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All UNESCO SitesNetherlands (Kingdom of the)

Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

Netherlands (Kingdom of the)

Background

World Heritage since
2010
Type of site
Cultural
The canals dug
1613

The canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new port city built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century: a network of canals in concentric arcs to the west and south of the old town, with the fortified boundary moved inland to the Singelgracht. UNESCO says the drained swampland filled with a homogeneous ensemble of gabled houses and monuments, the largest and most homogeneous urban extension of its time and a model for town planning worldwide until the 19th century.

The city expanded in four stages between 1585 and 1665; reclamation of the three great canals began in 1613 and from about 1660 they were extended to the Amstel, giving the crescent shape. Many canal houses date from the Golden Age but have been rebuilt or restored since. Wikivoyage lists the oldest, from De Dolphijn on the Singel of about 1600 to the House with the Heads of 1622, and the Magere Brug, the hand-operated drawbridge over the Amstel lit by 1,200 lights at night.

More on the UNESCO listing More on Wikipedia

  1. 1585The city begins to expand beyond the Singel
  2. 1613Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht are begun
  3. c. 1660The canals are extended to the Amstel
  4. 1691The first Magere Brug is built
  5. 2010Inscribed as World Heritage

Find Your Way Around

The main parts of the site, in the order most visitors see them

  1. 1
    The Three Canals
    Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht, by boat then on foot.
  2. 2
    The Nine Streets
    The small shopping streets crossing the canals; the GoGo guide walks them after the cruise.
  3. 3
    Anne Frank House
    The secret annex at Prinsengracht 267.
  4. 4
    Magere Brug
    The white wooden drawbridge over the Amstel, still worked by hand.
  5. 5
    House with the Heads
    Keizersgracht 123, built in 1622.
  6. 6
    The Jordaan
    The lanes and brown cafés beyond the Prinsengracht.

Know Before You Go

From Wikivoyage and the GoGo guides

Trams 2 and 12
Wikivoyage: they run through the middle of the district from Centraal to Leidseplein, stopping at Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht; 13 and 17 serve the Westerkerk for the Anne Frank House.
Anne Frank House
The GoGo guide: tickets go on sale online weeks ahead and sell out.
After Dark
The bridges along Herengracht are lit at night; the GoGo guide ends the day on a walk along them.
Read the Façades
The oldest houses are listed by the city's heritage office, from the Bartolotti House of about 1617 to Zeevrugt of 1763.

The Canal Ring

From the GoGo Amsterdam guide · Open the Amsterdam Guide ›

  1. 09:30
    Canal Cruise1 hr
    The three canals from the water.
  2. 11:00
    Walk the Nine Streets75 min
    The small streets across the canals.
  3. 13:30
    Anne Frank House75 min
    The secret annex on Prinsengracht.
  4. 15:00
    Lanes of the Jordaan90 min
    Cafés and apple pie.
  5. 20:00
    Drinks in a Brown Café90 min
    Wood panels and a beer.
  6. 21:30
    The Canals at Night1 hr
    The lit bridges along Herengracht.

Best Time to Visit

Best months: May–Sep.

Typical highs

Best monthsRain: wettest Aug (90 mm), driest Apr (40 mm)

Climate: NASA POWER

Pair It With

Other World Heritage sites nearby, by distance

WORTH A NIGHTDAY TRIPSAME DAYDistance not to scale · tap a site
Do These Together
The Beemster polder is 21 km away, the Rietveld Schröder House 36 km, Kinderdijk 56 km and the Van Nelle factory 58 km, all in the GoGo guide's day trips.
Sources
UNESCO World Heritage Centre, listing 1349 · Wikipedia: Grachtengordel · Wikivoyage: Amsterdam/Canal District (CC BY-SA 4.0) · GoGo Amsterdam guide · UNESCO listing