Oosterdok

Directly east of Centraal Station is the body of water called the Oosterdok, which was created in 1832 when this part of the IJ was closed off by a dam. (To the west of the station the Westerdok was made in a similar way.) In the last 20 years, there has been a great deal of building going on around the Oosterdok, including the building of a new library with a top-floor restaurant that affords spectacular views over the city, the green copper-clad NEMO Science Center, the ARCAM architecture center, and many hotels and apartment buildings. Opposite NEMO is the Scheepvaartmuseum (Maritime Museum), the top attraction in this area and an impossible-to-overlook example of Dutch 17th-century architecture, while a bit farther to the east you'll find the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ and the swoopy-roofed Passenger Terminal Amsterdam.