Years ago the city center was a plethora of canals.  In the 20^th Century many of these were filled in.  Fortunately the typical character of the streets surrounding the canals has been preserved.  The water level in the canals is controlled and the bottoms of the canals are cleaned on a regular basis. 
Here and there are wooden landing docks.  With a small boat you can take your own tour through the city.  If you don’t have your own boat then you can take advantage of one of the commercial city tours that leaves from a dock on the Westside of the Nieuwestad. Or rent a boat across the street from the library. 

We’ll now walk in the direction of the central Train Station and will face the immense front of the Palace of Justice, a centuries old Justice building.
There is also a recently built, modern version of the Justice building.  On the south side of the Zaailand, an old school was torn down and a new building was designed with large red lego-like plates.  On the square in front of the Justice Building every Friday there is a Farmers Market. 
Over the years many buildings have been demolished in the city center, but there are still plenty of old buildings that have been saved.  Walking in the direction of the old train station and between the historical buildings we can find new modern office buildings.  This includes the Achmea Toren. 
At the base of the 114 meter high Achmea Tower is the VVV - tourist information center. Here is where you can go with all of your tourist questions and also buy your tour tickets and souvenirs.