Escort Amsterdam Noord: the north bank has its own swagger

Start at the Buiksloterweg ferry landing. The A'DAM Lookout rises beside it, a former office tower with a rooftop deck and a swing hung out over the edge, and next door the white, sharply angled Eye Filmmuseum looks ready to sail away. Head west along the water and you reach the NDSM wharf, a shipyard turned creative quarter with a giant crane, murals on every wall and a vast flea market that fills its old halls on selected weekends. Head east and the dyke villages begin: Nieuwendammerdijk with its painted wooden houses, then Durgerdam, where the capital suddenly feels like a fishing village. In between lie Noorderpark and the busy market street of Van der Pekstraat.

Our companions set off from the home districts south of the IJ. The quickest routes to Overhoeks are the metro under the river to Noorderpark or Noord station, or the ferry from behind Centraal Station, a crossing of around five minutes. A taxi uses the IJ tunnel. For the Overhoeks side, an hour's notice is normally enough. NDSM lies further out and its ferry sails less often late at night, so give us a little more time there. Name the exact building and entrance, because several new blocks share the same waterfront and look alike after dark.

Noord is one crossing from Amsterdam Centrum, where the canal ring begins. Along the eastern waterfront, Amsterdam Oost picks up the docklands story, and to the west Amsterdam West starts at Westerpark. Wherever you stay, check our rates and send your hotel name, and we will tell you who can make the crossing tonight.