I really wish the Netherlands had made it to the World Cup Final in 2014, because that would have made my visit to Amsterdam and its canal ring even more memorable. Instead, I got to watch them play for third place in the tournament, and the city was a bit more subdued (though still festooned with orange flags). Football aside, Amsterdam was just as I had pictured it would be when I finally made my first foray from Schiphol Airport. I enjoyed walking leisurely through the city, admiring the steep-roofed rowhouses and bridges over the canals. My favorite views of Amsterdam were via a canal boat tour, which provides perhaps the best perspective of this historically mercantile city. The Anne Frank House is within the inscribed area of the World Heritage Site district, and is a sobering but worthwhile site to visit. Although Amsterdam's Museumplein, which includes the famed Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, is not in the inscribed area, a bronze sculpture of Rembrandt's Night Watch can be found at the Rembrandtplein, inside the inscribed area.

Logistics: Amsterdam is easy to walk around, and does have public transportation, but it is well worth it to see the city at least once by boat.