Magere Brug

Southern Canal Ring

Dating from the 1670s, the nine-arched 'Skinny Bridge' has had several incarnations, first in timber and later in concrete. It has a hand-operated central section that can be raised to let boats through. The bridge is especially pretty at night, when it glows with 1200 tiny lights. It has appeared in several films, including the 1971 James Bond thriller Diamonds Are Forever. Stand in the middle and feel it sway under the passing traffic.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • AMSTERDAM - OCTOBER 3: Van Gogh museum building outstanding with design architectured in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on October 3, 2015.; Shutterstock ID 415294189; Your name (First / Last): Daniel Fahey; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Van Gogh Museum POI

    Van Gogh Museum

    0.98 MILES

    This wonderful museum traces Van Gogh's life and artistic development via the world's largest collection of his work. More than 200 canvases are on…

  • Picnic in Vondelpark in afternoon light.

    Vondelpark

    0.88 MILES

    Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…

  • February 13, 2018: Queue of people waiting to enter the Anne Frank museum house, with a passing tour boat on the canal.

    Anne Frank Huis

    1.11 MILES

    Visiting the Anne Frank Huis is one of Amsterdam's most profound experiences. Tragically, of the 107,000 Jewish adults and children deported from the…

  • Rijksmuseum with tulips in Amsterdam..NOTE: dated image - "iamamsterdam" sign has been removed from outside museum.

    Rijksmuseum

    0.78 MILES

    The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…

  • May 18, 2018: Exterior of the Rembrandt House Museum in the old Jewish quarter of Amsterdam.

    Museum het Rembrandthuis

    0.41 MILES

    Housed in Rembrandt's former home on lively Jodenbreestraat, this evocative museum provides an unparalleled insight into one of the Netherlands’ greatest…

  • The famous stained glass windows of Sint Janskerk ( saint John Church )of Gouda abound in political symbolism, reproducing figures and events of the time, and use biblical events to refer to the conflict between Spanish Catholics and Dutch Protestants that led to the Dutch Uprising of 1572.

    Sint Janskerk

    25.71 MILES

    Impressive for both its size and its magnificent stained-glass windows, Sint Janskerk had chequered beginnings: previous incarnations of the building…

  • Details from traditional fisherman village open-air museum (Zuiderzeemuseum), Netherland.; Shutterstock ID 1233901861; Your name (First / Last): Evan Godt; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: Netherlands destination page

    Zuiderzeemuseum

    28.8 MILES

    This captivating museum consists of two sections, 300m apart: open-air Buitenmuseum, with more than 130 rebuilt and relocated dwellings and workshops, and…

  • Hermitage Amsterdam

    Hermitage Amsterdam

    0.12 MILES

    There have long been links between Russia and the Netherlands – Tsar Peter the Great learned shipbuilding here in 1697 – hence this branch of St…

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Nearby Southern Canal Ring attractions

1. Amstelsluizen

0.1 MILES

These impressive sluices on the Amstel river, near Koninklijk Theater Carré, date from 1674 and are still in use to today. They allow the canals to be…

2. Hermitage Amsterdam

0.12 MILES

There have long been links between Russia and the Netherlands – Tsar Peter the Great learned shipbuilding here in 1697 – hence this branch of St…

3. Gijsbert Dommer Huis

0.14 MILES

This handsome greystone house is known dramatically as the 'House with the Blood Stains'. Six-time mayor and diplomat Coenraad van Beuningen lost his…

4. Museum Willet-Holthuysen

0.2 MILES

This exquisite canal house was built in 1687 for Amsterdam mayor Jacob Hop, then remodelled in 1739. It's named after Louisa Willet-Holthuysen, who…

5. Blauwbrug

0.2 MILES

Built in 1884, this highly decorated stone bridge replaced an old, blue (hence the name) wooden crossing that had connected these shores of the Amstel…

6. Joods Historisch Museum

0.26 MILES

In this beautifully restored complex of four Ashkenazic synagogues from the 17th and 18th centuries, displays show the history of Jews in the Netherlands,…

7. Amstelkerk

0.26 MILES

Looking more like a country house than a church, the pinewood Amstelkerk was erected in 1668 as a noodkerk (makeshift church) under the direction of the…

8. Tassenmuseum Hendrikje

0.27 MILES

This grand 17th-century canal-house museum has a covetable collection of arm candy. More than 5000 bags can be found here, including a medieval pouch,…