They’re the real star of Amsterdam and we spent hours just walking the canal paths. Each canal has similarities to the next, but they’re all different. Walking along the cobbled paths, you get to see some stunning buildings and get a taste of what life in Amsterdam is like. Watch out for the bikes though, they have no mercy if you’re on the bike path! There are loads of canal cruises you can do to get your bearings, but we preferred just to walk. This is an extract from our free Amsterdam City Guide.
Footbridge at Voorburgwal
The canals fan out from the shopping centre of Amsterdam in loops. Heading south or west, the first canal you come to is Singel, then Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. As you can see on the map below, heading east, the canals are less uniform at first around the red light district. All the canals feed into the River Amstel which acts as a major water artery from the south east.
Singel Lock
Our favourite waterways were on the western and southern sides of Amsterdam, in particular the smaller canals that cross the larger ones like Reguliersgracht and Leidsegracht. Canal boat trips from various companies run frequently on Amsterdam’s canals and most of them operate all year round. We’d recommend walking the canals for a while first though to get the most out of your boat trip. Otherwise, every canal looks the same! If you’re looking for something a little different, the Candlelit Canal Cruise gets consistently good reviews.
Singel Canal
MORE ON AMSTERDAM’S CANALS
Amsterdam Hotels – From Hotels.com
Amsterdam Canal Tours – Top-rated trips from our “Tours & Activities” pages
Wikipedia
Canal Cruises (amsterdam.info)
Great Rates on Amsterdam Hotels - From Expedia.co.uk
Books on Amsterdam’s canals
