This is probably the most beautiful and authentic area of Amsterdam. It's made up of all the small streets that unite the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht and Herengracht canals (Runstraat, Berenstraat, Reestraat), they full of cafés and charming stores. The best thing to do is to snake through these side streets staying between the three canals.
On these streets, you'll be surrounded by houses characteristic of Amsterdam. The façades on these houses are of the Dutch Baroque style of the 17th century and have various designs: bell-shaped, terraced, peaked (like a teapot), pointedTake note of the curious fact that many of these houses are tilted to one side: because they were constructed on boggy land, the instability of the ground has caused them to become tiltedBut perhaps the most curious thing of all is the forward tilt of many of the housesthis is completely on purpose, on one hand to minimize the effect of the rain on the houses, and on the other hand due to the small corridors and the tight stairways making it literally impossible to bring furniture or large tools into houses. For those reasons they built the houses tilted forward so as to be able to lift the furniture through the upper windows by means of a pulley that served to hoist the biggest and heaviest bundles.
There are also many house boats docked in these canals, the majority of which are inhabited. They are the "floating houses." Don't forget to visist the Houseboat museum, located where the Prinsengracht intersects with Berenstraat. The boat called "Hendrika Maria" was constructed in 1914 (to see it from the outside is enough).
Very close, at the intersection of Prinsengracht and Elandsgratch, is the famous Yscuypie ice cream shop, where they serve incredible ice cream! (€1.50-2.75).
On these streets, you'll be surrounded by houses characteristic of Amsterdam. The façades on these houses are of the Dutch Baroque style of the 17th century and have various designs: bell-shaped, terraced, peaked (like a teapot), pointedTake note of the curious fact that many of these houses are tilted to one side: because they were constructed on boggy land, the instability of the ground has caused them to become tiltedBut perhaps the most curious thing of all is the forward tilt of many of the housesthis is completely on purpose, on one hand to minimize the effect of the rain on the houses, and on the other hand due to the small corridors and the tight stairways making it literally impossible to bring furniture or large tools into houses. For those reasons they built the houses tilted forward so as to be able to lift the furniture through the upper windows by means of a pulley that served to hoist the biggest and heaviest bundles.
There are also many house boats docked in these canals, the majority of which are inhabited. They are the "floating houses." Don't forget to visist the Houseboat museum, located where the Prinsengracht intersects with Berenstraat. The boat called "Hendrika Maria" was constructed in 1914 (to see it from the outside is enough).
Very close, at the intersection of Prinsengracht and Elandsgratch, is the famous Yscuypie ice cream shop, where they serve incredible ice cream! (€1.50-2.75).
