Posts tagged ‘Canals’
The Canals of Amsterdam
Originally the canals of Amsterdam had several functions:
• they allowed for goods to be delivered from the harbor (and the markets at Dam square and Nieuwmarkt) to storage facilities and stores throughout thecity.
• they were used as defence moats
• they served to guide the water of the Amstel River through its former delta.
Nowadays its most popular use is recreation.
Taking a canal tour is one of Amsterdam’s top tourist attractions.
Swimming in the canals is discouraged — if not outright prohibited. People do fall in, though. Those who live to tell about it are always taken to a hospital for a tetanus shot.
Note that many of the houseboats lining the canals are not yet hooked up to the city’s sewer system.
Christmas lights on Amsterdam’s canals
Every city in the Netherlands has a traditional Christmas tree, but this year Amsterdam has decorated 40 of its streets, bridges and canals with thousands of lights.
The event has been dubbed ‘Winter Magic Amsterdam’. And the best way to see all those magical Christmas lights is by taking an old fashioned canal tour.
Tourboats at Rokin, Amsterdam
Rederij P. Kooij is one of several popular tour boat companies in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam introduces new traffic rules for its canals
In just ten years the number of pleasure crafts plying the water of Amsterdam’s canals has doubled to 14.000 — reason for the city to introduce some new rules of the watery road.