Middelburg's historic centre is encircled by a ring of canals — the Rouaansekaai, the Londensekaai, and others — that once connected the city's merchants directly to the sea. The canal ring is one of the best-preserved in Zeeland, lined with seventeenth-century warehouse facades and stepped gable houses that have survived almost intact.
The best way to see the canals is to walk the full circuit, which takes about forty-five minutes at a leisurely pace. Bring a bicycle if you have one — the route is flat and cycle-friendly, and you can extend it westward towards the old city walls and their surviving corner bastions.