Amsterdam’s ‘Golden Age’ was an era of power, trade connections with faraway and exotic places, and stupendous wealth. It was also a time blighted by war, piracy, and slavery. On this walking tour with Context Travel expert Marko Kassenaar, you’ll find out how Amsterdam became a bustling city with a trade network all over the European continent, and why this ‘Golden Age’ in the 1600s was spectacularly successful. He’ll also help you to imagine what central Amsterdam was like when this was a noisy, smelly neighborhood filled with carpenters, ropers, and caulkers, from sunrise until sunset. The tour starts in the famous square, Nieuwmarkt, outside De Waag (The Weighing House), originally a city gate that provided Amsterdammers with a clear view for shooting their enemies. You’ll make your way to Rembrandt House Museum and hear about the era when painters like Rembrandt lived and worked here, and the famous Amsterdam canal belt was built. During this stroll along the city’s waterways, you’ll also learn about Hendrick de Keyser, the architect who is credited with designing almost every church and tower in Amsterdam, including Zuiderkerk (South Church), the first church in the city built for Protestants. On this Amsterdam walking tour, you’ll also have an opportunity to: • Visit the headquarters and warehouse of the East India Trading Company, the world’s first multinational organization, and learn how it enhanced Amsterdam’s market for exotic products from spices and silk, to porcelain and tea • Admire the Portuguese Synagogue of Amsterdam, the largest in the world when it opened in 1675, and a symbol of how important the Jewish community had become for the city • Stop outside Huis de Pinto, a cultural center that was named after the De Pintos, Portuguese-Jewish bankers who saved the Republic from bankruptcy in 1748 by financing the government while it waged war against France • Find out how the gables on warehouses around Oude Waal (Old Shipyard Street) helped shippers and suppliers, and see floating houses in a former shipping neighborhood • Pass by Bantam Bridge and discover how the Javanese city of Bantam, famous for its profitable pepper and spices, changed Amsterdam’s fortune • Learn about the Dutch West India Company (or GWC) which ran a monopoly on the West Indies and traded gold, sugar, animal skin – and enslaved people • See the Maritime Museum (Het Scheepvaartmuseum) from across the harbor and spot various other maritime symbols in the city where water is its heart and soul Our tour ends near Dam Square, on the other side of the Royal Palace Amsterdam. By the end of this 90-minute stroll along the city’s waterways, you’ll have a better grasp of the key events in Amsterdam’s history, and its powerful role in trade throughout the world.