Essentially Amsterdam – Sunday, November 1, 2026

Sunday November 1, 2026

Good morning, Amsterdam. Today: Prince Maurits sells his Vondelpark townhouse, the story behind the floating hands in West, and the actor who scares Amsterdam Dungeon visitors for a living.

Station Zuid’s new Brittenpassage opens on Sunday: The new concourse replaces the cramped Minervapassage, which closes from Sunday until at least early 2031 for rebuilding. It is at least 17 metres wide throughout, with wider stairs and parking for 2,000 bikes, as Zuid prepares to grow from 100,000 to at least 250,000 travellers a day.

First Herman Brood painting enters Dutch state collection: An untitled canvas by the singer and artist, who died in 2001, was presented on Thursday in Amersfoort after hanging for years at the Dutch tax office. Curators said Brood, who was colour-blind, favoured primary colours and often painted with a syringe in his early years.

Amsterdam diamond firm Gassan trains new cutters: Family firm Gassan is training apprentices to keep diamond cutting alive in Amsterdam, as only 30 experienced cutters remain in the Netherlands. One is 41-year-old former street paver Raymond Vorm, taught by master Pieter Ouwerkerk, who says mass production in China and India cost Amsterdam its lead.

Odido CEO quits after hack and shelved Amsterdam listing: Søren Abildgaard is being replaced with immediate effect by Tisha van Lammeren, who has worked at the telecom provider and its predecessors for over 20 years. In February, hackers stole personal data of about 6.39 million people, and a planned €1 billion stock market listing was put on hold.

World Vegan Week brings discounts at Amsterdam restaurants: From Sunday 1 to Saturday 7 November, restaurants across the Netherlands take part in the first World Vegan Week, organised by the restaurant platform RestauPlant. In Amsterdam, SOIL Vegan Cafe on Sumatrastraat offers 15% off all dishes, and The Meets gives 10% off bookings made through RestauPlant.

The unpaid volunteers who keep r/Amsterdam civil: Three of the seven moderators of the subreddit, which has more than 300,000 members, met at a café on the Spui and spoke on condition of anonymity. They review about a hundred posts a day for no pay, removing ads, sales, tourist photos and discriminatory posts.

Ghost train behind October’s Amsterdam metro shutdown: GVB’s first investigation found the safety system registered a train that was not there, triggered by work that ignored an instruction, and stopped all lines on 2 October. Resetting the system and relocating each train took hours. Council parties Pro and Denk want alderman Elise Moeskops to talk to GVB.

Hands made by 38 people hang above Bellamystraat: The installation Gebaren_Gestures, an initiative of artist Danièle Scauso, dangles from cables on a house front in Amsterdam-West. The hands were made in workshops at Atelier Meister Scauso, and together they form one large gesture meant to reconnect neighbours with local culture and history.

Teen baker in Slotermeer sells vegan cookies for €1.60: Luka Rubio Repáraz, 18, opened a home bakery in Slotermeer-Noordoost on 1 October, selling plant-based cookies, muffins and €10 banana bread. She says profit is not the aim. Orders go by WhatsApp message before Tuesday at 23:00 for Friday or Saturday pickup, with a €10 minimum.

Free Herman Koch novel at Amsterdam libraries in November: From Sunday 1 November, Amsterdam libraries hand out free copies of Herman Koch’s Het diner for the annual Heel Nederland Leest campaign. You keep it, and no membership is needed, but stock is limited. The novel follows two couples at dinner, asking how responsible parents are for their children.

Schiphol cap leaves new airlines facing two-year wait: From Sunday, Schiphol is capped at a maximum of 478,000 take-offs and landings, so airlines hoping to start flying there will have to join the back of the queue. The artificial scarcity is expected to make flying from the airport more expensive for travellers, who stand to lose out.

Alibaba Cloud opens two data centres in Amsterdam: The new region is Alibaba Cloud’s first in the Netherlands and its fourth in Europe, after Frankfurt, London and Paris. It lets businesses keep data stored locally, and is part of a US$53 billion push into AI and cloud. A first region in Finland follows within a year.

Once called Amsterdam’s ugliest, central bank building wins prize: De Nederlandsche Bank has won the Gouden Piramide, a national prize awarded every two years for inspiring commissioning in architecture and planning. Mecanoo’s renovation added a public hall, a public courtyard garden on a former car park and a space showing the bank’s art collection.

How Oost’s ballet academy trains its young dancers: The Nationale Balletacademie, tucked away on a business park near Overamstel metro station, trains around 200 young dancers from primary school to higher education in one building. Pupils also take lessons in mental skills, and an outreach programme aims to reach children who rarely encounter ballet.

Prince Maurits sells Vondelpark townhouse for €6.3 million: Prince Maurits has sold his house in Amsterdam-Zuid, near the Vondelpark, which he bought in 2006 for €2.6 million. That leaves him a profit of roughly €3.7 million. The property has 436 square metres spread over four floors, with five bedrooms and a south-facing garden.

Anouscha, 27, scares Amsterdam Dungeon visitors for a living: Every day at the Amsterdam Dungeon, horror actor Anouscha frightens the visitors who come through. A reporter tries the job herself for the YouTube series Side Quest to see whether just anyone can do it, and admits it is going completely wrong.

Story time and bird painting on pebbles in the Jordaan: Author Cristina Zanon reads Pinguïn is verliefd, about a penguin in love, then children aged four to eight paint birds on pebbles. 1 November, 14:00, De Kinderboekwinkel. STORY / READING

Ukulele, singing saw and a lamb who’s really a piglet: Het Filiaal stages Pim Lammers’ picture books for ages four and up, and this performance has a Dutch Sign Language interpreter. 1 November, 14:30, Theater De Krakeling. FAMILY SHOW

Troll snot and spider soup at a SoWhat family concert: An hour of classical music, jazz and storytelling about a scared ghost and a gnome, where children clap, dance and join in. 1 November, 11:00, ‘t Zonnehuis. FAMILY SHOW

Family Sunday: Pan, an escape adventure for ages 8 and up: Part of the theatre’s family Sundays, this show for ages eight and up follows an adventurous escape for anyone wanting freedom. 1 November, 15:00, Bijlmer Parktheater. FAMILY SHOW

‘It’s still quiet for now’, a stage show for ages 8+: A Sunday afternoon theatre show for children eight and up, its Dutch title Nu is het nog rustig meaning ‘it’s still quiet for now’. 1 November, 15:00, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Rabozaal. FAMILY SHOW

Film Magic at Eye: short films, then a family workshop: Kids from six watch short films from the collection, then make sound effects, flipbooks or drawings on film strips, with an adult. 1 November, Eye Filmmuseum. KIDS WORKSHOP

Floor Jansen and ISE in Paradiso’s Grote Zaal: The Dutch soprano who started in After Forever and now fronts Nightwish plays a headline show, with ISE also on the bill. 1 November, 20:30, Paradiso. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Scottish guitar pop from Teenage Fanclub, with Euros Childs in support: The Scottish band behind Bandwagonesque, once called the best band in the world by Kurt Cobain, plays melancholic, harmony-led guitar pop. 1 November, 19:30, Tolhuistuin. POP / ROCK

Bach & Breakfast with Nicolas Altstaedt on a Sunday morning: An early Sunday concert of Bach, played by Nicolas Altstaedt, in the Muziekgebouw’s morning series on the IJ waterfront. 1 November, 09:30, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. CLASSICAL

The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic, playing as one ensemble: Twelve cellists from the Berlin Philharmonic step out of the orchestra to play together as their own ensemble, on cello alone. 1 November, 18:30, Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ. CLASSICAL

Four Bach motets sung from memory by Solomon’s Knot: The English ensemble works without a conductor or scores, plays straight through with no interval, and drinks come with the ticket. 1 November, 15:00 – 16:15, The Concertgebouw. CLASSICAL

Cello, harmonica, piano and accordion for the Cello Biennale: Harmonica player Hermine Deurloo, pianist Gwilym Simcock and accordionist Vincent Peirani, who met in London in 2024, add cellist François Salque. 1 November, 20:00 – 21:00, Bimhuis. CLASSICAL

Shearwater and Loma share one bill, their first shows since 2018: Both bands include songwriter Jonathan Meiburg and producer Dan Duszynski, both have Austin roots, and Any Kind also plays. 1 November, 19:30, Bitterzoet. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Zwart Wit, Kronenburg Park and other Frank Boeijen songs: The Nijmegen songwriter, described as a founder of Dutch pop, returns, and We Are Public members can reserve a free place. 1 November, 20:00, Melkweg. TALKS / IDEAS

Blitz games and Guess the ELO at the GothamChess live show: Levy Rozman, the International Master behind the YouTube channel, takes on several opponents at once in blitz, with live commentary and analysis. 1 November, 20:00, Theater Amsterdam. GAMES / HOBBIES

Say goodbye to the Minervapassage as Zuid’s new tunnel opens: The old Minervapassage tunnel at Zuid station gets a festive send-off on the day the new Brittenpassage opens for travellers. 1 November, 12:00 – 17:00, Station Amsterdam Zuid. FESTIVAL / FAIR

Divali Festival of Lights, with a free torchlight procession first: Sanjay Jodha, Mousumi Oberoi and others perform with the Avishkar Orchestra, after a family torch walk that loops from Meervaart. 1 November, 16:30, Meervaart. FESTIVALS

Brainwash Festival’s closing day, themed ‘the shape of us’: Scarlet Tummers, Hannah Zaouad and Marijn Ottenhof present work at what’s billed as the largest thinking festival in Belgium and the Netherlands. 1 November, all day, Tolhuistuin. FESTIVALS

Makers’ stalls and free entry at Sunday Market Westergas: Makers and vendors set up in a nineteenth-century gas factory turned cultural park, with free entry and more stalls still being announced. 1 November, 12:00 – 18:00, Westergas. FOOD / MARKETS

Murder at Bellum Manor, a gothic drag dinner whodunnit: Drag queens act out a Halloween ball murder over three vegetarian courses, diners question them, and the best gothic outfit wins fifty euros. 1 November, 18:00, Restaurant Elixer. THEATER

Bunker Chess Club, Sunday games in a Vondelpark shelter: Chess players gather in the Vondelbunker, the old shelter under the bridge in Vondelpark, for a Sunday afternoon of games. 1 November, 14:30, Vondelbunker. GAMES / HOBBIES

Draw from a live model at OT301 on a Sunday afternoon: Boards and basic materials are provided for this weekly ninety-minute session, which needs advance sign-up and takes a suggested ten euro donation. 1 November, 13:30, 4bid Gallery. WORKSHOP

The Singing Room, a pop-up gospel choir where you sing too: You sing in the hall alongside ZO! Gospel Choir members rather than watching, led by its vocalists and pianist Quincy Adolphin. 1 November, 14:00, ZOJazz Stage • Concertzaal. WORKSHOP

Bring your own project to Uncommon Ground, a free Marineterrein makerspace: No programme, just a room in the Commandantswoning to sketch, code, sew or write, dropping in any time from ten to six. 1 November, 09:00, COWO (Commandantswoning). WORKSHOP

Two hours with clay on the Oudeschans, no experience needed: A beginners’ session in building forms, adding texture and trying simple tools, with materials, guidance, tea and a cookie included. 1 November, 13:00, Amsterdam House of Arts & Crafts. WORKSHOP

Swap clothes and mend the ones you keep at Kaskantine: Bring clothes you no longer wear, leave with something different, and mend anything that needs a stitch or a patch. 1 November, 11:00, Kaskantine. WORKSHOP

A henna afternoon of colour and company in the Diamantbuurt: Run by volunteers, the community centre on Smaragdplein gives the afternoon over to henna, colour and good company. 1 November, 13:30, Plan C. WORKSHOP

•  NK Thai Noodles: Family-owned Thai noodle restaurant run by Kai and Nu serves hard-to-find pink noodles daily from noon to 10 p.m.

•  Yên dining bar: Yên dining bar serves Vietnamese food.

•  The Siren: Two-floor restaurant on the Rokin blends Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine with cocktails, lounge bar, and private dining.

 

Daily markets open today: Art Amsterdam Spui (Spui) and Nieuwmarkt.

Engineering Manager, Financial Platform: Adyen, Amsterdam – Lead and develop 7, 8 backend engineers building and modernising the Financial Platform, which supports Adyen’s financial products and core monetary processing.

West Europe IWS/SPARK Trainer: PepsiCo, Zaandam – Train and coach manufacturing teams across regional sites in IWS, TPM and Lean, auditing progress and eliminating operational losses.

Werkstudent Business Operations – Managed Services: KPMG, Amstelveen – Support long-term client projects in the Managed Services Public Sector team, helping provide ongoing services for clients’ critical business processes.

Marketing Manager: KLM, Schiphol – Develop data-driven B2B marketing plans, campaigns and brand communications for EPCOR’s international aviation business, supporting sales; the key requirement is 3 to 5 years of relevant marketing experience.

More international jobs in Amsterdam: see the full list or get them in your inbox every day.

Looking ahead: Le Guess Who? International Music Festival (from Thu 5 November), Museum Night 2026 (Wed 4 November) and ISPO 2026 Sports and Outdoor Trade Fair (from Tue 3 November). See the week ahead →

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