Often referred to as “the Venice of the north,” Amsterdam is nearly synonymous with its canals — 165 of them.
This collection of articles on canals includes descriptions, news items, and historical information.
Here’s a good overall introduction to the canals of Amsterdam.
No visit to Amsterdam is complete without having taken a canal cruise.
Many guidebooks and travel websites rave about this popular viewpoint in the center of Amsterdam. All claim you’ll be able to see 15 bridges from one location. But is that true?
Each year 5.5 million Amsterdam visitors take a canal cruise, making a boat tour of the canals the city’s most popular tourist attraction.
No visit to Amsterdam — also known as ‘Venice of the North’ — is complete without taking to the water, hands down the best way to see the city.
In fact, many people take more than one cruise: a daytime tour is a good introduction. A romantic candlelight cruise at night creates another lasting impression.
And then there are the many specialty tours: dinner cruises, cheese and wine tastings, combination boat tour and museum entrance… whatever floats your boat.
One quarter of Amsterdam — ‘the Venice of the North — consists of water, including 100 kilometers (60 miles) of canals.
So it is not surprising that the city sees a number of drowning incidents each year.
What may come as a surprise, though, is the reason many victims end up in the water.
Updated to include the latest statistics.
If the freezing temperatures predicted for this coming week persist, with any luck we’ll be able to ice skate on the canals of Amsterdam. The last time that happened was in February 2012.
The City of Amsterdam maintains an Ice Protocol that details the various steps the Water Authority should take in order to make ice skating possible.
Updated: Tuesday, February 27, 2018: The Ice Protocol has gone into effect!
Ask tourists what they like best about Amsterdam, and the historic belt of canals around the town’s medieval center is bound to be high on the list.
The crime of car tipping has an added dimension in Amsterdam, where small cars are sometimes pushed or tossed into the canals.
We haven’t heard of this craze in a while, but that doesn’t mean it is no longer happening.
A boat tour of Amsterdam’s canals is a sightseeing must — one that frequently tops the list of Holland’s most popular tourist attractions.
Picturesque? Sure. But there’s something in the water the tourist office doesn’t tell you about.