A'DAM Lookout

The A'DAM Toren was built in 1971 as Shell's research headquarters on the north bank of the IJ, stood empty after the company left, and was converted in 2016 into a building of bars, offices, a hotel and a club, with an observation deck on top. The lookout is at about a hundred metres and gives an unbroken view over the whole of Amsterdam, the harbour and, on a clear day, a long way inland - and the thing everyone comes for is Over the Edge: two seats on a swing arm mounted on the roof edge, which swings passengers out over the drop beyond the parapet with nothing underneath, marketed as the highest swing in Europe. The ferry across from Centraal is free and takes two minutes. The Eye Film Museum is next door and the two are usually done together.

What you actually see

• A swing over the edge - seats swung out past the parapet a hundred metres up.
• A converted Shell tower - the 1971 research building reopened in 2016.
• The whole city from above - Amsterdam, the harbour and the country beyond.
• A two-minute free ferry - the crossing from behind Centraal Station.

When to go

All year; clear days. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The swing is an extra charge on top of the lookout ticket and it closes in wind. Timed tickets and it books up at sunset. The deck is enclosed apart from the terrace; glass affects photographs.

Nearby

Eye Film Museum is next door; NDSM is further west along the bank.