# Your island in Amsterdam

URL: https://amsterdambb.com/en/knsm-island
Updated: 2026-11-03
Language: en

> KNSM Island is an island in Amsterdam-Oost, in the Eastern Docklands: quiet quays, water all around and Central Station 14 minutes away by bike. Sleep afloat.

The island

KNSM Island is part of the city: Amsterdam-Oost, in the old Eastern Docklands. Water all around and quiet streets, with Central Station and the canals 14 minutes away by bike. That mix is why our guests keep coming back to the [Boatsuite on houseboat Kadans](https://amsterdambb.com/en/the-boatsuite).

Updated 3 November 2026 · By Renske and Tim, your hosts on Kadans

Jump to a topic

![Aerial photo of KNSM Island in Amsterdam with an arrow pointing to houseboat Kadans](https://amsterdambb.com/img/knsm-island-aerial-kadans-marked.jpg)

Why this spot

Part of the city, not outside it. Water on every side, quiet quays, neighbours who stop for a chat, and Central Station 14 minutes away by bike.

![The Eastern Docklands of Amsterdam from the air: Kadans on KNSM Island, with Java Island, Borneo-Sporenburg and Central Station marked](https://amsterdambb.com/img/eastern-docklands-amsterdam-aerial-knsm-island-central-station.jpg)

Looking west along the IJ, towards the city centre. Neighbourhoods are marked approximately.

Where you are

## Is KNSM Island in Amsterdam?

Yes. KNSM Island is an island in Amsterdam itself, in the district of Amsterdam-Oost. This is the Eastern Docklands seen from above, looking towards the city centre. Kadans is moored on the sheltered Levantkade of KNSM Island, between the old harbour buildings and Piraeus. Follow the water west, past Java Island, and you reach Central Station.

-   **Kadans on the Levantkade** The quiet, sheltered side of the island, with the houseboats.
-   **Central Station, about 3 km** 14 minutes by bike, or bus 43 from Azartplein.
-   **The IJ all around** Big water on one side, the harbour on the other. Free ferry F1 to Noord from the island.

[How to get here](https://amsterdambb.com/en/how-to-get-here) [Check availability](https://amsterdambb.com/en/book)

### Key facts

- **Where**: KNSM Island, Amsterdam-Oost (Eastern Docklands), part of the city of Amsterdam

- **Address**: Houseboat Kadans, Levantkade 174, 1019 BG Amsterdam

- **By bike**: Central Station 14 min, Dam Square 15 min, Rijksmuseum 19 min

- **By tram or bus**: Tram 1 and bus 43 stop at Azartplein, 7 min on foot. Rijksmuseum 27 min without changing

- **By ferry**: Free F1 ferry from the island to Amsterdam-Noord

- **Built**: From about 1900 as a harbour island, rebuilt as a place to live in the 1990s

## Around the boat

[**Breakfast and groceries** Sissy-Boy Daily on the island and Anne&Max for breakfast, Albert Heijn and Jumbo for groceries, all within 10 minutes on foot. Our breakfast tips →](https://amsterdambb.com/en/food-drinks-amsterdam#food-breakfast) [**Dinner around the corner** Paon Bali (great for takeaway), Café Kanis and Bar & Kitchen De Zuid, all within 5 minutes. Our dinner tips →](https://amsterdambb.com/en/food-drinks-amsterdam#food-dinner) [**Swim and paddle** Swim from our platform or borrow our SUP boards. Right outside the Boatsuite →](https://amsterdambb.com/en/things-to-do-amsterdam#outside) [**Rent a boat** Canal Motorboats at the Borneosteiger, about a 12-minute walk. No licence needed. Amsterdam by boat →](https://amsterdambb.com/en/things-to-do-amsterdam#by-boat)

## How far is it from the centre?

[Open the route map](https://amsterdambb.com/en/how-to-get-here#getting-around)

Not far at all: Central Station is 14 minutes by bike and 28 minutes by bus 43 or tram 26, door to door. Tram 1 runs from Azartplein straight to Artis, the Rijksmuseum and Leidseplein.

 [Tram 1 runs straight through the city. See every route](https://amsterdambb.com/en/how-to-get-here#getting-around)

| From the Boatsuite to | Bike | Tram / bus | Walk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Central Station | 14 min | 28 min Tram 26 or bus 43 | 49 min |
| NEMO Science Museum | 12 min | 30 min Tram 26 + short walk | 44 min |
| Artis Zoo | 12 min | 25 min Tram 1, no transfer | 43 min |
| Dam Square | 15 min | 36 min Tram 1 + metro 54 | 57 min |
| Anne Frank House | 18 min | 48 min Tram 1 + tram 5 | 70 min |
| Rijksmuseum | 19 min | 27 min Tram 1, no transfer | 70 min |
| Leidseplein | 19 min | 29 min Tram 1, no transfer | 74 min |
| A'DAM Lookout | 16 min | 41 min Tram 26 + free ferry | 54 min |

Door to door, Google Maps, Friday 10:00 departure.

Why the island

## Why stay here and not in the centre?

The centre is wonderful to visit. Sleeping there is another story. On KNSM Island you are out of the crowds, and it feels like a real holiday: quiet nights, water all around, and the city still close by.

> “A unique experience to live on a houseboat, with the charming owners as neighbours. Impeccably clean, an excellent bed and a peaceful neighbourhood after a long day exploring Amsterdam.”

**Michele** · 🇨🇦 Canada October 2026 · translated from French

|  | A hotel in the centre | The Boatsuite on KNSM Island |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Night noise | Bars, party crowds and late-night street cleaning below your window | Silence on the water. You hear the harbour, not the city |
| Sirens | Ambulances and police racing through busy streets, day and night | A quiet residential island, with no through traffic |
| Crowds | Tourist crowds and selfie sticks outside your front door | Locals, swimmers and wide quays along the water |
| Holiday feeling | A room on a busy street, like any other city trip | Your own deck on the water, and a morning swim from the boat |
| Getting around | Everything on foot | Central Station in 14 minutes by bike, tram 1 to the Rijksmuseum |

History

## From steamships to houseboats

For most of the twentieth century this was where Amsterdam met the world. Ocean steamers loaded and unloaded at these quays, and the island was busy day and night. Today it is one of the quietest places in the city. Here is how that happened.

![Historic black-and-white aerial photo of the KNSM harbour around 1930, with steamships, cranes and warehouses](https://amsterdambb.com/img/knsm-harbour-1930-steamships-historic-aerial.jpg)

The KNSM harbour in its heyday, around 1930: steamships, cranes, warehouses and railway sidings.

1.  1856 **A shipping company is born** The Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot-Maatschappij, KNSM for short, is founded on 1 October 1856, with Amsterdam as its home port.
2.  c. 1900 **From breakwater to island** The island starts life as a breakwater for the Oostelijke Handelskade. It is raised with soil dredged from the North Sea Canal, and a new harbour takes shape.
3.  1903 **KNSM moves in** The company takes over most of the island and builds its offices, sheds and quays here. Steamships leave for the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Suriname and New York. The quays still carry their names: Levantkade, Surinamekade.
4.  1956 **A hundred years at sea** For the centenary, staff donate a fountain dedicated to the sea goddess Amphitrite, and garden designer Mien Ruys lays out a company park.
5.  1977 **The last ship leaves** Container ships, airplanes and the end of the colonial trade make the old harbour too small. KNSM leaves the island and merges into Nedlloyd in 1981.
6.  1980s **Squatters and artists** The empty sheds fill up with squatters, artists and urban nomads. Studios, parties and boats move into the abandoned harbour.
7.  1988 **A new plan** Architect Jo Coenen draws the masterplan: big residential blocks along a central avenue, echoing the old warehouses. In the 1990s the island is rebuilt as a place to live.
8.  Today **A neighbourhood on the water** Landmark buildings like Piraeus, Emerald Empire and Skydome stand next to the old canteen and Loods 6. The fountain is back on the Azartplein, and houseboats line the quays. One of them is Kadans.

### Walk the history

A one-hour loop from the boat, past everything that is left of the old harbour.

1.   **Azartplein**
    The Amphitrite fountain from 1956, back on the island since 2009.
2.   **Mien Ruysplantsoen**
    The old company park, restored in 1994 with Mien Ruys herself.
3.   **Loods 6**
    A 1950s harbour shed, now artists’ studios, a gallery and a small exhibition on the island’s history.
4.   **Piraeus**
    Hans Kollhoff and Christian Rapp’s brick giant (1989 to 1994). Walk into the courtyard.
5.   **Barcelona and Skydome**
    Bruno Albert’s block with its wrought-iron fence by Narcisse Tordoir, and Wiel Arets’ twenty-storey tower.
6.   **Levantkade**
    Back along the houseboats to the bow of Kadans.

![The harbour around KNSM Island from above, with Kadans among the houseboats on the Levantkade](https://amsterdambb.com/img/knsm-island-harbour-houseboats-aerial-amsterdam.jpg)

The same water today: houseboats, quays and new architecture.

![View across the water to houseboats and modern apartment buildings on KNSM Island](https://amsterdambb.com/img/knsm-island-houseboats-modern-apartments.jpg)

Calm water where steamships once turned.