Escort Amsterdam West: tram depots, gasworks, late kitchens

Oud-West is the core. Kinkerstraat and Jan Pieter Heijestraat cut through it, and between them stands De Hallen, a restored tram depot that now holds a food hall, a cinema and a library under one roof. The Ten Katemarkt runs right alongside.

North of there, Westerpark wraps around the Westergasfabriek, the old gasworks turned cultural park, with venues, restaurants and open lawns. Just beyond, Het Schip, a brick housing block in Amsterdam School style, pulls architecture fans into the Spaarndammerbuurt.

Further out, De Baarsjes gathers around Mercatorplein and its lanes of cafés, with Rembrandtpark and Erasmuspark for green space. And at the edge of it all, Sloterdijk station and its office blocks form a small business district of their own beside the ring road.

Two very different hotel scenes. In Oud-West and around the parks, stays are small and full of character: a converted industrial building, a boutique place above a café, and plenty of apartment rentals in the long brick rows. Around Sloterdijk, it is business and chain hotels, built for people catching early trains or working in the offices next door.

Sloterdijk looks deserted once the offices shut. That is normal. Tell the desk which side of the station you are on and she walks straight in.

West borders the Jordaan, and a good share of the roster lives there. For Oud-West, Westerpark and De Baarsjes, an hour is realistic most nights and often generous. Companions from Oud-Zuid reach the Overtoom side just as fast.

Sloterdijk is further, but it sits on the A10 and the main railway line, so the trip is predictable. Give a bit more notice there, and a bit more again very late.

Inside Oud-West the streets are narrow and the bikes are endless. If a taxi cannot stop at the door, she walks the final block.

Several tram lines leave the centre along Rozengracht, the Overtoom and Kinkerstraat and carry on deep into West. Sloterdijk is a proper transport hub: intercity trains, the metro ring line and buses meet there, and the train to Centraal takes about six minutes.

At night, a taxi from the canals to Oud-West takes ten minutes, to Westerpark about the same, to Sloterdijk fifteen. From Schiphol, the ring road delivers you to the Sloterdijk side in twenty minutes, and the train does it in about ten.

When the trams stop, night buses cover the main roads. In Oud-West the side streets are tight and lined with bikes, and cabs often pull up at the corner instead of the door.

West is not one place. Oud-West feels like an extension of the old city, just less polished. De Baarsjes is younger, with cafés around the squares and brick blocks built for families a century ago. Westerpark has the green and the event space. Sloterdijk has the offices and very little else after dark.

The addresses follow the same pattern. Small apartments with steep stairs in the old blocks. New builds with lifts and entry systems around the park. Business hotels by the station with staffed lobbies.

If there is a festival or a big event at the gasworks park, the streets around Westerpark close to traffic. Mention it when you book, and she comes in from the quieter side.

This is a food district first. A West evening usually means sharing plates at the food hall or a small kitchen off Kinkerstraat, a film in the old depot, then a cocktail somewhere on the walk back. On summer weekends Westerpark stays busy until late, with events at the gasworks and people on the grass until the light goes.

Casual wins here. A good coat and good shoes and you are dressed.

Who suits West. Bianka cooks, tastes wine and hunts vintage fashion, so the food hall and the vintage shops of Oud-West are home turf. Jasmin is bubbly and curious, a mixology fan with a salsa habit, good company for a bar crawl through De Baarsjes. Cindy is sporty and easygoing, into photography and yoga, perfect for an early evening in Westerpark before the night really starts. The full list is below.

Neighbours: the Jordaan lies across the Singelgracht, Oud-Zuid sits on the far side of the Overtoom, and Schiphol is a short train ride from Sloterdijk. Rates start from €180 per hour.