Amsterdam's magnificent network of canals was set out in the 17th century.
At that time, along the canals which girdle the city, the citizens built houses taller than any other seen in any other Dutch city centre. The city authorities encouraged this 'tall is prestigious' idea to add to the glory of Amsterdam.

Culture flourished alongside business. Poets and playwrights like Bredero, Vondel and P.C. Hooft created their immortal works. Rembrandt and his pupils had their ateliers here. And the philosophers Spinoza and Descartes ('I think therefore I am') fashioned new insights as food for thought.