It's the canalboats.
There are lots and lots of canals in Amsterdam... over 150 of them ... making a series of everlarger concentric 'C's around the centrum and then interconnecting with each other, to the Amstel River (a Dam on the Amstel River equals Amsterdam) and out to the North Sea. That may seem a little overwheliming on a map, but in reality they are as simple as city streets. Easer than the streets of many major cities, such as London. Just get on a boat, make the correct turns, and you are anywhere you want to be in Amsterdam. But what kind of boat....

The tour boats and watertaxis
are sort of interchangeable. That is, the tour boats act like taxis when they're not doing dinner or other kinds of tours, and the taxis will take you on a private tour,
if that's what you want. The difference is size and price. Volume discounts.
Large groups of 'fraternal' organizations sometimes rent one or more of the tour boats at the same time and make their presence known with bands, etc.

There is also a plethora of other craft available for your pleasure. Little tiny boats that look almost like tugboats (but aren't), cabin cruisers meant for the open ocean (they can go on the open ocean, the North Sea), flower-decorated old wooden canal boats (sometimes just tied up along the canals permanently and used for
sort-of-legal housing), or even paddle boats that use your legs as the
motive power (it's quite a workout).

As mentioned on the first page, you can catch a large or small water taxi at Centraal Station and get pretty close to your hotel. Looks different from the water, to be sure. Everything does in Amsterdam, so you have to see everything twice... everything twice.

The terminus at the other end of your boat ride can be anything from just some steps, to a little dock with a small building containing a ticketeer and a few brochures about their tours, to something a little more elaborate. The prices seems pretty well regulated along the canals, as are most things in The Netherlands, so once you decide on the type of water transportation you desire, the prime consideration would be the aesthetics of the boat itself. Your choice, as usual here.

So let's go on a little ride
Picking the best looking boat at the dock (that one.... no, that one) we go down the canals for the first time. As we leave the center of Amsterdam, we see the commercial buildings of the downtown area below top left. If we were to go into the harbor, we would see some amazing sights including a life size replica sailing ship that we could go back later and explore. And a wide expanse of open water. But for now, we are going down the canals that ring the city.

And we go under bridges. And see many, many more. By 1732 there were almost 300 bridges. I'm not sure how many there are today, but there are 72 older ones on the Official Historical Sites list of Amsterdam. There are iron and steel leaf bridges above top right, and wooden girder bridges, and brick arched bridges (which are some of the most lovely), and wooden girder bridges, and movable bridges.

Some of the most famous are of this last sort, with a fine example above. Some have just one middle part that raises from one side, but these with two parts that raise from both sides are sort of a symbol of Amsterdam. They make you smile to see them, because they are so quaint and friendly... and yet utilitarian. Quite Dutch.

There is one place where, as your guide will point out, you can see through seven bridges at the same time, one after the other. The best time for this is at night, when they're lighted. And it helps if you hit that spot just when there is no other river traffic. And it also helps if it is a clear night, which you can't always count on in Amsterdam (notice most boats are covered). I've seen it that way, once. It is quite pretty. But there are other bridges and buildings and unusual sights that are equally lovely all along the canals. Go during the day, take a look. Go at night, take a look. See everything twice.

Here are two very pretty and representative views of buildings along the banks of the canals. The first is a typical view toward the outskirts of the concentric canals, in one of the more fashionable areas. The second is a residential street... I mean canal... and you probably won't see this during a tour. It's a nice Dutch neighborhood canal traveled mainly by the people who live there.

If you'd like to see some windmills as well as some more interesting sights
of the city, click here.

But if it is time for you to start planning your own trip to the Netherlands,

Rail Europe has been serving the American market since 1934. They help more than 1 million American travelers a year spend 215,000,000.00 on their travel plans. Click here for Rail Europe

Visit our Europe Travel webstore featuring Love To Travel gear for your European Vacation, and make sure you visit these other fine Europe websites
Euro-Rail.org    Eurostar-TGV.com    AirfaresToEurope.com    VacationInEurope.com    TravelEurope.biz    Europe-Train.org   

© 2001 - 2008 Hawaii Advertising. All rights reserved.