
Free ferry ride from Amsterdam Centraal to NDSM wharf to find the best graffiti and urban streetart
At the back of the central station we took the free ferry across the IJ. After about 10 minutes the boat moors at the trendy NDSM wharf. The NDSM wharf (in Dutch “NDSM Werf”) is a creative hotspot in the north of Amsterdam that has become increasingly popular in recent years. Not only because DGTL hosts its festival here every year, but also because beautiful graffiti and urban street art can be found everywhere. You will find here in addition to the works made with a spray can also a lot of sticker and stencil art.
The NSDM yard is a raw area. It looks a bit like Berlin. No structure and very dynamic. Many large ship halls and therefore many walls. The industrial area is a perfect coloring page for the artists. And because the gray of the industry is so dominant, street art and graffiti bring a special color to the yard. At the end of the article we mention every other hotspot in Amsterdam so it’s easy to find al the hotspots in amstedam!
In short the top 9 streetart / graffiti hotspots in Amsterdam:
- NDSM Wharf Amsterdam / Biggest streetart museum in the world
- Hemonylaan: Hugo Kaagman
- London Police Wall
- “Het slangenpad” or Snake Path
- Spuistreet Amsterdam
- Planenstreet
- Amsterdams bridge/ Flevopark
- Abcouderpath
- Head of Java Island
If you are interested there is more information about the graffiti hotspots and the interactive Google Maps below.
Did you know that the Lasloods at the NDSM-Wharf will host the largest Street Art Museum in the world in 2020?
The former Lasloods, which started as a national monument, is twice the size of the famous Tate Modern Turbine Hall in London, with an area of over 7,000 m². The Street Art Museum in the NDSM warehouse in Amsterdam will be the largest Street Art exhibition in the world. Entrepreneurship and manufacturing culture are inextricably linked to the history of the shipyard at the NDSM shipyard. It is under construction, with the first works of art already on display. Including one by Anne Frank, who is already famous. All works are specially made for the museum. This happens at a secret location, where the enormous size of the art can’t be discovered.
Do you want to know more about murals and graffiti around the world?
Welcome to the streetart hart of Amsterdam, take a look at the pictures the Graffiti Wall Art Addicts crew took (Swipe right):
Want to know more legal graffiti hotspots in Amsterdam?
The street art on the walls. Blood, sweat and tears from artists who spent hours working on the perfect combination of colors and images. You focus on the things you are used to and let all the beauty slip by but their is so much more street art to be found in Amsterdam than the above works at the NDSM. Start your journey with street art in Amsterdam and start looking for the most beautiful works in the city center, East and Jordaan.
Street Art Museum Amsterdam:
This beautiful open air museum in Amsterdam New West shows high-rise work by contemporary, renowned, international urban artists. With Stinkfish, Scount, Kenor, Pipsqueak among others.
Hemonylaan: Hugo Kaagman
The Amsterdam “Stencil King” Hugo Kaagman is doing well. The artist has his own street in De Pijp where only his work can be seen. There will probably be ticking over it, but then Kaagman just comes by again to fix it. At the end of the seventies, the old punker was one of the first to focus on stencil art. Art is formed on the wall by means of a template. “Banksy has become popular with stencil art at the beginning of this century, but guys were already working on this art form much earlier. If you look at Blek Le Rat, you see that Banksy is not that original at all. The nice thing is that the Amsterdam Kaagman was even earlier than the two. The harder punk influences are clearly reflected in Kaagman’s art. On the walls you see texts like: “help the poor, fuck the banks” and “please don’t blow yourself up here.” It’s the opposite of hippie culture, it was softer.
NDSM-Wharf:
Accessible with the NDSM ferry from Amsterdam CS as described above. Here are two locations next to each other on one site. Proves itself: a parking lot between the wharf buildings and the descending dock to the water. With nice weather street art trives here.
London Police wall:
Great wall with work by the British-Amsterdam street art artist duo The London Police. Late last century (1998) the men of The London Police exchanged England for Amsterdam. They started their career with autonomous work on the street. They left the characters, which they called “lads” throughout Amsterdam. The men have become very famous muralists. They have largely shed their illegal activities. Now they earn good money with their legal work.
“Het Slangenpand” or the Snake Path:
The snake building / the tobacco buildings. This former street art hotspot in the Spuistraat lost its soul after the squatters’ evacuation in the spring of 2015. And now they are boarded up.
Spuiststreet Amsterdam
The mecca of Amsterdam street art. Many tourists are already taking a selfie with the street art in the Spuistraat, while also enough people do not even look around them as they walk through this street. “De Spuistraat” naturally consists of many different squats. A number of permanent street artists have been trying for some time to make a whole of the street through street art. This is one of the few places in Amsterdam where so much street art can be found in one place.
Platanenstreet:
Corner of Wibautstraat and railway bridge between Oosterparkbuurt and Transvaal. The murals can be found in the dead-end section of the road, on the rear of the residential blocks, with a view to the railway.
Amsterdamsebrug / Flevopark:
Largest hall of fame in Amsterdam. The supporting pillars / walls under the bridge are a draw for graffiti tourists.
Put on old shoes or boots when it rains: it is swampy and muddy under the bridge. With nice weather something is always made. Watch the tram when you cross the end-rails-loop. This is not clear. So don’t stay on track.
Abcouderpad:
Since 2009, R.U.A. Brazilian urban artists traveled from the favels to the Netherlands. In 2014, the Hogevecht flat in Amsterdam Southeast, the staircases of the Hoptille residential block and the underpass of the Karspeldreef viaduct between Hoptille and Hakfort / Huigenbos were fitted with colorful urban murals.
Accessible by Metro 54 and 50, Bullewijk station. Here is also the Heesterveld complex, where you can also see graffiti / murals.
Head of Java eiland:
Separate wall that has been specially set up as a graffiti tolerance place together with a skateboard park.
Articles you may like:
So what is so special about our Instagram?
🔥 We find information around the artwork
🔥 We disclose the location of the artwork
🔥 We tag the artist so you can follow them
🔥 We give the lesser known artist exposure
❤️ Show some love, follow on Instagram


Subscribe for your chance to win ten MTN94 spray paint cans.
Do you want our awesome street art newsletter in your inbox?
💣 Winners will be announced next month
💣 We would love to see a piece you made with the spray cans
💣 Newsletter will be in your mailbox once a month
Subscribe for your chance to win ten MTN94 spray paint cans.
Do you want our awesome street art newsletter in your inbox?
💣 Winners will be announced next month
💣 Newsletter will be in your mailbox once a month