The Netherlands should be praised for limiting its Amsterdam nomination to the most beautiful part of the city, the Canal Ring. It is great fun to walk along the canals and admire the façades and details of the architecture. No two gables look the same. This is of course well known and has already been highlighted by previous reviewers. So why another review? The answer is: just to recommend also taking a look behind the façades of these impressive canal houses.

In June 2023 I had a scientific meeting at Amsterdam University and I was able to extend my stay to the following weekend. I had visited Amsterdam several times before, including the obligatory canal cruise and non-WHS stuff not to be missed like the Rijksmuseum and van Gogh Museum. This time I went to some of the smaller, lesser-known museums and tried to take better photos of the houses and gables.

My first destination was the Het Grachtenhuis Museum. Here you can learn how the formerly swampy area was drained and thousands of wooden pillars were driven into the sandy soil as foundations for the new houses. The multimedia exhibition is dedicated solely to the Canal Ring and tells its history using models, 3D animations and projections etc. It is very well done.
Two of the canal houses have been converted into museums and are open to visitors (with regular opening hours): the Van Loon Museum on the Keizersgracht and the Willet Holthuysen Museum on the Herengracht. In both houses you can see how lavishly the rich families furnished their homes in the 17th to 19th centuries. Collections of paintings and furniture are on display, as well as the kitchen furnishings and the gardens according to the original design. I liked Willet Holthuysen better, it looks more harmonious and complete. Perhaps because in Van Loon the rooms on the first floor are also used for contemporary exhibitions and events. Both museums are worth a visit, and in my opinion much more worthwhile than queuing for hours in front of the Anne Frank House.
However, both are palaces rather than houses, representing upper-class residences, much larger and more luxurious than the typical canal houses where living and working took place under one roof. It would be great if such an original canal house could be restored and made open to visitors.

In my opinion, Amsterdam has more World Heritage potential in addition to the Canal Ring, in particular sites of the Amsterdam School of Architecture. Het Ship would be the flagship here. In addition to the already inscribed Berlin Housing Estates, the topic of Modern Housing in early 20th century would be completed with nominations from Amsterdam and Vienna (most important here: Karl-Marx-Hof).

All in all, Amsterdam has a lot to offer and my visit in 2023 will certainly not be my last visit.