West · 38 minutes
Along the Brouwersgracht
The warehouses read best before the delivery bicycles arrive and the bridges are still empty.
Begin at the western end, where the canal is widest and the brick fronts still carry their hoisting beams. Follow the water east, keeping the warehouses on your left, and let the traffic noise fall away behind the houseboats.
Turn south where the canal narrows. The last stretch is quiet enough to hear the locks working, and there is a bench near the corner that catches the first proper light.