Damrak and its Dancing Houses

About this place

A street and canal running from Centraal Station to Dam Square, with a row of leaning coloured houses along its eastern bank known as the dancing houses, among the most photographed sights in the city. The leaning is not design but an engineering problem. Amsterdam is built on wet ground that carries no weight, so every building stands on timber piles driven tens of metres down to a firm sand layer. Over time the piles rot and settle unevenly, so the houses tilt — some forward, some sideways — and lean on their neighbours. The forward lean in some is nonetheless deliberate. The houses are narrow with steep stairs, so goods and furniture were hoisted up the outside on a hook fixed at the top. A forward tilt keeps the load from striking the facade as it rises. That is why almost every house has a hook at its peak. Damrak itself was the city's inner harbour before parts were filled in; the name means the quay's reach, and the dam that gave Amsterdam its name stood here. Practical points: the street is public, free and always open, and it is among the city's most crowded and most touristed for shops — walk it, but do not eat or shop on it.