Walk Along the Canals and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Things to Do Tips

Amsterdam is full of canals, which offer some of the city's best scenery. We spent hours strolling along the canals through the city's neighborhoods. Our favorite canals were the ones west of the center city, between it and the Jordaan neighborhood. Most of the canals are lined with traditional canal houses, which are tall and narrow and feature decorative gables on top with cranes for lifting heavy items into the upper floors.

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The Rijksmuseum is one of the world's great art museums. It features hundreds of masterpieces by famous Dutch artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Steen, and Brueghel. The museum's most famous artwork is the Night Watch by Rembrandt.

The Rijksmuseum is currently under renovation. However, the highlights of the collection are still on display in a corner of the museum, so you can still get a good sampling of the museum even if you can't see the whole thing.

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Phone: +31-20-6747047
Address: Stadhouderskade 42
Website: http://www.rijksmuseum.nl

The Oude Kerk, or Old Church, is one of the oldest churches in Amsterdam, dating from the 1300s. Strangely enough, it is located in the middle of the infamous Red Light District, providing sinners an opportunity to redeem themselves.

Although church services are still held in a small portion of the church, most of the church's interior is now used as an exhibition space (there was an art show there when we visited). The most interesting features of the interior are its massive pipe organ, its surviving stained glass windows, and the wooden ceiling. Another other interesting feature of the church's interior are the gravestones in the church's stone floor, the most famous of which is the grave of Rembrandt's first wife, Saskia.

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Phone: +31-20-6258284
Address: Oudekerksplein 23
Directions: The Oude Kerk is located in the red light district on the western side of the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal.
Website: http://www.oudekerk.nl

The Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) is a large church located on Dam Square next to the
Koninklijk Palace. It was begun in the 1300s as Amsterdam's second parish church and enlarged until reaching its current size in the 1600s. Highlights of its interior include its huge pipe organ, its carved wooden pulpit, its stained glass windows, and the tomb of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The Nieuwe Kerk is no longer an active church (the congregation could no longer afford the maintenance), and now serves as an exhibition space.

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Phone: +31-20-6386909
Address: Dam 34-38
Directions: On Dam Square, next to the Koninklijk Palace.
Website: http://www.nieuwekerk.nl

The Begijnhof was a convent occupied by the Begijntjes, a female Catholic religious order, for hundreds of years until the last Begijntje died in the early 1970s. The Begijnhof is now a residential neighborhood, which is an amazingly quiet oasis in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. The Begijnhof features a central lawn surrounded by the old houses in which the Begijntjes used to live. The Begijnhof features two churches. The largest is the Engelske Kerk, which the Begijntjes were forced to turn over to the Presbyterians during the reformation, and still serves the expatriot British Presbyterian community of Amsterdam. The Beginhof's other church is the Begijnhof Chapel, a clandestine church which is hidden within a group of the houses on the western side of the Begijnhof. The Begijnhof Chapel is open to tourists, while the Engelske Kerk is only open for church services.

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Directions: The entrance to the Begijnhof is through a door on the north side of Spui street, just east of Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.
Website: http://www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl/index_engels.html

The Wooden House (Het Houten Huis) is Amsterdam's oldest house, and one of only two wooden houses remaining in the old part of the city (wooden houses were banned in 1521 to prevent fires).

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Address: Begijnhof 34
Directions: House number 34 in the Begijnhof. The entrance to the Begijnhof is through a door on the north side of Spui street just east of Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal.

The Amstelkring Museum is a small, excellent museum located in a well-preserved canal house in the red light district. The lower floors show what the interior of a canal house looked like in the 1600s, with a number of rooms that are furnished with period furniture and art, including a kitchen. The upper floors feature one of Amsterdam's best-preserved clandestine Catholic churches (the other famous one is located in the Begijnhof). The clandestine church has three levels of seating, a pipe organ, and dozens of period paintings.

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Phone: +31-20-6246604
Address: Oudezijds Voorburgwal 40
Directions: In the red light district along the west side of the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal.
Website: http://www.museumamstelkring.nl

The canals of Amsterdam are lined with houseboats, which run the gamut from basic to luxurious. We had fun looking at them as we walked along the city's canals.

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The Westerkerk is the church in Amsterdam with the tallest tower. It is located on the Prinsengracht canal and was built during the 1600s. It is open to tourists from April through September.

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Phone: +31-20-6247766
Address: Prinsengracht 281
Directions: On the eastern side of the Prinsengracht canal at Radhuisstraat.
Website: http://www.westerkerk.nl

If you want to buy some flowers in Amsterdam, go to the flower market along the Singel canal. It features a wide variety of flowers, from tulips to sunflowers.

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Address: Singel
Directions: Along the Singel canal, between Koningsplein and Vijzelstraat.