Zuidoost

Zuidoost (stadsdeel Zuidoost) became part of Amsterdam on 1 August 1966, when the city annexed the land on which the Bijlmermeer was then built. It covers about 22 km² and had 95,385 residents on 1 January 2026.

The district is divided into four areas:

• Bijlmer-West: the Amstel III business area and Bullewijk.
• Bijlmer-Centrum: Venserpolder and the Amsterdamse Poort.
• Bijlmer-Oost: Ganzenhoef, Geerdinkhof, Kantershof and surrounding neighbourhoods.
• Gaasperdam: Holendrecht, Nellestein, Reigersbos and Gein.

Driemond, formerly part of Zuidoost, has belonged to the Weesp area (stadsgebied Weesp) since Weesp joined Amsterdam in 2022.

The Bijlmermeer was built with large honeycomb-shaped high-rise blocks (honingraatflats) set among extensive green space. From the 1990s many of these blocks were demolished or renovated in a long urban renewal programme, and much of the district now combines remaining high-rise with low-rise housing and new buildings.

On 4 October 1992 a cargo plane crashed into the Groeneveen and Klein-Kruitberg flats in the Bijlmermeer; the disaster (Bijlmerramp) remains an important part of local memory.

Zuidoost is one of Amsterdam's most diverse districts, with substantial Surinamese and Ghanaian communities, among many others. The annual Kwakoe summer festival celebrates this cultural mix. The district is also a regional destination: the Johan Cruijff ArenA stadium and the ArenAPoort entertainment and shopping area sit next to Bijlmer ArenA station, the Amsterdamse Poort shopping centre serves Bijlmer-Centrum, and the AMC location of Amsterdam UMC lies on the south-western edge. The Amstel III office area is being transformed into a denser mixed urban district.

• Metro: lines 50 and 54 run through the west and south (Strandvliet, Bijlmer ArenA, Bullewijk, Holendrecht, Reigersbos, Gein); line 53 serves the east (Venserpolder, Verrijn Stuartweg, Ganzenhoef, Kraaiennest, Gaasperplas). Line 54 runs to the city centre and Centraal Station, line 50 along the ring to Station Zuid, Lelylaan and Sloterdijk.
• Train: Bijlmer ArenA and Holendrecht stations have regular rail services; Duivendrecht and Diemen Zuid, just outside the district, are also interchanges.
• Buses link the neighbourhoods with the stations.

The metro lines are due to be renumbered in December 2027, when lines 50 and 53 are planned to merge into one route.

Housing includes the remaining Bijlmer high-rise blocks, renovated and new low-rise housing built during the renewal programme, and newer apartment buildings, for example in the transforming Amstel III area.

There is no official rent figure for Zuidoost 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).

Green space is one of Zuidoost's strengths. The Nelson Mandelapark and Bijlmerweide lie in the Bijlmer, and the Gaasperpark with the Gaasperplas lake in the south-east offers space for walking and recreation; much of the green is managed by the regional recreation body Groengebied Amstelland.

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