A canal in Amsterdam. (Shutterstock)

Amsterdam's canal district has long been a magnet for visitors, whether for its 17th-century architecture or its legalized prostitution and soft drugs.

Now it's on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Heritage List.

The canal district was one of 21 additions announced last month. That caught my eye because I have memories - fond and otherwise - of my first time there.

It was in 1970, when my wife and I were near the end of a long holiday trek around Europe. Our budget dictated that accommodation be cheap - i.e. a shared bathroom down the hall.

So when a hotel tout approached us outside Amsterdam's railway station, we blithely followed him along a canal, past scantily clad women sitting motionless in picture windows. This was the Red Light District (today it's marked on tourist maps) and it's where our hotel, the Anco, was located.

Our room measured little more than two metres by two and was on the top floor, up a narrow, spiral staircase so steep we took pains to avoid making the trip more than once a day.

I'll say this about the Anco: It was cheap. Cheerful, too, because it was a favourite of American and Canadian servicemen on leave. Perhaps one reason was that the bar stayed open until 4 a.m., closed for three or four hours to be hosed down, then reopened.

While my wife bathed and primped for dinner, I made many new acquaintances and drank many, many beers.

Dinner was to be our initiation into Indonesian cuisine. At the first restaurant, a waiter took one look at me staggering up the steps and shooed us away.

They were more forgiving at the second. I ordered bami goreng, full of odd things and spicy hot. They brought ice water, which made it worse. I remember demanding milk. The rest is a blur.

I was back in Amsterdam two years ago and went looking for the Anco. It's still there, and still cheap, but caters to the gay market.

The area UNESCO designated is composed of four curved canals that run parallel to each other and encircle the city centre in a half moon. The bank of the outermost canal is where the Anne Frank House is located. A narrated boat cruise is a relaxing way to see it.

The entire UNESCO World Heritage list can be found at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list.

In leisure travel news:

• Five of Tasmania's convict history sites have also been added to UNESCO's list. Tour operator Goway includes some on a three-day stopover to an Australian vacation. Accommodation is in the Henry Jones Art Hotel, built by convicts. For details, visit www.goway.com/downunder/australia/tasmania/tas_travel_ideas.html.

• A new brochure from Globus outlines faith-based escorted tours. Itineraries focus on the lands of Catholicism (Italy, France, Portugal, Spain and Ireland) and the lands of the Bible (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and Greece. Group rates are available for as few as eight passengers travelling together. Visit www.globusjourneys.ca.

• Toronto-based travel journalist Lucy Izon has launched an entertaining i-Phone application, a trivia-style game about what makes Canada cool. Lucy calls it an evenings' entertainment for a twonie. Visit http://www.canadacool.com/AppForiPhone.html.

  Doug English can be reached at denglishtravel@gmail.com or by mail c/o London Free Press, P.O.E. Box 2280, London, Ont. N6A 4G1