Amsterdam: tour of the western canals

Introduction

This urban route allows you to discover the western canal belt between the Brouwersgracht to the north, the Leidsegracht to the south, the Singel to the east and the Prinsegracht to the west. You will see interesting views of the canals lined with typical houses dating back to the 16th century.

Description

The route starts at the Dam, the central square in front of the Royal Palace. Head towards the Nieuwe Kerk (14th century) and follow the Mozes alley in Aaronstraat for a short distance until you arrive in front of the large Magna Plaza shopping centre. Cross the street, taking care to watch out for bicycles, and turn left around the shopping centre into Raadhuisstraat until you meet the Singel, one of Amsterdam's most important canals. Continue to the right along the Singel until you reach the unusual platform bridge of Torensluis where you will see a statue dedicated to Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker), an interesting Dutch writer. Continue along the Singel, neglecting the first bridge and turning left onto the second one: cross the canal and go along the Korsjespoortsteeg for a short distance, then turn right and take the Langestraat until you reach the picturesque Brouwersgracht canal. Turn left along the canal until you come to a crossroads of canals with characteristic small bridges. Turn left and walk along the Keizersgracht where you will come across the Greenland Warehouses (a 17th-century commercial building used for trading in whale oil). After a few hundred metres, cross the bridge and you will come to the edge of the Leliegracht at the Green Peace building (art nouveau style). Follow the Leliegracht for a short distance until you reach the Prinsegracht, where you turn left until you reach the very popular museum Anne Frank Huis, located in the building where the Frank family hid between 1942 and 1944.
From the museum, turn left, leaving the very tall Westerker church tower on your right and passing the house where Descartes stayed. Just before the canal, turn right past the Homonument and then turn right again until you reach the Prinsegracht again. Follow the canal in a southerly direction until you come to the Berenstraat to take a left. When you reach the Keizersgracht canal turn left and meet the Felix Meritis Building with its distinctive columns (historically it was an alternative theatre and the headquarters of the Dutch Communist Party until the early 1980s). Proceed for a short distance along the canal and then turn left along Runstraat. You again pass the Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Singel canals until you enter the wide Spui square. You pass the wide open space and turn left into the Kalverstraat (one of the city's most commercial streets). After a few dozen metres, you come to a narrow alley leading to the Begijnhof, a peculiar courtyard with a small church... truly a charming corner within the city. Continuing on, you will come to the entrance to the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, which is well worth a visit to learn more about the city's history.
The excursion comes to an end, continue along the Kalverstraat back to Dam and conclude the itinerary.

The total time does not include visits to the various museums

General information

Signposts: not present
Type of route: circular
Advised period: January, February, March, April, May, September, October, November, December

Road access

Bibliography

• 
  Jeremy Gray, Amsterdam, Lonely Planet - Edt, Turin, 2009