Quick Details
Join Mark or Lee on a live-streamed walk, cycle or boat ride! We broadcast live using Zoom and show you around telling stories along the way. You see what we see and every now and then we pop in front of the camera too. We include screen shares of maps, interiors or details of what we are talking about. We chat and take questions.
As these are Private Tours you can add your own friends and family to the Zoom tour. Up to 10 computer link-ups works fine. The price stays the same regardless of how many of your friends you invite to join us. They can watch from their own computer in their own home.
The start time will change depending on where you are in the world. So once you have decided on the date you want to book a tour we can agree a that works for both of us.
If you are interested in joining one of the below tours on a group tour, with other people you don’t know, then also email me and I will let you know the options available.
All the arangements are made by email or phone:
Tel / WhatsApp +31 6272 69604
Here’s a list of 1 hour tours that are available:
The route covers: Central Station, the Zeedijk Old Church, China Town, Nieuwmarkt, Dutch East Indies Co HQ, Dam Square, Canal Belt & Jordaan. All the expected topics are covered as well as any areas of interest that you have. There’s a bit of history, culture, social policy, architecture, art, Golden Age, royalty, canals & water managemt.
Discover why Amstedam was tolerant and the famous instances of this: When it was illegal but tolerated to be Catholic. Why prostitution was tolerated and the Red Light District allowed to develop. What led to the relaxed soft drug policy in the Netherlands. Finally how tolerance chaged over the centuries from a putting-up-with-of-differences to a celebration of diversity!
Houses are Amsterdam’s most iconic feature. Find out all about them, their shapes, odd sizes, tendency to lean over. Mark will show you the best preserved wooden house in the city as well as the grandest and smallest houses. Depending on the day and time we may be able to arrange access to go inside Amsterdam’s smallest house during the tour.
The Skinny Bridge is Amstedam’s favourite bridge and spans the Amstel River which is lined with house boats. This is the starting point to an exploration of the southern canal belt, where the really rich people lived during Amsterdam’s Golden Age. Mark talks about the housboats and grand houses with anecdoes of the movers and shakers of the time.
Start on Dam Square in front of the Royal Palace and find out why we have a monarchy. The walk though the western canal belt charts the separation of rich and poor in 17th century Amsterdam and the social changes that went with this. The tour finishes in the Jordaan, the old workers’ district that despite gentrification still has charming a neighbourhood feel.
Amsterdam is full of impressive buildings that existed during the iconic Golden Age painter’s lifetime. Lee will retrace his steps through the old town to see where his paintings hung, where he worked and lived, and learn about his life and work along the way.
How did a country so famous for freedom cope under strict Nazi rule during world war II? Lee will cover topics such as the initial invasion, what general life was like for different groups in society, the liberation, and how the war is remembered today.
Explore the many monuments to brave Amsterdammers in the beautiful Plantage district. Learn about who participated in the resistance, where, and how they were funded. Special focus is given to women and members of the LGBT community who have often been overlooked in the history books.
We can cruise the grand canal belt including the Jordaan district. We can explore the Western Islands and pop over the Ij to interesting NDSM area, we can also explore the Eastern Harbour area with its varied modern architecture.
Learn how windmills work and see the majestic mills that line the Zaan river. These are set next to a delighful village of saved wooden houses that were painstakingly moved to their current location by barge and trailer in the 1960s!
The Golden Streets and the Grote Markt, Haarlem’s central market square, is a picturesque and beautiful place to learn a bit of Dutch history as reflected in the buildings of the period. The massive Grote Kerk dominates the town and the square is lined with imortant and prefectly restored witnesses to Haarlem’s rich and varied past.
Explore Haarlem and hit the main highlights on a virtual tour with mark on a bicycle! The route is very flexible but can cover the southern parkland, the main grand square, Corrie ten Boom, a cycle along the Sparne river with its imposing windmill as well as a walk though some of Haarlem’s charming back streets.
What a gem, hidden between the tourist magnets of Vollendam and Marken. This old Protestant town has been restored countless times over the centuries and the result is an incredibly attractive and laid back place. It has been popular as a day trip destination for Amsterdammers of taste for hundreds of years!