Amsterdam Canals, Netherlands Stock Image

In the course of the 17th century the famous crescent shape of the Amsterdam city centre was designed and realised resulting in the unique ring of canals. A number of narrow streets and canals, fanning out from the centre of the crescent, traversed the network of concentric semicircular canals. On the outskirts of the city centre, the canals ended in squares, where the city gates were located. The squares were used as parking places, since vehicles were not always allowed into the city itself. The Venice of the North consists of approx. 90 islands, separated by some 100 kilometres of canals and linked by about 400 stone bridges. About 20,000 buildings make up the historical city centre (800 hectares).