On endless cloudy and rainy days, Oud-West, Amsterdam looks similar to a monochromatic painting. But the day I got my new Nike Air Max 720s and took them for a spin around the neighborhood, the things I love about Oud-West started to pop extra with color.
Walking on clouds or rather, the most Air that Nike’s ever put into their sneakers than before, I had a renewed take on this neighborhood.
Enjoy my take on this trendy neighborhood of Amsterdam, and get both local and tourist insight.
This post is brought to you by Nike and contains affiliate links. All content and insight are my own.
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Oud-West at a Glance
Oud-West is a trendy neighborhood right outside the UNESCO World Heritage site of Amsterdam. It’s full of hip bars and shops but also local restaurants and establishments rooted in the neighborhood’s diverse history.
Click here to check out the new Nike Air Max 720s.
Like city center, Oud-West too has its own canals and boats, but in contrast, the canals are more spacious. Following suit, so are the streets, restaurants, shops, and even apartments. Everything is a tad bit bigger here than in the center making it easier to move around, or in my case, dance about in my new Nike Air Max 720s.
The neighborhood overall has much chiller family and local vibe compared to the city center and definitely worth a visit if you want to experience a less touristy neighborhood.
Touristy Things to Do in Oud-West
de Hallen
One of the main reasons you might venture out to Oud-West is because of de Hallen, which used to be a warehouse where they renovated trams. Now it has a street food style court with a range of cuisines such as Vietnamese, Mexican, and Indian, an independent movie theatre, and local artists’ shops.
The Foodhallen fun place to go with a group of friends, grab food from different stalls, and share family style. On top of the food, they also have a gin and tonic bar and local craft beer bar.
Pro Tip: It gets really busy starting after 7PM on Thursdays to Sundays (give or take a couple of hours) so it may be hard finding seating for a big group.
Ten Kate Markt
If you’re thinking about visiting or even living in Amsterdam, this market is a must-visit.
Right outside de Hallen is my favorite open-air market of Amsterdam, Ten Kate Markt. Locals come here to get bread, vegetables, cheese, and flowers for their home while tourists come here to have a bite or two.
Even if you’re just here for a weekend, I still recommend buying a bunch of tulips or flowers because most are about three euros! At the very least, grab Dutch fries here, a falafel broodje (sandwich) at the stand at the end, a pastrami sandwich at the Italian stand or bread from the bakery at the end.
If you’d rather sit down and enjoy a beer, you can get to the cafe at the shorter end of the market with plenty of picnic benches for large groups.
Besides de Hallen and Ten Kate Markt, there are a handful of other delicious restaurants and fun shops around so simply head to Ten Katestraat or Jan Pieter Heijestraat to check them out!
Local Insight on Oud-West
Click here to check out the new Nike Air Max 720s.
Walking around Oud-West, you’ll find little pops of color here and there and notice how fun it can be to get outdoors, even on super cloudy days. For example, there are ping-pong tables and mini soccer fields sprinkled around the neighborhood.
More common than ping-pong tables and soccer fields are the playgrounds set up for kids. The city really encourages children to get out and play.
Oud-West has really cute characteristics everywhere like the community garden, decorated bikes, and orange curtains on boats to add a pop of color to this grey and rainy atmosphere.
Even something as mundane as their garbage system fits seamlessly into the characteristics of this neighborhood: clean and well taken care of.
You might my expat’s guide to living in Amsterdam.
Walking Around in my Nike Air Max 720s
Not sure if it was because of the vibrant color or because the Nike Air Max 720s have the most Air in them than any other Nikes before, but walking around Oud-West in my new Nike Air Max 720s added a new pep in my step.
Besides the excitement they added to my day, I couldn’t believe how comfortable they were right out of the box— no need to break them in! That’s saying a lot considering I have plantar fasciitis, which is nerve pain and muscle tension all throughout my feet.
They are definitely sneakers that’ll be in my daily footwear routine whether it’s out with friends, to dinner, or even to a business meeting!
Thanks for making it all the way down to the end of the post. If you have any questions at all about the Nike Air Max 720s, how to style them, or about Oud-West, feel free to DM me on Instagram @sarchetrit.
Till then, thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!
xo,
Sarah
