Amsterdam › Places and landmarks
Canal ring
Grachtengordel
The half-moon of 17th-century canals round the old town, on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
Photo: Sergey Galyonkin from Berlin, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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In the 17th century Amsterdam grew fast and planned its extension as a ring of three great canals, the Herengracht, the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht, with the Singel inside them. Merchants built their tall houses along them.
The canal ring has been World Heritage since 2010. Its narrow, gabled houses lean a little forward, so goods could be hoisted up past the windows on the beam at the top. Visit it in 3D ›
More in Amsterdam
DamThe square on the dam built across the Amstel in the 13th century, which gave the city its name.
Royal PalaceBuilt as the city hall of the Golden Age, made a palace by Louis Napoleon in 1808.
Nieuwe KerkThe church on the Dam where Dutch kings and queens are sworn in.
BegijnhofA hidden courtyard of old houses round a garden, behind a door off the Spui.
SpuiA small square of bookshops and cafés, with a book market on Fridays.
Flower marketThe floating flower market on the Singel, selling bulbs and flowers since 1862.
WesterkerkThe church on the Prinsengracht with the tallest tower in Amsterdam, crowned by an imperial crown.
Anne Frank HouseThe canal house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis and she wrote her diary.
RijksmuseumThe Netherlands’ national museum on the Museumplein, where Rembrandt’s Night Watch hangs and a bike path runs through the building.
BikesAmsterdam has more bikes than people, and they rule the streets.
TramsThe blue and white trams of the GVB, ringing their way across the Dam and down the Rokin.
Canal boatsThe long glass-roofed boats that take visitors round the canals and under the low bridges.
StroopwafelTwo thin waffles with a layer of warm caramel syrup between them.