The 5 best canal neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, ranked

The top three

1. Jordaan — the tight grid west of Prinsengracht, where the canals are narrower and the houseboats denser. Bloemgracht is the postcard, but walk Egelantiersgracht and Lauriergracht for fewer photographers. 2. Reguliersgracht at the Herengracht crossing — the seven-bridges view, best at blue hour when the streetlamps come on. 3. Brouwersgracht — voted the city's most beautiful street by residents in most polls, and the north end where it meets Prinsengracht is where the canal belt reads most cinematically.

The Jordaan wins because it works as a neighbourhood, not just a photo op — there are cafés, brown bars and a Monday morning market on Noordermarkt. The other two are stretches you walk through rather than linger in.

Four and five

4. Prinsengracht from Anne Frank House down to Amstel — the longest continuous canal stretch, but crowds concentrate at the north end. Start from Utrechtsestraat and walk north. 5. Nieuwmarkt to Kloveniersburgwal in the old centre — technically canals, but the water is narrower and the buildings taller; it feels like a different, older city than the belt. Includes the Waag and the fringe of the (much reduced) red-light district.

Deliberately not ranked: Damrak. It's a canal only in name and the buildings above it are the ugliest in the centre. Also skipped: the Amstel itself, which is a river rather than a canal and belongs on a different list.