There are hunderds of popular walking routes and day itineraries in Amsterdam (we also have a few!). But how about a creative one? You have probably heard about KLM Delft Blue houses. Each of them is a miniature replica of a real Dutch house. Curious what they look like in real life? Let’s take a walk in Amsterdam and find the KLM houses in the city!
The KLM houses route starts and ends at Amsterdam Centraal Station. The complete route about 13 km long and takes around 3 hours. You can decide to make a complete KLM houses route in one day, or take separate walks along Singel, Keizersgracht, Herengracht, or in the Red light district.
I decided to find a selection of KLM houses which I have in my collection or saw in the KLM historic house game. The first one on my list is KLM house number 10 – on Oudezijds Voorburgwal 57, Amsterdam, in the middle of Red light district, opposite of the Oude Kerk (the oldest building in Amsterdam, now open to public) and Our Lord in the Attic Museum. This house, built in 1615 by Hendrick de Keyser, is called De Gecroonde Raep.
The KLM house number 72 is a canal house on Singel 87, Amsterdam, built around 1730.
Good to know! Many of the houses on the route are actually open to the public. For example house number 80 at Gravenstraat behind the New Church on Dam Square. Here you will find De Drie Fleschjes (The Three Little Bottles) authentic 17th-century café – the oldest tasting room in Amsterdam. Why not pay a visit? 🙂
By the way, behind the monument on Dam Square, at Pijlsteeg 31, you’ll find KLM house number 11, which is also a famous tasting room – Wynand Focking. It’s our favourite tasting room in Amsterdam, also included in our 2-days itinenary in Amsterdam.
History of KLM houses
Each year, to celebrate the company’s birthday on 7 October, KLM airlines release a new Delft Blue KLM House. There are now 104 of them, and the house number 105 is on its way.
And the house number 105, released in 2024, is Het Huis aan de Drie Grachten (the House on Three Canals), Oudezijds Voorburgwal 249. This mansion in the center of Amsterdam dates from 1610 and borders three canals: the Grimburgwal, the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and the Oudezijds Achterburgwal.
The tradition started in 1952. Since then the Delft Blue KLM Houses are given as a present to the World Business Class passengers on all KLM intercontinental flights. These miniature houses, filled with Dutch gin, are real copies of the canal houses in Amsterdam and sometimes also from other historical places in the Netherlands.
Each of 105 houses has a unique story worth reading. You can check the whole houses collection with descriptions in the Delft Blue houses app:
These unique gifts have become collector’s items. There are hundreds of people worldwide hunting for the most rare items. Some KLM houses are worth hundreds, if not thousands, euros.
And while some people are collecting the KLM houses, why not start collecting memories? I bet your KLM houses walk in Amsterdam will be a day to remember.
Credentials:
- The KLM houses route originally comes from a blog post on KLM website. It’s not available on the website anymore, but you can find and read it in the Web Archive.
- All photos are my own.
- The cards used on the photos are from KLM historic house game, which is luckily also my own 🙂
Related articles:
- Amsterdam itinerary: best of the city in 2 days
- Canal cruises in Amsterdam
- Things to do in Amsterdam with kids
- I amsterdam card: what is free and how to use it?
- De 9 Straatjes – Amsterdam’s Nine little streets