GOING DUTCH

Destination expert Jessica Furseth reveals the best rivers, lakes and docklands to head to for a swim in Amsterdam

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Amsterdam is a city of water.

The capital city of the Netherlands has 165 canals, stretching more than 60 miles, and it often feels like there are more grachten than streets. Amsterdam is also flush with lakes, harbours and islands, not to mention the Amstel, the river that gives the city its name. There’s water everywhere, and the best part? You can swim in almost all of it. A city looks and feels different when you're in its water. Parisians have been flocking to the Seine this summer to get in their river for the first time in 100 years, thanks to focused efforts to clean it up. Sewage overspills are still an issue in Paris, though – this is a problem every major city has to solve before people can safely swim.

But Amsterdam is ahead of most, having spent the past 20 years fixing up its sewage system and securing compliance from the many houseboats. On top of that, the canals are regularly flushed.

Overflows can still happen, and the rule of thumb is to avoid getting into urban waters for 48 hours after a big rain. But the rest of the time, a healthy person can safely swim – after all, thousands of people join the Amsterdam City Swim charity event in the Amstel every September.

The City of Amsterdam trusts you to be sensible about the water. There are seven official open water swimming locations, but it's generally legal to swim as long as there are no notices to the contrary.

There is a very important caveat, though: be considerate of other water users, for their sake as well as your own. That means never swim in a boat lane, as the boats won't be able to see you, and they couldn't stop even if they did. Never jump or dive in – there are a lot of rusting bikes hiding in the depths, and make sure you have a ladder in sight for getting out.