Beguine Court. Here, serenity reigns just a block from the screeching of trams stopping next to the bustling Spui square. The richly scenic Begijnhof is the tree-filled courtyard of a residential hideaway, built in the 14th century for the Begijntes, a lay Catholic sisterhood. Created as conventlike living quarters for unmarried or widowed laywomen -- of which there were many as a result of the Crusades' efficiency in killing off surplus men -- this hof, or almshouse, required them to follow three simple rules: no hens, no dogs, no men. Rent was paid in the form of caring for the sick and educating the destitute. One resident, Cornelia Arens, so loved this spot that she asked to be buried in the gutter here in 1654 -- so out of respect, don't tap-dance on the slab of red granite on the walkway on the left side of De Engelse Kerk.

This almshouse is typical of many found throughout The Netherlands. At No. 34 is the oldest house in Amsterdam and one of only two remaining wooden houses in the city center. After a series of disastrous fires, laws were passed in the 15th century forbidding the construction of buildings made entirely of timber. On the building's left side there are biblical plaques, which quote scripture and depict scenes from the holy book. The small Engelse Kerk (English Church) across from here at No. 48 dates from 1400. To this day, it's unclear why a Scottish Presbyterian church is called the English Church, although it probably has something to do with its having been presented to the Pilgrim Fathers during their brief stay in Amsterdam in 1607 (obviously, the right time: the Altercation of 1578 had seen the church confiscated from the Begijns). Much more recently, its pulpit panels were designed by a young and broke Piet Mondriaan.

Finding themselves churchless, the Beguines built the supposedly clandestine Mirakel- or Begijnhof-Kapel (Miracle- or Begijn-Chapel), across the lane at No. 29. Built by the Catholic bouwmeester (building master, as the architect-carpenters were called in those days) Philips Vingboons in 1671, it once contained the relics of the Miracle of Amsterdam. However, its stained-glass windows are still here to tell the story. COST: Free.