OLD CENTER
The Old Center is home to the Red Light District and most of the main tourist attractions with the exception of the museums. Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Nieuwmarkt, sexy storefronts and a seemingly endless supply of "coffee shops" keep the area packed with eager--and often gawking--tourists. This is the bulls-eye of tourism in Amsterdam, generally dirty, chaotic and crowded.

GRACHTENGORDEL SOUTH
The most elegant area of the city center, Grachtengordel South features opulent residences, mansion-lined streets, and a hot nightlife scene. The area boasts Rembrandtsplein and Leidseplein, the former butter market and a former horse and buggy drop-off point, both of which have been reborn as hot spots for bars, clubs, restaurants, and no small number of tourist traps.

GRACHTENGORDEL WEST
An expansive area in the center of town, two minutes from Dam and the Old Center, the Grachtengordel West features gorgeous 17th century canal houses and Westerkerk, the finest church in Amsterdam. Westermarkt, famous for the world's first memorial to persecuted gays and lesbians and Anne Frank's House are also here.

MUSEUMPLEIN
The most popular area of town outside the city center, the Museumplein is a pleasing, 19th Century residential area crowded with museums and parks. Museums here include the Rijksmuseum (National Museum), providing an impressive collection of 15th-17th Century Dutch paintings (including an enormous Rembrandt collection), the Van Gogh Museum and the Museum of Contemporary and Modern Art. The other big attraction of the area is the Vondel Park, which was celebrated in the '70s as a playground for sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

PLANTAGEBUURT
The Plantagebuurt is a quiet, green neighborhood, ten-minutes from the center of town, featuring a couple of museums, a zoo, the Rembrandt Home, and a difficult history. The Jewish neighborhood from the 16th Century until World War II, the Plantagebuurt was once bustling with factories and commerce. Its location, completely surrounded by canals, allowed German invaders during WWII to isolate the area, creating a Jewish ghetto. Following the war, many of the homes, tragically deserted, were dismantled in order to provide wood for the cold winter. The area was renovated in the 70s, and today only the synagogue and Jewish Museum remind visitors of the neighborhood's troubled past.

THE JORDAAN
Located West of Grachtengordel West, the Jordaan attracted the city's first immigrants in the 17th century, a period of incredible prosperity in Amsterdam. As it was located outside of the city limits at that time, the Jordaan wasn't subject to strict zoning and development regulations, evident today by the architectural contrast it provides. In the early 20th Century, the Jordaan became the working class neighborhood and many buildings fell into sad disrepair. Since the 80s, the area has seen extensive renovation and, due to relatively inexpensive rents, has experienced a rebirth as the artist and "alternative" neighborhood.