Sep 03, 2026
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Amsterdam’s Golden Age Canals
Discover the stories behind the city’s iconic narrow houses and where to see them.
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Love Netherlands
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Dear Netherlands,
Every Dutch village has a bell tower, a market square, a brown café, and a bakery older than the country it sits in. The magic of the Netherlands isn’t Amsterdam. It’s the 400 other places that don’t need to try. Places like Thorn, where every house is painted white. Places like Giethoorn, where nobody has ever driven to the shop.
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Photo: Shutterstock
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In today’s email:
- Amsterdam Canal Houses: A Guide to the Architecture, History and How to Explore Them
- At The Café — Café De Klomp — The Oldest Café in Friesland
- Around The Web — Discover Your North Brabant Roots: Heritage, Diaspora, and Family History, Discover Your North Brabant Roots: Heritage, Diaspora, and Family History, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: Complete Visitor’s Guide (2026) + more
- From Love Netherlands — 3 Days in Amsterdam: The Perfect Itinerary for First-Time Visitors (2026)
- Dutch Food You Will Love — Hutspot — The Dutch Mash With a Siege Story
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Amsterdam Canal Houses: A Guide to the Architecture, History and How to Explore Them
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Amsterdam’s canal houses rank among the most recognisable buildings in Europe — tall, narrow and elegantly gabled, they line the city’s historic waterways in a near-unbroken row that has shifted surprisingly little since the Dutch Golden Age. Understanding what you’re looking at, and knowing where to find the finest examples, transforms a stroll along the canals from a pleasant walk into something genuinely revealing. This guide covers the architecture, history and the best places to explore Amsterdam’s famous canal houses. Love the Netherlands? Join our free newsletter for hidden Dutch gems → inlovewithnetherlands.com/subscribe Why Amsterdam’s Canal Houses Look the Way They Do The distinctive silhouette of an Amsterdam canal house — narrow front, deep interior, steep gable — emerged directly from 17th-century economics. Land on the prime canal belt cost money by the front metre, and…
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At The Café
Café De Klomp — The Oldest Café in Friesland
Café De Klomp in Leeuwarden’s old centre has been pouring beer since 1620, making it Friesland’s oldest continuously running pub. The room is small and dark with wooden tables polished by four centuries of elbows. Frisian is spoken behind the bar and at half the tables — a separate language, not a Dutch dialect. Order a glass of Beerenburg, the local herb-infused jenever, and listen to a Saturday afternoon unfold around you in a language most Dutch people don’t speak either.
👉 Visit the café
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Around The Web
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From Love Netherlands
Three days in Amsterdam gives you enough time to walk the canal ring, stand in front of a Rembrandt, eat raw herring from a street stall, and still catch the golden light on the Jordaan at dusk. This itinerary covers the essential experiences while leaving room to follow your curiosity down a side canal or linger over a second coffee. It works for first-time visitors and works equally well if it’s your second visit and you want more structure…
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Photo via Love Netherlands
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Dutch Food You Will Love
Hutspot — The Dutch Mash With a Siege Story
Hutspot is a thick mash of potatoes, carrots, and onions, served alongside klapstuk (slow-cooked beef brisket) or smoked sausage. The story is that the Dutch found a pot of it abandoned by Spanish soldiers fleeing Leiden in 1574 — the city had been under siege so long they’d been eating it themselves to survive. Every 3 October, Leiden still serves hutspot for free at its annual Ontzet festival. It’s the kind of plate that looks unassuming and tastes like centuries of practical Dutch winter cooking — sweet, savoury, and made for a long evening.
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