Be your own Breughel painting: skating comes naturally in Holland, and frozen canals are a perfect winter thoroughfare. And the Dutch would like to take credit for inventing speed skating. (Remember Hans Brinker and the silver skates?) In winters when temperatures drop low enough (as last year, for the first time in a decade) tour boats are banned from Amsterdam's central waterways to allow them to freeze for a magical urban experience. Bring your own skates.

Alternately, Leidseplein Winter Plaza, until 3 January 2011.