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Number 10 of 20 in Amsterdam

Café 't Papeneiland

Papeneiland stands on one of the prettiest corners in Amsterdam, where the Prinsengracht begins at the Brouwersgracht. The house was built in 1642, and the café inside it has been pouring beer for more than a century, and serving apple pie with whipped cream to anyone who asks.

What it is
Brown café
Opened
1642, the year of the house: it has been a café since at least 1896
Area
Prinsengracht
Nearest museum
Our Lord in the Attic, 1.0 km

Amsterdam this week

    What Café 't Papeneiland is known for

    1. The corner

      The café is at the head of the Prinsengracht, at its meeting with the Brouwersgracht, looking over the bridges on both.

    2. The tunnel

      A local tradition says a hidden Catholic church stood across the canal in the seventeenth century, joined to the house by a tunnel whose entrance is still in the cellar. The café tells it as a story, not as fact.

    3. The apple pie

      The house's apple pie, with whipped cream, became famous abroad after Bill Clinton came in for a slice.

    What to know

    • The house was built in 1642 by Egbert Gerritsz Daelder, on a corner plot that had stood empty
    • From 1896 the café was called De Blauwe Druif; it took its present name in the twentieth century
    • Papeneiland, papists' island, was the old name of the Catholic corner at the start of the Prinsengracht

    Where Café 't Papeneiland is

    Address

    Prinsengracht 2
    1015 DV Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Nearest station

    Nieuwe Willemsstraat, on the tram, about six minutes away. Centraal is twelve minutes on foot

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.

    A house of 1642

    Egbert Gerritsz Daelder built the house in 1642 on an empty corner plot at the head of the Prinsengracht. The café's own history has it as a café called De Blauwe Druif from 1896.

    It took the name Papeneiland in the twentieth century, after the old name of the Catholic enclave at this end of the canal.

    Café 't Papeneiland: common questions

    Where is Café 't Papeneiland?
    At Prinsengracht 2, in the Centrum district of Amsterdam. The nearest station is Nieuwe Willemsstraat, on the tram, about six minutes away. Centraal is twelve minutes on foot.
    Which museums and sights are near Café 't Papeneiland?
    Our Lord in the Attic is 1.0 km away, A'DAM Lookout is 1.0 km away, Rembrandt House Museum is 1.5 km away. Distances are in a straight line from the restaurant.
    What is Café 't Papeneiland known for?
    The corner, The tunnel, The apple pie. A corner house of 1642 where the Prinsengracht meets the Brouwersgracht, a brown café known for its apple pie and for the tunnel its cellar is said to hide.
    When did Café 't Papeneiland open?
    In 1642, the year of the house: it has been a café since at least 1896. The house was built in 1642 by Egbert Gerritsz Daelder, on a corner plot that had stood empty.

    What visitors say about Café 't Papeneiland

    Rating from Google

    4.5

    2,856 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 19 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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