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Amsterdam is one of the most picturesque cities in Europe.It has amazing waterways, museums and lot of history.
The history of Amsterdam is intimately connected with water. Its 165 canals were created over the centuries to stimulate trade and transport and reclaim land to expand the city. They continue to define the city’s landscape and in 2010 Amsterdam’s canal ring was recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site.
A day in Amsterdam isn’t complete without a cruise through the canals of Amsterdam. The best way to start of your journey in Amsterdam is by boat. Amsterdam Canal Cruises will provide some insiders knowledge of the city.
On our visit, we took the Lovers Canal Cruise. We read lot of forums that its better to book in advance but we did not find any issue with just walking upto the counter and getting a ticket.
The cruise is normally one hour and different companies would take you through different routes and narrow bridges along the amsterdam waterways. We did not take any special cruises but the regular cruise as our interest was to get an idea of the city layout, major attractions before we start to explore the city by foot.
As you cruise via the canal or explore the city on foot,the city shows its charm and vibrance. From among the lot of food stalls nestled in narrow streets, the red light district, the reflections of city lights on the canal water, this city is well worth couple of days of exploring.
Amsterdam Central Station main train station is the real heart of the city. Most of the train and trams have this as the end station. We were staying in a hotel next to airport and we used to shuttle here via the sprinter/train. Read more about getting around in Amsterdam in other post.
Get amsterdam travel ticket, in case you are going to travel a lot in Amsterdam. It is cheaper than individual tickets
Amsterdam travel ticket can be purchased from main train stations for same price.
Many hotels will provide coupons and you can save couple of bucks while purchasing Canal tour tickets.
You can get a ticket for Canal Tours from the counters and use it any time of the day once, till they close the tour(its normally around 10 p.m)
There are lot of tour providers but these are few of the big ones. I have linked to their websites in case you want to see various tours they offer
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