Golden Bend. This stretch of the Herengracht -- which indeed bends -- between the Vijzelstraat to the Leidsegracht contains some of Amsterdam's most opulent Golden Age architecture and as such provided homes to the financial and political elite of the 17th and 18th centuries. It speaks of the egalitarian tendencies of the Dutch that such excesses arose here on Herengracht (Gentlemen's Canal) as opposed to the yet snootier-sounding Prinsengracht (Princes' Canal) or Keizersgracht (Emperors' Canal). Actually, some of the exteriors may come across at first glance as more modest than overtly opulent and therefore may reflect the Calvinist owners' "Embarrassment of Riches" so well described in Simon Schama's book of the same name. However, embarrassment did not stop them from importing the exterior's construction materials from afar and stuffing the interiors more overtly. In the late 19th century, most of these buildings were converted into offices for banks and other financial institutions that felt quite comfortable behind the heavy central doors. While there are clusters of wonderful historic facades higher up on the canal, there are several notable addresses on this stretch, including "the most beautiful house in Amsterdam," No. 475 (a Louis XIV-style mansion designed by Hans Jacob Husly in 1703). Also keep your eye posted for 485 (Jean Coulon, 1739); 493 and 527, also in the Louis XVI style (1770); and 284 (Van Brienen House, 1728), another ornate Louis XVI facade. Interestingly, when initially laid out, the great canals, including Herengracht, had no trees, making the city look more than ever like a "Venice of the North." With time, elms were planted, in part to allow for their roots to stablize the canal foundations.