Hotel of the week: The Verwisseling, Amsterdam

What better way to see Amsterdam than to float on its “storied waterways,” said William Kole in the Associated Press. The European capital is “laced with canals,” and 2,500 houseboats line the city’s channels. These repurposed vessels became popular alternative dwellings during Amsterdam’s housing crunch of the 1960s. One of those is the Verwisseling, a “130-year-old, steel-hulled barge” once used to haul wood to and from Amsterdam. Though you’ll have to give up such familiar amenities as maid service and a minibar, a stay aboard is “guaranteed to float your boat.”Contact: Houseboathotel.nl