The seventeenth-century canal belt area of Amsterdam has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status.
The four main Amsterdam canals Singelgracht, Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht form a concentric belt of more than 60 miles of canal, about 90 islands and 1500 bridges.
The most picturesque canals are:
Brouwersgracht is often voted for as the most beautiful canal in Amsterdam. Brewery Canal was the area full of beer breweries and warehouses to store the grains. Nowadays converted into apartments.
Prinsengracht is the longest canal with it’s length of more than 3 kilometers. The construction of Prinsengracht started in 1612 and took almost 50 years to complete. At that time Amsterdam was the third largest city in the world, after London and Paris. Prinsengracht has many different functions: apartments, offices, shops, hotels, cafes, restaurants, churches, galleries, coffee shops, museums. The most famous icons here are Anne Frank House and the Westerchurch.
Bloemgracht (translated: Flower Canal), bordering the Jordaan area and near the Westerkerk. A couple with flower decorated bridges span the canal.
Herengracht is one of main canals. With the so called ‘Gouden Bocht’ (‘Golden Bend’) it is considered to be the most prestigious. Most impressive housesbuilt by the rich merchants of the 17th century Dutch Republic. The mayor of Amsterdam is living at Herengracht number 502. Femke Halsema, the first ever female mayor of Amsterdam.
Reguliersgrcht is a place to take a ‘postcard pictures’ of Amsterdam. Most Amsterdam canals are bending in half a circle, but Reguliersgracht is straight. Therefore a unique perspective is visible of seven similar bridges in a row.
The best way to discover the Amsterdam canals is walkin. Even better, take a boat trip and enjoy Amsterdam’s legendary canals at night; simply stunning.
During all our tours we will do a walk along the Amsterdam canals. Or an Amsterdam canal cruise.