Southern canal ring route

This route runs through the wealthiest part of the canal ring, taking in the famous Golden Bend, the spot where you can see fifteen bridges at once, and the city's best-known drawbridge.

The last and richest stretch

The southern canal ring was built last, and it shows in everything.

Built later and more slowly: construction took considerably longer than the western section. That left room for a richer, more classical style, with stone façades rather than brick.
Wider and grander: buyers here were allowed to combine two plots, producing the double-width mansions you see on the Golden Bend. It remains the most expensive property in the Netherlands.
A plan never completed: the canal ring was originally meant to continue east of the Amstel. Only the Nieuwe Herengracht was finished; the rest stalled when economic growth faltered after 1672.
Views of the river: on the eastern side you look out over the Amstel, with the H'ART Museum opposite and the Magere Brug in view.
Antiques round the corner: to the south the route borders the Spiegelkwartier, Amsterdam's antiques quarter.

Keizersgracht Reguliersgracht, Amsterdam

The seven stops (1660 to 1700)

From the story behind the canal ring to the most celebrated view in the city.

Herengracht 386
The Museum Grachtenhuis uses models and projections in a small canal house to explain how the canal ring came about. A good primer for the rest of the route.
Singel 610 (1883)
The Flower Market is the only floating flower market in the world, its stalls on permanently moored barges. These days it sells mostly bulbs and souvenirs.
The Golden Bend (from 1664)
On the Herengracht between the Leidsestraat and the Vijzelstraat stand the stateliest canal houses in Amsterdam. The Republic's wealthiest merchants and mayors lived here, in houses two plots wide.
Keizersgracht 606-608 (1731)
De Zwaan is the tallest pair of matching neck gables in the city, two houses designed as one symmetrical whole.
Reguliersgracht 39
A pronounced example of a forward-leaning house. That is not subsidence but design: it kept hoisted goods clear of the façade on their way to the attic.
Corner of Reguliersgracht and Herengracht
Look carefully from here and you can see fifteen bridges at once, the best-known view in the canal ring. Stand on the bridge and look along the length of the Reguliersgracht. After dark they are all lit.
> Magere Brug
The Magere Brug over the Amstel is the most famous drawbridge in the city. A bridge has stood on this spot since around 1670; the present one dates from 1934 and is still operated by hand. In the evening it is lit by hundreds of small lamps.

The route at a glance

The shortest of our three routes, but with the most impressive houses.

Distance and duration: around two kilometres, walkable in an hour and a half to two hours including stops. By bike you are through it in half an hour.
Start and finish: you begin at the Museum Grachtenhuis on the Herengracht and end at the Magere Brug over the Amstel.
Pair it with a museum: the Museum Grachtenhuis at the start explains in half an hour how the canal ring was built, which makes the rest of the walk considerably easier to read.
Come in the evening too: the bridges along the Reguliersgracht and the Magere Brug are lit after dark, making the view of the fifteen bridges one of the finest city scenes in the Netherlands.
Stopping along the way: the Utrechtsestraat and Rembrandtplein are close to the route, with terraces in abundance.

Other routes

This route joins the Western canal ring route and the Old centre route. See also our pages on walking and cycling.