Photographs of Canals and Bridges of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Before I visited Venice, it was difficult for me to comprehend a city with 410 bridges. And I saw it for real. Then I visited Amsterdam. I had read the city has 1500, yes one thousand five hundred, bridges! Could the figures be real?!

This is the maximum possible number of bridges a city can have, I concluded. One hundred kilometers of canals criss-crosses the city!

Further reading: Why Canal Cruise is Best Thing to do in Amsterdam

Canals and Bridges of Amsterdam

Canals and Bridges of Amsterdam

The city has three main canals, Herengracht, Prinsengracht, and Keizersgracht, and they form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel. All canals were connected and this huge waterway network existed from 17th century.

Recently, in 2010, this was placed in the prestigious list of UNESCO World Heritage Site. An aerial view would give a better idea.

bridge in Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s celebrated canals have been part of the city’s fabric. Fishing by locals is common in these canals. However instead of fish it is junk disposed in the canals that get hooked – joked our Captain, or was he serious?

See the Captain of our cruise boat: People Photography – Captain of Cruise in Amsterdam


While I cruised along the canals, I managed to get some captures of the bridges. Series of bridges, one after the other, they made interesting frames, only I had to be quick to capture the sight. This one has six bridges in a row.

These arched bridges should look mesmerizing lighted up with colored lights at night. The draw bridges allow passage of ships and bigger boats.

In totally still water, with absolutely no ripples the bridges and their reflections would be making a perfect circle I imagined.

Opening of bridge for traffic in canal
Luckily we were on time to witness the opening of one of the bridges.
Check out: More pictures from my canal cruise in Amsterdam

Pin this for later

Photo Essay of Canals and Bridges Amsterdam Holland

Small Boat Tour: Things to Do in Amsterdam
People Photography - Captain of Cruise Boat from Amsterdam

42 Responses to “Photographs of Canals and Bridges of Amsterdam, Netherlands

  • Have always loved Amsterdam and its canals. I have spent a lot of time in the Keisergracht area, and still remember the museums’ the walks, and the intercultural weather as if it was yesterday.

  • Wow!
    I can imagine how excited you were to pass through those bridges. Now, let me go look up pictures of how these canals look at night.
    I enjoyed the pictures so very much. Thank you, Indrani. 🙂

  • Amsterdam is a wonderful place to be at. I had really enjoyed my time when I had been there years ago!

  • Yogi Saraswat
    8 years ago

    1500 bridges in a city ? really amazing !! we can have this number in a state . I think Delhi would not have more than 100 ! One special thing that I observed from your photographs , each bridge has its unique structure !!

  • Nice post as always Indrani! I have been planning to visit Netherlands; but it has not happened yet:( Hope I can visit soon.

    • Indrani Ghose
      8 years ago

      My best wishes! I hope you will Soooooon! 🙂

  • I am planning Amsterdam early June. Hopefully it will work out and I can revisit after so many years.

  • Beautiful photos and description. 1500 sounds almost unreal!

  • Jyothi D'mello
    8 years ago

    Truly Amazing x

  • 1500 is something. This certainly is the ‘city of bridges’…loved the picture of series of arches.

  • Amsterdam is such pretty city. Need to visit soon so that I can experience all that it has to offer.

  • Canals & Amsterdam are inseparable. Amsterdam is an incredible city that way. Next to Venice of course.

    Your photos brought back so many memories, and are tempting me to go there again.

  • This Post reminds me the typical structures we saw in Dusseldorf.. Beautiful Photography, Indrani!

  • This is indeed so amazing! Tough to burn bridges there! 😉

  • I was there last week! The pictures are really amazing.. for someone who comes from a city deprived of water bodies, the experience of finding a canal everywhere is just incredible!

  • Truly amazing! Thanks for the 'aerial' link.

  • Thank you for these photos. Your images capture the magic of a place I have read about often. You make me feel I am there.

  • The contents are really good…
    puneonnet.com

  • did not know this. Fantastic! I wonder If its better to speand lot of time here, I understand Venice is too crowded

  • wow!! this is beautiful!1 and that aerial image was awesome!!! hope i can go there someday!

  • people using boats like cars… should experience sometime

  • That's a whole lot of bridges. I like the one shot with them cascading along the canal. Hopefully that prevents backups on the roads. Where I used to work there weren't too many bridges and traffic was horrible. – Margy

  • I've been in both of the cities, but did not know that Amsterdam had sooo many bridges! although I didn't stay long enough to see them- in Amsterdam.. unfortunately..

    Lovely photos! 🙂

  • And I am struggling every weekend to find yet another bridge! Very few of them in Barcelona.

  • Lovely pictures, making me feel, when will I visit this place? :-).
    Never mind, reading your blog gives some comfort.
    thanks.

  • I really like the one with six bridges in the frame.

  • Wow , your pictures show us the beauty of these waterways .

  • I love the way to see the images of someone who didn't grew up and lived in amsterdam. Because sometimes as inhabitant you don't see the beauty of it but only the troubles. But you did a remarkable job. Well done.

  • Excellent photos, I like how you have captured the beauty of the channels on a gray day. Greetings.

  • Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful places I have visited. The canals, the bridges, the gabled houses and the lovely people all created a wonderful impression on my mind. Your pictures have really done justice to the place.

  • beautiful pics, I will be going there end of this year so will see them myself 🙂

    Bikram's

  • Good shots Indrani…i hope you had a nice time in Amsterdam.

    Greetings, Joop

  • 1500 bridges – wow that astonishing. The bridges and the canals look charming and fascinating and amazingly clean with no floating rubbish or other debris.

  • Very interesting! Its a huge number of bridges… Amazing.

  • Wonderful bridge shots.

  • fascinating place

  • Isn't that amazing? Your photos are lovely.

  • My hometown of Hamburg, Germany is said to have more bridges than Venice – please excuse, as I cannot confirm it, so far.

    Great pictures. Please have a good Sunday.

  • I really like your photo of the six bridges. 1500 bridges in a single city is hard to imagine, but I do thank you for the aerial link.

  • Amsterdam is such a fascinating and incredible city! I loved having the opportunity to visit there briefly — would have loved to have had more time, but I did make the most of what I had! Your wonderful photos brought back so many memories, Indrani! Thank you for sharing!

    Sylvia

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.