Make your way to Paulus Potterstraat to join your tour which starts with a canal cruise.
Canals have been the main transport system of Amsterdam since the 17th century. Today they provide an excellent way to see the city. Amsterdammers take enormous trouble to keep their waterways clean, so cruising is real pleasure.
As you cruise, the city will reveal its treasures. You will see some lovely churches and the fine merchants’ houses built in Amsterdam’s Golden Age (1585-1672). Tall, narrow – often only 30ft (9 meters) wide – these canal-side houses have big narrow windows, decorative gables and outside pulleys to lift heavy objects to the upper floors.
Look at the splendid barges, once used for transport and now mostly converted to houseboats. Enjoy views of the bridges and of Amsterdam’s citizens going about their daily lives.
The tour continues with a stroll through the beautiful Jordaan Quarter, undoubtedly the most romanticized part of the city. The painter Rembrandt lived here as did many other artists. Built in the early 17th century as a district for poor people and immigrants, it is now a favorite place for students, artists and young professionals, with charming courtyards, enticing alleyways and small pubs and restaurants.
Look out for the typical stone tablets used instead of shop signs in 17th century Jordaan. For example, tailors’ shops would have scissors carved above the entry; a butcher’s shop might show a pig.
On the border of the Jordaan we conclude the tour with a visit of the Anne Frank House, the hiding place where the young Jewish girl Anne Frank wrote her world-famous diary during the Second World War.
You will see the cramped 'annexe' where the Frank family and friends lived and the moveable bookcase that concealed the entrance. You can see the original diary ,the photos that Anne stuck up on the wall and the school books that she and the other children used in hiding.
Your tour ends at the Anne Frank House.