The unhurried way to walk the canals

Most canal walks fail because they try to see everything. This one does the opposite: one line through the Grachtengordel, north to south, built around six bridges that each earn a stop. About 4 kilometres, two hours if you take it as intended — slowly. Best light: start two hours before sunset, and you'll cross the Amstel as the lamps come on.

Bridge 1 — Torensluis (Singel). Start on the widest bridge in the city, built in the 1640s over a lock and broad enough to hold café terraces and the brooding statue of Multatuli, the Netherlands' great colonial-conscience writer. Underneath are the old lock-keeper's cells — the bridge once doubled as a jail. Face south for the Singel's book-market curve; this is the overture.

Bridge 2 — Lekkeresluis (Brouwersgracht / Prinsengracht). Walk north to where the Brouwersgracht meets the Prinsengracht. The Lekkeresluis is small, but the corner it stands on may be the most painted, photographed and argued-about view in the city: houseboats, warehouse shutters in ochre and rust, and three canals colliding. If a café window seat is free nearby, take it — this corner rewards sitting.

Bridge 3 — Melkmeisjesbrug (Brouwersgracht). Two hundred metres west along Amsterdam's favourite canal. The "milkmaid's bridge" is a modest drawbridge, and that's the point: the Brouwersgracht's converted warehouses — De Kroon, De Zon, names still on the gables — were working buildings, and this stretch keeps that unpolished handsomeness. Walk it on the north side, cross here, return on the south. Ten unhurried minutes.

The long middle (30 min). Follow the Prinsengracht south past the Westerkerk — pause for the tower, Rembrandt's bones and the Anne Frank House queue you're wisely not standing in — then cut through the Nine Streets at your own pace. Window-shop, don't shop; the walk has a schedule of exactly none.

Bridge 4 — the fifteen-bridge corner (Herengracht / Reguliersgracht). At the corner where the Herengracht meets the Reguliersgracht stands the walk's party trick: from the right spot on the bridge you can count fifteen bridges in three directions. Evening is best, when their arches light up in strings. Every canal cruise slows here; you get to stand still as long as you like — the pedestrian's revenge.

Bridge 5 — Blauwbrug (Amstel). Follow the Reguliersgracht down and turn onto the river. The Blauwbrug is Amsterdam pretending to be Paris — 1880s opulence, ship-prow pillars, imperial lamps — with the Stopera and the river traffic as its audience. Look north: that's the skinny silhouette of your final bridge.

Bridge 6 — Magere Brug (Amstel). The "Skinny Bridge" is the finale for a reason: a white wooden double-drawbridge, rebuilt many times since the 1690s, strung with lights after dark and still opening for boats. Stand mid-span, face the river, and give it five minutes of doing absolutely nothing. That's the whole technique.

Afterwards: you've earned the Utrechtsestraat. You're standing at the top of Amsterdam's best restaurant street. Choose your finish: oysters at the counter of Bistro de la Mer, à la carte French at De Juwelier, or wine-first dining under old beams at Zoldering. Booking ahead turns a good walk into a perfect evening.

Practical: flat throughout, cobbles and bridge steps only; every point reachable by tram if legs give out (2/12 near the start, 4 near the finish). Rain doesn't cancel this walk — it improves the reflections. Skip weekend afternoons on the Nine Streets stretch if crowds aren't your thing; before 10:00 you'll have the bridges to yourself.