Netherlands
Amsterdam
Welcome to the Netherlands! Amsterdam is a low-lying city built around rings of canals, with narrow, tall houses leaning shoulder to shoulder and thousands of bicycles parked on every bridge.
Why is it famous?
Amsterdam's famous canal ring loops around the old city like rings on a tree trunk, lined with narrow brick houses and crossed by more than 1,500 bridges.
It's one of the most bike-friendly cities on Earth — there are more bicycles here than there are people!
A city with a long story
Amsterdam started almost 800 years ago as a tiny fishing village where workers built a dam across the Amstel River — that's actually where the name 'Amsterdam' comes from!
Because the ground was so soft and swampy, builders drove long wooden poles deep into the earth to give their houses something solid to stand on, and many old buildings still rest on those wooden piles today.
Amazing facts
Amsterdam has over 100 kilometers (62 miles) of canals — that's longer than the famous canals of Venice!
Old canal houses were taxed by how wide their front door was, so people built tall, skinny houses with a hook at the top to hoist furniture in through the windows instead.
Quick facts
- Amsterdam has over 100 kilometers (62 miles) of canals — that's longer than the famous canals of Venice!
- Old canal houses were taxed by how wide their front door was, so people built tall, skinny houses with a hook at the top to hoist furniture in through the windows instead.
- Around 2,500 houseboats float on Amsterdam's canals, and people really do live in them year-round.
- The whole 17th-century canal ring became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.