Experience Amsterdam

Hi everyone,

This summer, Amsterdam belongs to two things close to the heart of everyone on this forum: Pride and rowing. From 25 July to 8 August the city hosts WorldPride Amsterdam, with the world-famous Canal Parade sailing through the canals on Saturday 1 August. And from 24 to 30 August, the World Rowing Championships come to the Bosbaan. If you're travelling here for either one — or both — we'd love to put you on the water yourself.

We're TopRow, a rowing centre right on the Amstel, about fifteen minutes from the centre of town. Inclusion isn't a slogan for us — it's part of the sport here. TopRow has sailed in the Canal Parade several times, and the Royal Dutch Rowing Federation was the first sports federation in the country to sail in Pride under its own flag — a public statement that rowing is a sport for everyone. This community is exactly who we had in mind when we built Experience Amsterdam.

Because it's such a special summer, we're offering Experience Amsterdam the whole month of August. You don't have to worry about a thing: your instructor steers the boat and tells you the story of the city while you row, and every trip finishes with a drink on our terrace on the Amstel.

Three ways to do it:

• City Tour by Oar — for experienced rowers. A long, beautiful row through the canal ring, under the Magere Brug (the Skinny Bridge), past the Rijksmuseum, the Anne Frank House and more of the city's landmarks.
• Discover Amsterdam — for anyone who has never held an oar. Thirty minutes of instruction on shore, then a guided row on the Amstel past the Rijksmuseum and the Heineken building. No experience needed at all.
• A bit of both — travelling with a partner who doesn't row? We'll mix it, so the two of you get out on the water together and still see Amsterdam in a way a canal cruise can never match — because you're the one in the boat.

Sessions run Monday to Friday at 13:00 and 15:00, in English, age 15 and up, from €62.25 per person.

There's no better way to remember a Pride or a World Championships than from the seat of a boat, on the same water the city grew up around.

All the details and booking are on our site: amsterdam.toprow.com. Come row with us — we'd love to see you out here.