Magere Brug (Skinny Bridge)

Amsterdam has 1,500 bridges, and this is the one everyone photographs. The Magere Brug — "Skinny Bridge" — spans the Amstel River in a graceful white arc that looks particularly spectacular after dark, when 1,200 light bulbs outline its wooden structure against the water. It appeared in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, and locals consider it the most romantic bridge in a city absolutely stuffed with romantic bridges.

The legend — which tour guides tell with great enthusiasm — is that two sisters who lived on opposite sides of the Amstel built a private bridge so they could visit each other. Being on a budget, they built it narrow, hence "skinny." The real story, uncovered in city archives, is more prosaic: a grand stone bridge was originally planned during the Golden Age, but the economic crash of 1672 forced the city to build something cheaper and simpler instead. The name stuck even after the bridge was rebuilt, repeatedly, into something far grander.

The first bridge at this location was built in 1691 with thirteen arches. The current version dates to 1934, constructed in traditional Dutch drawbridge style — it still opens about every twenty minutes during the day to let river traffic through. A bridgemaster operates the mechanism from the small house at the bridge's center.

Come at twilight if you can. The lights come on, the bridge reflects in the Amstel, and the Skinny Bridge becomes the most photographed structure in Amsterdam. From here you can see the Carre Theater, the Hermitage, and the long sweep of the river toward the south. It's the kind of view that makes you understand why the Dutch built their whole civilization around water.