts: Funds moving to the new pension system on 1 January are in strong shape, and a calculation for the ten largest suggests retirees' payments could rise 17% on average. Retired civil servants at ABP could gain 13.9%, though falling interest rates or stock market losses could shrink the bonus.

Third restaurant in a decade fails on Westerdoksdijk: Vooges aan 't IJ was declared bankrupt in October with more creditors than it could pay, only months after Daan Vooges took over daily running. The family will now focus on Bar Staal in the Schinkelbuurt, and the curator is selling the restaurant's fittings and contents.

Peggy's litter patrol in Oost recruits Hoxton staff: From her mobility scooter, Peggy picks up litter around the Oostelijk Havengebied and talks local businesses into keeping their surroundings tidy. After she pointed out cigarette butts around The Hoxton Lloyd, the former Lloyd Hotel, eight staff members went out with grabbers and bin bags on 20 October.

Oost residents lose their say over neighbourhood budgets: From 2027 the city will hold no new neighbourhood budget rounds, ending the scheme that let Oost residents propose and vote on local projects. The 19 plans Watergraafsmeer chose in June still go ahead, but how residents will have a say in future remains unclear.

Start-up plans hourly Amsterdam-Paris trains with affordable fares: Dutch company Heurotrain aims to launch high-speed trains between Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris in December 2030, with 16 daily return services against Eurostar's roughly 10. It has raised €125 million, but the trains alone are expected to cost at least €500 million, so it hopes for bank backing and crowdfunding.

Summer €49 train pass could become permanent: A majority in the lower house backs a motion asking the government to develop a permanent off-peak ticket covering trains, buses, trams and metros. The motion sets no price, and PRO has estimated a year-round pass would cost €500 million to €600 million annually.

Pim Muns opens Ten Katestraat bar with eleven friends: The idea came in February, when Muns, keen to do something with his friends again, heard through work that café Topido needed a new owner. After about two months of renovation, the group of twelve opened Bar Kaat in July, and the terrace filled within half an hour.

800 movable homes at Zuidas student complex sold: DHG and Oudendal have acquired the 800 modular homes that currently make up Ravel Residence, a Student Experience complex on Amsterdam's Zuidas. The homes are built to be moved, and their use on this site is ending because the area is being redeveloped.

Amsterdam tenant evicted for subletting social flat at €2,000: The tenant paid housing corporation Stadgenoot just €616 a month, and also owes €782 in arrears. A judge rejected his claim that he lived in the 51 m² flat while renting out a room. Stadgenoot found 13 other people registered there since 2010.

Fewer Dutch women invited for breast cancer screening: A shortage of screening technicians meant nearly 1.2 million women were invited in 2025, against 6% more in 2024; almost 820,000 took part. Health minister Hermans told parliament no improvement is in sight, and the long-running backlog is linked to dozens of extra deaths a year.

Pirate sword-fighting for kids aged 6 to 12, free with Stadspas: Jeff teaches stage-combat attacks, feints and dodges as on a pirate ship, costumes welcome, ending with a short show for parents. 4 November, 15:00 - 16:30, Kinderpret. KIDS WORKSHOP

3D printing and laser cutting for kids at the Noord library makerspace: Children aged 8 to 12 try the 3D printer, laser cutter and vinyl cutter over eight Wednesday afternoons in the library's makerspace. 4 November, 15:00 - 17:00, OBA Waterlandplein - Maakplaats. KIDS WORKSHOP

Tokio Hotel's Arena Tour 2026, with Nia Ashleigh in support: Known for Durch den Monsun and White Lies for over twenty years, the band goes on at nine, after Nia Ashleigh. 4 November, 18:30 - 22:30, AFAS Live. POP / ROCK

Myles Smith's My Mess, My Heart, My Life tour, with Chance Peña: The British songwriter behind Stargazing plays songs from his new album, with Chance Peña opening and tickets issued by phone only. 4 November, 19:30, Ziggo Dome. POP / ROCK

Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves celebrate John Coltrane's centenary: Coltrane played this hall from 1960 to 1963, and the quintet performs Dedicated to You, inspired by his work with Johnny Hartman. 4 November, 20:15 - 21:45, The Concertgebouw. JAZZ / BLUES

Moody folk-blues from Fink, with Angela Autumn opening: Fin Greenall's band tours its ninth album, The City Is Coming to Erase It All, recorded in Zennor, Cornwall. 4 November, 19:00 - 20:30, Paradiso. FOLK / WORLD

Bells of Westertoren, a new work in memory of Louis Andriessen: Derek Bermel, who studied with Andriessen in 1995, reunites with friends from that year to play their own music and Claude Vivier's. 4 November, 20:30, Splendor. CLASSICAL

How Amsterdam repairs its bridges and quay walls, free to visit: A timeline runs from the first canals to future plans, with photos, objects and video showing the work above and below ground. 4 November, 12:00 - 16:00, Bezoekerscentrum Bruggen en Kademuren. ART / MUSEUMS

See with your hands at Arcam's touch model of the Oosterdok: Meant for everyone but especially visitors with a visual impairment, the tactile model comes with audio stories about the Marineterrein and Oosterdok. 4 November, 13:00 - 17:00, Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam. ART / MUSEUMS

WORN, 24 mended and altered garments from 1640 to 1930: Look for mending, soft wear and sweat marks on embroidered 17th-century mules and a dress the Six family wore for generations. 4 November, 09:00 - 17:00, Teekenschool. ART / MUSEUMS

Yoshitoshi: Master of the Moon, a first Dutch showing at the Van Gogh: The first Dutch showing of One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, prints blending Japanese tradition with Western perspective and realism. 4 November, 09:00 - 17:00, Van Gogh Museum. ART / MUSEUMS

Kylián, Goecke and a Noé Soulier premiere in NDT 2's Blast a universe: Two revivals, one set to Tori Amos, sit beside a world premiere with experimental techno, in the season's first NDT 2 programme. 4 November, 20:00 - 22:00, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Rabozaal. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Trace how antiquities reached the Allard Pierson, free with a researcher: Alongside provenance researcher Gijs Burgers, you go through old inventory cards and archive books to follow clay figurines, oil lamps and vases. 4 November, 14:00 - 16:00, Allard Pierson. TALKS / IDEAS

Microbes, 7,000 years of history and your first ferment, at ARTIS: Fermentation chef Christian Weij covers which microbes do the work and their health benefits, and everyone goes home with their first ferment. 4 November, 19:00 - 21:00, Planetariumcafé, ARTIS. WORKSHOP

Inside Ets Haim, the world's oldest working Jewish library: A Dutch-language tour on Amsterdam's first Sephardic Jews, their schools and how the book collection grew, with highlights shown; bring ID. 4 November, 11:15 - 12:15, Portugese Synagoge. TOUR

Romagna's flatbread, filled warm and eaten together: Ten people learn the flatbread of Romagna, fill two each with mozzarella, cold cuts or Sicilian preserves, and leave with the recipe. 4 November, 18:00 - 20:00, La Bottega by Chiara's Food. WORKSHOP

Booker Shortlist Supper Club, three courses and three conversations: Read, or half-read, one shortlisted book, then change seats each course: first with fellow readers of it, then others, then everyone. 4 November, 18:00, Amsterdam. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Dinner with philosopher Frank Meester on why we overrate ourselves: Over the meal, Meester argues that self-importance both exhausts and paralyses us, and that we'd cope better seeing ourselves as social animals. 4 November, 19:00, MidWest. SOCIAL / DRINKS

Free Gen Z Offline Hangout in Zuidoost, phones checked at the door: After an hour to yourself with craft materials and live guitar, there's speedfriending, board games and puzzles, two soft drinks included. 4 November, 19:00 - 22:00, The Cornerstone. SOCIAL / DRINKS

•  Le Petit Chef: Tiny animated chef performs in 3D projections on your plate across four seasonal courses at this long-running dinner theatre experience.

•  Bar TWLV: Zodiac-inspired signature cocktails and globally inspired sharing menu in a stylish bar featuring works by over ten Dutch and international artists.

•  Xiang: The team behind FuLu Mandarin and Oriental City opens this Hunanese restaurant on Oude Doelenstraat, a short walk from Central Station.

 

Daily markets open today: Biomarkt Zeeburg (Van Eesterenlaan), Boerenmarkt Haarlemmerplein (Haarlemmerplein) and Markt Bos en Lommerweg (Bos en Lommerweg). See all markets open today

Customer Researcher: Funda, Amsterdam, EUR 4,457 - 5,498 a month - Conduct interviews, usability tests and other research on Funda’s products and marketing, turning findings into recommendations for the Research team and other teams.

Associate Customer Success Manager: Bynder, Amsterdam, EUR 34,000 - 38,000 a year - Support customers in the Bynder Success Squad by driving adoption, engagement, retention, and growth of the Bynder platform.

Manager Financial Control Open Chain: Tony's Chocolonely, Amsterdam, EUR 95,000 - 105,000 a year - Lead financial control, planning, tax, treasury and compliance for Tony’s Open Chain entities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, advising leaders and developing local finance teams.

Medior Platform Engineer: Transavia, Hoofddorp, EUR 3,600 - 6,000 a month - Build and manage Transavia’s Integration Platform in the Foundations domain, improving cloud services, integrations, automation and monitoring.

More international jobs in Amsterdam: see the full list or get them in your inbox every day.

Looking ahead: Le Guess Who? International Music Festival (from Thu 5 November), Museum Night Amsterdam (Sat 7 November) and TILLATEC Closing Weekender (from Fri 6 November). See the week ahead →

Want to make sure you never miss a day of Essentially Amsterdam? Subscribe here.