The best photo spots in Amsterdam for a photoshoot

1. Magere Brug and the Amstel

A white wooden drawbridge over the wide Amstel, between Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. In the evening it is outlined with 1,200 light bulbs.

Good to know: Since 2003 only pedestrians and cyclists cross it, and cyclists use it constantly, so keep the bike path clear.

Best for: an empty bridge early in the morning, or the lit bridge at blue hour.

2. Reguliersgracht and the seven bridges

A narrow canal running south from the Herengracht with a straight row of arched bridges. From water level you can look through all seven at once; from the street fewer of them line up.

Good to know: Stand at the corner of Herengracht and Reguliersgracht and look south along the canal.

Best for: a classic canal frame with depth.

3. Brouwersgracht

A wide canal on the north-western edge of the canal ring, lined with converted warehouses with wooden shutters and houseboats along the quay. Readers of Het Parool voted it the most beautiful street in Amsterdam in 2007.

Good to know: The houseboats and doorsteps are people’s homes: we photograph from the quay and never step on board.

Best for: houseboats, warehouses and calm water.

4. The Jordaan: Bloemgracht and Egelantiersgracht

Narrow canals with low bridges, bikes on every railing, step gables and flower pots. Bloemgracht has been called “the Herengracht of the Jordaan”.

Good to know: On weekends these streets fill up by late morning, so we come here early and move on before the crowds.

Best for: bikes, bridges and the village side of Amsterdam.

5. The Nine Streets (De 9 Straatjes)

Three by three small shopping streets crossing four canals between Raadhuisstraat and Leidsegracht, with over 250 shops and cafés. Each street ends in a bridge over a canal.

Good to know: Most shops open around 10 or 11 a.m., and on Sundays at noon. Before that the streets are almost empty.

Best for: shop fronts, café terraces and bridges in one short walk.

6. Herengracht and the Golden Bend

The stretch of the Herengracht between Leidsestraat and Vijzelstraat, with double-wide mansions and classicist facades built after 1663, when the richest Amsterdammers lived here.

Good to know: The steps and doorways belong to the buildings, many of them offices, so we use them briefly and leave the entrance free.

Best for: grand facades, stone steps and a broad canal.

7. Westerkerk and the Prinsengracht

The Westertoren, at 87 metres the highest church tower in Amsterdam, rises above the Prinsengracht gables next to the Jordaan.

Good to know: The Anne Frank House is next door and the pavement there gets busy, so we photograph the tower from the bridges a little further along the canal.

Best for: a canal frame with a landmark in it.

8. Groenburgwal and the Zuiderkerk

A short canal with the tower of the Zuiderkerk at its end and a white wooden drawbridge, the Staalmeestersbrug, across it. Monet painted this exact view around 1874.

Good to know: It sits on the eastern side of the centre, near the Nieuwmarkt and the Waterlooplein.

Best for: a quieter alternative to the busiest bridges.

9. Leidsegracht

A short canal near the Leidseplein that links the Herengracht, the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht, with arched bridges and steps down to the water below a tall corner house. From one of its bridges the canal runs straight towards a church spire.

Good to know: It is a few minutes from the main canals, so it fits into almost any canal-ring route. See a full session we shot here.

Best for: canal steps and a long view along the water.

10. Damrak and the dancing houses

A row of old merchant houses on the water at the Damrak, between Centraal Station and the Dam, leaning against each other at different angles. The view is from the Damrak pavement across the water.

Good to know: The Damrak is one of the busiest streets in the centre, with trams, tour boats and crowds. The facades get the sun in the afternoon and evening and are backlit in the morning. We use it for one or two frames on the way to or from the station, not as a long stop.

Best for: the postcard view with the two of you in front of it.

11. Centraal Station and the free ferry

The neo-Gothic station by Pierre Cuypers, the architect of the Rijksmuseum, opened in 1889 on artificial islands in the IJ. Behind it, free ferries cross the water to Amsterdam-Noord every few minutes.

Good to know: The ferry is free for pedestrians and cyclists and the crossing takes a few minutes. Standing on deck with the station behind you is a frame of its own, and the same ferries go to the NDSM wharf.

Best for: big architecture and a short boat ride without booking a boat.

12. Rijksmuseum passage and Museumplein

A vaulted brick passage under the Rijksmuseum, with both museum entrances inside it, opening onto the lawns of Museumplein.

Good to know: The passage is a public road with a busy cycle path through the middle, so we pose at the sides. The Rijksmuseum gardens allow photography for private use only, so a paid session there needs the museum’s permission.

Best for: arches, brick and the museum facade.

13. Vondelpark

A 47-hectare park opened in 1865, with ponds, bridges, big old trees, a rose garden and the round Blauwe Theehuis. It gets around 10 million visits a year.

Good to know: Weekday mornings are usually the calmest time.

Best for: greenery, especially for families with small children.

14. Plantage and the Hortus Botanicus

A green 19th-century district east of the centre, with wide tree-lined streets, the gates of Artis zoo and the Hortus Botanicus, one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world, founded in 1638.

Good to know: Inside the Hortus, every photo shoot has to be booked with the garden in advance and is charged separately, during opening hours only. Our Plantage sessions stay on the streets and in the small Wertheimpark, which need no booking.

Best for: calm green streets close to the centre.

15. NDSM wharf

A former shipyard in Amsterdam-Noord with cranes, hangars, street art and a view over the IJ. The F4 ferry from Amsterdam Central Station is free.

Good to know: NDSM allows small personal shoots of up to three people. Commercial shoots need permission in advance, and the artworks may not be used without it.

Best for: an industrial look, completely different from the canals.

16. Zaanse Schans

Green wooden houses and working windmills along the river Zaan, about 17 minutes by train from Amsterdam Centraal plus a 15-minute walk, or 24 minutes on bus 800.

Good to know: Commercial photography needs written permission from the Zaanse Schans at least two business days ahead. Most houses are lived in, and drones are not allowed.

Best for: windmills and the Dutch countryside in one morning.

17. Keukenhof and the tulip fields

Keukenhof in Lisse is open from 18 March to 9 May 2027, 08:00 to 19:00, with tickets sold from mid-October for a fixed date and half-hour arrival slot. The bulb fields around it flower from late March: first daffodils, then hyacinths and tulips.

Good to know: Keukenhof allows photos for personal use, but selling services or professional shoots in the park need its written permission, and you may not bring flowers in from outside. The bulb fields are private: you may not walk into them even when there is no fence, and the police can fine you. Photos are taken from the edge of the field or at spots set up for them.

Best for: spring trips. Our tulip-season sessions take place in flower fields near Keukenhof where visitors are welcome to take photos, not inside the park.

One hour in the western canal ring

Brouwersgracht with its houseboats, the low bridges of Bloemgracht and Egelantiersgracht, then the Westerkerk tower seen from a Prinsengracht bridge. Under 1.5 km on foot, and quiet before 9 a.m.

One hour around the Amstel

The Golden Bend first, then the seven bridges from the corner of Herengracht and Reguliersgracht, and the Magere Brug over the Amstel to finish. About 1.5 km in all.

Two hours: canals, shops and a different view

Join the western ring to the Nine Streets and the Leidsegracht, or take the free ferry from Centraal Station to NDSM for an industrial second look.