Amsterdam would not be the same without its canals. There might still be Golden Age architecture, trams, brown cafes, and museums, and maybe locals would retain their iconoclastic outlook on life (though I doubt it) -- but without a mirror of water to reflect its soul, the city would be a shrunken glory.
I once lived aside an Amsterdam canal. Not one of the Golden Age canals, but still an honest-to-goodness Amsterdam canal. Barges, powerboats, Frisian skûtsjes, and rowboats all glided past my window. In winter, I could step out my front door, jump down onto the frozen water, strap on long-bladed Noren, and skate all the way to the North Sea if I wanted to.
In a way, being an outsider, I appreciate the canals more. I've happily played captain of my own water bike while Amsterdam friends I had lured aboard hid their faces for shame at being seen on such a "tourist trap." I love the glass-topped canal boats, with their view of Amsterdam from the finest vantage point of all -- so don't laugh as you board one. Later, you can get down and wet on a water bike, or hail a water taxi, or commandeer a passing rowboat to see how far a bunch of euros can take you. But for now, just sit back and let the city flow around and through you. I never tire of seeing what is, to me, quite simply the finest cityscape in the world.
To get up close and personal with Amsterdam's canals, you could start out by taking The Golden Age Canals tour in chapter 8, which guides you along parts of Herengracht (Gentlemen's Canal), Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal, named after the princes of Orange), and Keizersgracht (Emperor's Canal, named after the Habsburg Emperor Maximilian). This Grachtengordel (Canal Belt) is lined by 17th-century houses topped by step, bell, and other decorative gables, and crisscrossed by smaller canals with colorful houseboats moored along their banks. Take a stroll along the canals after dark, when they're lit up.
