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The vaults of the Dutch National Bank are sunk some 15 m (48 ft) below ground level. In the event of an alarm, they have been designed to allow the waters of the Singelgracht to flood into them.

The Torensluis – the widest bridge in Amsterdam – spans the Singel on the site of a 17th-century sluice gate. A lock-up jail was built into its foundations.

Hundreds of feline waifs and strays are given refuge inDe Poezenboot (The Cat Boat), moored on the Singel.

In 1716, Peter the Great got drunk at his friend Christoffel Brants’ house at Keizersgracht 317, and kept the mayor waiting at a civic reception. That night, he stayed at the house of the Russian ambassador, Herengracht 527, where Napoleon also stayed in 1811.

Is Singel 7 the smallest house in Amsterdam? No, it’s simply the back door of a wedgeshaped house, whatever your tour guide tells you.

Which is really the oldest café in Amsterdam? It’s Café Chris, in Bloemstraat, dating from 1624. A curiosity: the loo is flushed from the bar.

Teetering Café de Sluyswacht, built in 1695, makes an alarming sight as you glide by along the Oude Schans (see Restaurants, Cafés and Bars).

Look carefully at Victoria Hotel, near the station, and you will see two tiny 17th-century houses embedded in the monumental 19th-century façade. A little old lady, so the story goes, refused to sell up, so the hotel had to wrap itself around them.

The vast Sea Palace, Amsterdam’s famous floating Chinese restaurant, makes an unusual sight in Oosterdok. With its twinkling lights and many windows, it makes a romantic dinner spot.

This medieval defensive tower has the saddest of names: Schreierstoren (Tower of Tears), where weeping women waved farewell to their seafaring men.