Cruising the Canals

The most popular tourist attraction in town is the canal tour and this weekend we took advantage of the warm weather and joined Jane on a tour through town. The tour is great because it's only about an hour long (so you never feel like you're stuck on a boat) and you see enough of the city to get you interested to go explore it later. We even managed to learn a little. This particular tour was prerecorded and it was bizarre and disorienting to hear all the street names and canals we've struggled to learn translated into English.

Here's a typical houseboat in front of a row of canal houses:


It's tough to make them all out, but there are seven bridges in this picture (click picture to enlarge):


This is the NEMO building, which is the (kid-themed) science museum. Apart from looking really cool, the top of the building has a café with tiered seating and during the summer it's a great place to sit in the sun, drink a cool beer, and enjoy a rare high view over the city:


We had a great time and highly recommend a tour (though the absolute best way to see the city is via bike). They also offer dinner cruises, but we wouldn't mind checking out the wine tour, too...