30 min
30 min
51 · 53 · 54 · 1 · 12 · 14 · 19 · 26
1.7 / km²
6
6
1,572
City average
Counted from OpenStreetMap and Inside Airbnb (CC BY 4.0)
Mixed after dark
The area around the Oosterpark and the streets east of it are ordinary working-class Amsterdam by day and can feel edgy late at night. The Docklands and IJburg are quiet but very empty after dark.
Staying in Oost
Oost runs from the Amstel all the way out to artificial islands in the IJ, and Wikivoyage's own article opens by warning that it is not one place. The part worth booking is the western end: the Oosterpark, the Dappermarkt, and the streets around Wibautstraat, which are 25 to 30 minutes on foot from Dam Square, served by metro 51, 53 and 54 and by trams 1, 12, 14 and 19, and cheaper than anything in Zuid.
The Eastern Docklands north of it are the other good option - 1990s architecture on the old harbour islands, quiet, with the 26 tram running straight to Centraal in about ten minutes. Beyond them, IJburg is 30 to 40 minutes from the centre and is a suburb with a beach, not a base for a city break.
So the district is a coin toss unless you check the address. It has almost no hotels of its own - most of the stock is apartments - very little to see, and Wikivoyage notes that some travellers are not comfortable in the neighbourhoods east of the Oosterpark. Book the strip between the Amstel and the Oosterpark, or the Docklands, and it is good value. Book by borough name and you may end up on an island.
What works
- Metro 51, 53 and 54 plus trams 1, 12, 14 and 19 cover the western half
- About 25 to 30 minutes on foot to Dam Square from the Oosterpark
- The Dappermarkt and the Javastraat markets are the cheapest eating in the city
- The Eastern Docklands are quiet modern architecture, ten minutes from Centraal on tram 26
- Rooms and apartments cost less than the equivalent in Zuid or the centre
What does not
- The borough is not one place: the address decides whether you are 25 minutes out or 40
- IJburg and Watergraafsmeer are suburbs, and every trip in is a train or tram ride
- Almost no hotel stock - most of what is listed here is short-let apartments
- Nothing to see beyond a park and a market, so sightseeing always means leaving
- The streets east of the Oosterpark can feel uncomfortable to some visitors at night
It should not be regarded as a homogeneous area, as there are many different neighbourhoods with their own cultures and identities.Oost is largely safe, but there are some neighbourhoods east of Oosterpark where some travelers might not feel comfortable.