You start before the city wakes, when De Wallen is silent and the low sun is sliding down the empty alleys, the only time the old centre belongs to photographers. You'll work the eastern canals first, then drift south to the Amstel for the grand bridges, cross west into the quiet of the canal belt and the Nine Streets through the middle of the day, and finish on the Brouwersgracht as the light turns gold and the lamps flicker on. It's a long, slow loop on foot, roughly 9 km, with the best frames bookending the day, soft light at dawn, warm light at dusk. Travel light, start early, and save battery for blue hour.