Watercolour Painting Amstel Mint Tower Amsterdam Blue Hour by Hendrik-Jan Kornelis

A Watercolour Painting of the Amstel houses with the Munttoren in Amsterdam during the Blue Hour.

The Amstel originally began at the confluence of the Drecht and Kromme Mijdrecht rivers, just southwest of Uithoorn (which is also called Uithoorn aan de Amstel). With canalisation and construction of the Amstel-Drecht Canal in 1825, the section between Uithoorn and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel became part of this canal.

This canal starts at the Tolhuis lock at the confluence of the Drecht and the Aarkanaal, just northwest of Nieuwveen, and runs through Uithoorn to Ouderkerk aan de Amstel where the Bullewijk flows into it. From there to Amsterdam, the water is still officially called Amstel. The section from the Aarkanaal to the Bullewijk is 18.5 km long, from there to the mouth the water measures 12.5 km.

Apart from the Kromme Mijdrecht and the Bullewijk, the small river Waver flows into the Amstel, at the westernmost point of the polder the Ronde Hoep and located between Nessersluis and Nes aan de Amstel.

The Munttoren, also called De Munt, is officially called Regulierstoren and used to be part of the Regulierspoort. This city gate was one of the three main gates of Amsterdam's medieval fortifications. The gate was named after the Reguliersklooster (1394-1532). This monastery stood at the level of the later Keizersgracht outside the Regulierspoort.

The tower stands on Muntplein, which was called Schapenplein until 1877 and Sophiaplein from 1877 to 1917 (after Queen Sophie). Today, it is a busy intersection between Kalverstraat and Reguliersbreestraat, close to the flower market on the Singel. Past the tower under the small gate, one heads towards Kalverstraat or Reguliersbreestraat.