DK Travel : Amsterdam : Western Canal Ring

Western Canal Ring : Overview & Top 10

For many, the Western Canal Ring is the area of Amsterdam that perfectly encapsulates the city’s relaxed yet stylish air. Construction of the Grachtengordel, Amsterdam’s 17th-century ring of three fashionable canals, began here, with the marshy area just beyond reserved by city planner Hendrick Staets for workers and their unpalatable industries; Huguenot refugees who settled here – like others fleeing religious persecution – were said to have named itjardin (garden), later corrupted to Jordaan, and today it is one of Amsterdam’s most fascinating – and bohemian – districts. Its narrow streets and oblique canals might seem random, but they followed the course of old paths and drainage ditches. North of the charming Brouwersgracht lies the recently revitalized district of Haarlemmerbuurt, and, further afield, the Western Islands, Bickerseiland, Prinseneiland and Realeneiland, created in the mid-17th century to provide much-needed warehousing.