For a brisk walk literally on the outskirts of the city, go to the Amsterdamse Bos. You can easily cycle, but by car or public transport is also possible.

The Amsterdamse Bos is also known under the old name Bosplan. Incredible but true: the entire forest has been created by hand. The forest was an employment project of the Municipality of Amsterdam that was conceived in the late 1920s. In these crisis years, the city of Amsterdam alone had 50,000 unemployed. By getting started in the Forest Plan they got their wages paid, partly financed by the state. More than 20,000 people worked on the forest between 1934 and 1940.

Various walks have been set out in the Amsterdamse Bos. With my route you grab all the highlights of the forest.

You start at the Bosbaan. In addition to planting the trees, human hands excavated the rowing course during the crisis years. The first rowing competition was held in 1937 and the Bosbaan is still regularly the battleground for international rowing competitions.

You walk on the north side of the Bosbaan, the part that is often skipped by hikers. A shame, because this part of the forest has a beautiful open character. You also have a beautiful view of the water of De Nieuwe Meer.

At the end of the Bosbaan you will see Meerzicht Farm. As a walk in the woods and eating a pancake are inextricably linked to me, I definitely recommend making a stop here.

A little further south is Goat farm Ridammerhoeve. You can see the goats here and taste cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and even ice cream made from goat milk. Buy an extra supply for your home in the farm shop.

You continue your way via the Hazenheuvel, which is the central location in the Amsterdamse Bos. It will no longer surprise you that the hill was also constructed manually. It was first planned to make the hill as much as forty meters high. This became a bit too much for the alderman of Amsterdam and that is why the hill got stuck at sixteen meters.

You end this walk at Grand Café De Bosbaan. Have a nice drink on the terrace and enjoy the view of the water. You will probably see rowers training or even participating in a competition.

For the average Amsterdammer, the forest is just within cycling distance, but you can also go by car. You can park it for free for the first three hours at the large parking lot at the Bosbaan. You can also put it on other parking spaces in the forest. That is usually completely free.

If you prefer to come by public transport, take the metro / light tram to Amstelveen. Get off at the A.J. Ernststraat and walk ten minutes to the entrance of the Amsterdamse Bos. You can also take the bus. There is a bus stop directly in front of the entrance.