Amsterdam and the whole Netherlands are defined by water. The hundreds of canals called Grachten and the lovely houses aligned are essential to Amsterdam’s charm. We take you on a photographer’s city walking tour for the best photo spots in the city. Besides Amsterdam, you should definitely make a side trip to Harlem or visit one of the towns around, like Utrecht or Den Haag.
Amsterdam doesn’t have many big sights like most other cities. Actually the whole city, the little houses, and canals are one of a kind. This post shows you the best photo spots and must-visits of Amsterdam. And you probably will discover many more by just walking through the city.
Walking Tour - Amsterdam finest photo spots
The map shows our selected photo spots. Below I will give some more information to the spots and propose a city walking tour.
On your visit, I would recommend one or two days to just wander around the city and include the shown spots on your walk. We will start at the main station Amsterdam Centraal. The main station’s building is worth a visit as it is beautiful. From there you can walk up Sint Nicolaasbrug and have a nice view of the Saint Nicholas Church.
From the Saint Nicholas Church you can also jump on a boat and get to know the city from the water. When you walk straight on you will get to Damrak Canal and see the Damrak Canal Houses. At the end of the Damrak Canal you can take a left turn and after a bit of walking, you will reach Canal Church View, a bridge from which you can take nice pictures of Vorgurgwal canal with Saint Nicholas Church in the back. You can continue along Vorgurgwal or take Achterburgwal and take a left turn at the third bridge. Then you will reach a bridge from which you get a nice view of De Waag, a nice building on Niewmarkt place. This bridge is also a nice photo spot.
When you follow the street a bit further, cross the Snoekjesbrug and follow the Oudeschans canal to the next bridge you will reach Keizersbrug. From there you get a perfect view of the Montelbaanstoren Tower. Our way leads back and up Groenenburgwaal to one of our favorite viewpoints, the Staalmestersbrug. From here you have the Zuiderkerk’s church tower directly aligned with the Groenenburgwaal canal. This is just a perfect picture!
To Magere Brug, our next stop, you just keep on walking along the Amstel. The bridge is one of Amsterdam’s most photographed bridges. The best time to come here is in the evening when the bridge is nicely lit. From there you can take Prinsengracht and follow it until you reach Spiegelgracht. In these little canals there are some nice old houses which are illuminated at night and make for a good photo opportunity.
When you walk a bit further you will get to Museumbrug from where you can take pictures of the Rijksmuseum. I would also recommend crossing to the other side of the museum as there are good photo opportunities there, too. Like the pond where you can get a Mirroring of the Rijksmuseum on a nice day. It’s worth visiting even though the “I amsterdam” sign has been removed. From there you can return to the canals and walk up Keizersgracht to one another great spot. Where the Leidesgracht and Keizersgracht meet, (the three bridges spot is how we called it) is a perfect photo spot. At night the little lamps on the bridges are switched on and make it even more romantic.
Now you can walk on along one of the many canals and explore a bit by yourself. Until eventually you will reach my favorite spot, the view from Blauburgwal to the houses on Singel. The two turquoise and yellow house-boats and the cute houses make up for the ideal Amsterdam picture. This is also the last spot on the tour. Hopefully you will discover some more beautiful places! If you do, dont forget to share them in the comments!
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