| Travel tips and advice posted by real travelers and Amsterdam locals. • 17 Photos
• 14 Reviews
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 by MariajoyLeave a Comment
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 Canal houses by Helga67
On the gable you will notice a pulley. As the stairs were very narrow and steep it was impossible to get the goods and furniture inside this way, so every house has a pulley on the outside to lift the goods. Leave a Comment
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 by isolina_it
Another common distinction applies to the function of the houses. Merchants' houses are characterised by top floors designed to serve as storage space for commodities, whereas mansions were built for residential purposes only. Most of the Amsterdam houses come under the first heading. However, even though the houses were conceived as separate entities, together they form a unified whole because of the harmony in size and proportions that can be observed throughout the city centre. This is one of the reasons why the Amsterdam city centre is such a unique and rare whole. Merchants’ houses are by definition canal houses. Characteristic features of such houses are attics and cellars which served as storage space for the commodities which were transported by boat. It is true to say that trade determined the Amsterdam cityscape; water being an essential feature.
The style of the facade is one way of dating canal houses. However, a word of warning is in order for a house may be younger or older than its facade. In the 18th and 19th centuries the facades were often replaced by more modern ones, whereas in our days it is not uncommon to retain the historical facade and build a new house behind it. Besides, most of the windows had to be replaced in the course of the lifetime of the houses. One rarely finds a 17th century house in possession of its original cross-bar windows. Even 18th century window frames largely disappeared, although many of them are reconstructed as part of restoration projects.
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 Hooks by DabsLeave a Comment
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The narrowest house in the world is to be found on the Singel, no.7. Only one metre in breadth, it is barely wider than the front door. The people who live there have to be slim! However in the reality only the front side is so narrow. Behind this facade the house broadens out to more normal dimensions.
Yet the narrowest house in Europe is still to be found in Amsterdam on Oude Hoogstraat 22, between the Dam and the Nieuwmarkt. This house is 2.02m wide and 6.0 metres deep. Another narrow house is located nearby, on the Kloveniersburgwal 26, Mr Trip's Coachman's House, 2.44m wide. This latest one is very special, because its location is opposite of the widest house (26m) of Amsterdam.
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 super-size gift wrap by aaaarrgh
Imagine finding this waiting for you on your birthday. Somehow I don't think it is a pair of socks, or a box of chocolates :-))
House seen on the Herengracht (Centrum), yeah, ok, it is probably a generous attempt to hide scaffolding tubes and building work, next to one of the most scenic canals in Amsterdam. Leave a Comment
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 by CyklonLeave a Comment
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 The hooks by sabsiLeave a Comment
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Have you noticed that most houses in Holland haven't got any curtains in the windows? Or anything else to protect their privacy from a stranger's eyes? I can find some argument for such arrangement on the upper floors: curtains block sunlight which is scarse most of the year, and it takes effort and time to wash them. But what about the basement? Aren't people who live there embarrassed or angry when people from the street peep into their lives?! I for myself sometimes felt embarrassed to pass and more or less involutarily look inside.
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What do the three crosses that we see everywhere represent?
The crosses featured on the Amsterdam coat of arms and on the Amsterdammetjes (see phallic-like poles) represent Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Amsterdam. He was condemned by the church as a heretic and crucified, hence the three inverted crosses. Why three crosses? Each cross represents, and should protect Amsterdam from, the three disasters the city has endured for centuries. Floods (fought with windmills), the plague, and fires (especially in the 1500’s). Leave a Comment
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- Hotel Keizersgracht
Keizersgracht 15 Grachtengordel: West, Amsterdam - Amsterdam Hotel Parklane
Plantage Parklaan 16, Amsterdam - Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel
Kattengat 1, Amsterdam - Sarphati Hotel Amsterdam
Sarphatipark 58 (formerly Hotel Albert), Amsterdam - Toro Hotel Amsterdam
Koningslaan 64, Amsterdam - Alexander
Vondelstraat 44-48, Amsterdam - Nieuw Slotania
Slotermeerlaan 133, Amsterdam - Hotel van de Kasteelen
Frans van Mierisstraat 34, Amsterdam - Inntel
Nieuwezijdskolk 19, Amsterdam - Season Star Hotel
Martelaarsgracht 18, Amsterdam - City Garden Hotel Amsterdam
Pieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat 162, Amsterdam - Best Western Hotel Amsterdam Airport
Vuursteen 1 (formerly Bastion), Amsterdam - Hotel de l'Europe
Nieuwe Doelenstraat 2-8, Amsterdam - Prinsen Hotel
Vondelstraat 36-38, Amsterdam - Omega Hotel
Jacob Obrechtstraat 33 Museum Quarter, Amsterdam
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