Metro line 52, the Noord/Zuidlijn — the blue line on the GVB map — runs under the centre of Amsterdam from Noord to Station Zuid in fifteen minutes, with eight stations and a train every few minutes. It opened on 22 July 2018 after fifteen years of building, and it is the fastest way to cross the city — but it does not go to the Museumplein, and it is not the way to reach the Eye Filmmuseum. A 24-hour GVB ticket costs € 10.00.
Line 52 at a glance
| Route | Noord ↔ Station Zuid, straight under the old city |
| Stations | 8 |
| End to end | About 15 minutes |
| Length | 9.7 kilometres, of which 7.1 kilometres in tunnel |
| Opened | 22 July 2018 |
| Frequency | Roughly every six minutes, more often at peak times |
| Operator | GVB |
| Ticket from | € 10.00 for a 24-hour GVB day ticket |
| Paying on board | Contactless bank card (OVpay): € 1.16 boarding fee plus € 0.217 per kilometre |
| Colour on the map | Blue. On the GVB network map every metro line has its own colour, and 52 is the blue one |
Station by station from Noord
| # | Station | What you find there | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Noord | The northern terminus, at the Boven ’t Y shopping centre. Regional buses leave from here for Waterland, Volendam, Marken and the Zaanse Schans, and coach excursions to the Keukenhof and the bulb fields depart from Amsterdam Noord in spring. | — |
| 2 | Noorderpark | A residential stop beside the Noorderpark. Little for visitors, but useful if your hotel is in Noord — a growing number are. | — |
| 3 | Centraal Station | The interchange for everything: trains, all tram lines, and the free ferries behind the station. Canal cruise piers are directly in front. | Canal cruise |
| 4 | Rokin | The stop for Dam Square, the Kalverstraat and the Spui, all within five minutes on foot. The station itself holds a free archaeological display of about 10,000 objects dug up during construction. | Kalverstraat |
| 5 | Vijzelgracht | The heart of the canal belt. The Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht all cross the Vijzelstraat within two hundred metres of the exit, and the flower market and the Rembrandtplein are a short walk away. | Canal district |
| 6 | De Pijp | The Albert Cuyp street market, the Heineken Experience and the Sarphatipark. The liveliest eating and drinking quarter in the south of the city. | — |
| 7 | Europaplein | The RAI conference and exhibition centre. Busy during trade fairs, quiet otherwise. | — |
| 8 | Station Zuid | The Zuidas business district and a mainline station with direct trains to Schiphol Airport in six minutes. | — |
The free museum inside Rokin station
Digging the tunnel meant emptying the bed of the Amstel, and the river gave back more than 700,000 objects: medieval knives and pilgrim badges, clay pipes, coins, keys, toys, and further up the layers, mobile phone cases and bank cards. About 10,000 of them are set in two long display cases in the concourse at Rokin station, laid out flat and evenly lit, with no hierarchy between a fifteenth-century dagger and a 1990s cassette tape. The installation is called Below the Surface, it was made by the artists Daniel Dewar and Grégory Gicquel with the city archaeologist Jerzy Gawronski, and it is free: you do not need a ticket to reach the concourse.
It is the single best five minutes of free sightseeing in Amsterdam, and almost every visitor walks straight past it on the way to the escalator.
Tickets and prices
There are no ticket machines on board and no conductor. Tap in and out with a contactless bank card, or buy a day ticket in advance — which is cheaper as soon as you make more than three journeys a day. The same ticket is valid on GVB trams, buses and all metro lines.
| Ticket | Valid for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1-hour ticket | 60 minutes | € 3.40 |
| GVB day ticket | 24 hours | € 10.00 |
| GVB day ticket | 48 hours | € 16.00 |
| GVB day ticket | 72 hours | € 21.50 |
| GVB day ticket | 96 hours | € 27.50 |
| GVB day ticket | 120 hours | € 34.00 |
| GVB day ticket | 144 hours | € 39.00 |
| GVB day ticket | 168 hours | € 43.00 |
| OVpay contactless | Per journey | € 1.16 boarding fee plus € 0.217 per kilometre |
Book your GVB ticket
Check availability and prices for the GVB day ticket below, and book it before you land — the ticket is valid the moment you first tap in, not from the moment you buy it.
- GVB day ticket — unlimited tram, bus and metro on all GVB routes, from one to seven days. From € 10.00.
- Amsterdam Travel Ticket — adds the train to and from Schiphol Airport.
- Amsterdam & Region Travel Ticket — adds regional buses to Zaanse Schans, Volendam, Marken and, in spring, the Keukenhof.
- I amsterdam City Card — unlimited GVB transport plus free entry to most museums.
What line 52 is not for
Two things are worth knowing before you plan a day around this line. It does not serve the Museumplein: the nearest station is Vijzelgracht, about ten minutes on foot, and trams 2, 5 and 12 stop on the square itself. And although the line runs to Noord, it is not how you reach the Eye Filmmuseum or the A’DAM Lookout — those stand at Overhoeks, directly across the water from Centraal Station, and the free ferry from behind the station takes three minutes.
Practical
GVB runs line 52 from around six in the morning until after midnight, with trains roughly every six minutes and more often at peak times. Night buses take over afterwards; check the GVB journey planner for the first and last train on the day you travel. Every station has lifts and step-free access from street to platform, and the tunnels reach up to thirty metres below street level, so allow an extra minute or two for the escalators at Rokin, Vijzelgracht and De Pijp.
The five metro lines
Amsterdam has five metro lines, numbered 50 to 54, and each has its own colour on the network map. Line 52 is the blue one, and it is the only line that runs under the historic centre — the other four skirt it to the south and east. If someone in Amsterdam tells you to take the blue line, this is the one they mean.
| Line | Route | Note |
|---|---|---|
| M50 | Isolatorweg – Gein | The ring line, around the south and east of the city |
| M51 | Centraal Station – Isolatorweg | Along the west side, through the Zuidas |
| M52 | Noord – Station Zuid | The blue line, straight under the historic centre |
| M53 | Centraal Station – Gaasperplas | South-east, towards Gaasperdam |
| M54 | Centraal Station – Gein | South-east, towards the Bijlmer |
Line 52, the Noord/Zuidlijn, runs from Noord in the north to Station Zuid in the south, calling at Noord, Noorderpark, Centraal Station, Rokin, Vijzelgracht, De Pijp, Europaplein and Station Zuid. The whole journey takes about fifteen minutes.
A one-hour ticket costs €3.40 and a 24-hour GVB day ticket costs €10.00, valid on the metro, trams and buses. Paying with a contactless bank card costs a €1.16 boarding fee plus €0.217 per kilometre.
Vijzelgracht on line 52, about ten minutes on foot. There is no metro station on the Museumplein itself. Trams 2, 5 and 12 stop directly on the square and are the faster option.
Rokin. Dam Square, the Kalverstraat and the Spui are all within five minutes of the exit.
It is called Below the Surface. About 10,000 of the more than 700,000 objects dug out of the bed of the Amstel during the tunnel works are shown in two long display cases in the station concourse. It is free and you do not need a metro ticket to see it.
No, and taking the metro to Noord is a common mistake. Both stand at Overhoeks, directly opposite Centraal Station. Take the free ferry from behind the station to Buiksloterweg; the crossing takes about three minutes and costs nothing.
On 22 July 2018, after roughly fifteen years of construction. The line is 9.7 kilometres long, of which 7.1 kilometres run in tunnel beneath the historic centre.
Line 52, the Noord/Zuidlijn, is shown in blue on the GVB network map. It runs from Noord to Station Zuid and is the only metro line with stations in the historic centre, at Rokin and Vijzelgracht.
Where line 52 takes you
- The Kalverstraat — get off at Rokin for the main shopping street, the Dam and the Begijnhof.
- The canal district — Vijzelgracht puts you within two hundred metres of all three main canals.
- Tram line 2 — the scenic surface route, and the connection this line does not make to the Museumplein.
- Map of the canal district — see where the line runs under the canals.
- Museumplein — the museum square with the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh, Stedelijk and Moco, fifteen minutes south by tram 2 or 5.
