Noord

Noord lies north of the IJ, the waterway that separates it from the city centre. It covers about 49 km², much of it water and countryside, and had about 112,500 residents on 1 January 2026. Since 24 March 2022 the district has been divided into three areas for local planning: Noord-West, Oud-Noord and Noord-Oost.

For most of its history Noord was reached only by ferry. Road tunnels followed from the 1960s (the Coentunnel in 1966, the IJtunnel in 1968, the Zeeburgertunnel in 1990 and a second Coentunnel in 2013), and in 2018 the north–south metro line 52 opened with stations Noord and Noorderpark.

Noord feels more spacious and varied than the inner city, and its parts differ strongly.

• Garden villages (tuindorpen) built from the 1920s onwards, such as Tuindorp Oostzaan, Tuindorp Nieuwendam and Tuindorp Buiksloot, with low-rise housing and small gardens.
• Former industrial land along the IJ: shipbuilding dominated twentieth-century Noord, and the former NDSM shipyard now houses creative industries and media companies. Neighbouring Buiksloterham is being transformed from industry into a mixed residential and work area (see the Buiksloterham profile).
• Rural villages along the Waterland sea dyke (Waterlandse Zeedijk), such as Durgerdam, Ransdorp and Holysloot, with countryside on the doorstep.
• Post-war neighbourhoods and newer apartment buildings fill much of the area in between.

• Metro: line 52 runs from Noord and Noorderpark under the IJ to Centraal Station, Rokin, Vijzelgracht, De Pijp, Europaplein and Station Zuid.
• Ferries: GVB ferries are free for pedestrians and cyclists:
  • F2 Centraal Station – IJplein (every 6 minutes, until shortly before midnight)
  • F3 Centraal Station – Buiksloterweg (also runs at night)
  • F4 Centraal Station – NDSM wharf (every quarter of an hour at busy times; since 1 January 2024 every night until 2:00, and until 3:30 on Friday and Saturday nights)
  • F6 Distelweg – Pontsteiger in the Houthavens (Monday to Friday, 6:30–19:30)
  • F7 NDSM wharf – Pontsteiger (every 20 minutes, including evenings and weekends)
  • F1 Zamenhofstraat – Azartplein in Amsterdam-Oost (daily, every 20 minutes, 6:30–22:30)
• Buses serve the neighbourhoods away from the metro, and the road tunnels connect Noord to the ring road.

Many residents cycle to a ferry or the metro. Check the last ferry and metro times if you often come home late.

Housing ranges from small garden-village homes and post-war flats to new apartment buildings and self-built houses on former industrial land along the IJ.

There is no official rent figure for Noord alone. According to I amsterdam, Amsterdam rents are among the highest in the Netherlands and social housing has waiting times of typically 8 to 18 years, so most newcomers rent privately. Check whether a rent falls under the points system before you sign (see our tenant rights guide).

Noord has a lot of green and open space. The Noorderpark, created in 2014 by joining the Florapark and the Volewijkspark, lies next to the metro, and the Vliegenbos woodland, historically Amsterdam's largest park, lies to the east. The Waterland countryside begins at the edge of the district.

Register in good time for primary school, as many schools keep waiting lists; I amsterdam recommends Scholen op de Kaart to compare schools near your address. Our schools and childcare guides explain the system.