Museumplein and Vondelpark

The Rijksmuseum carries a heavy, ornate facade of red brick and sandstone, punctuated by a massive central archway that functions as a public street for cyclists and pedestrians alike. Pierre Cuypers designed this building in the eighteen…

Museumplein is a vast, open grass rectangle carved into the dense city grid of Amsterdam. It functions as the backyard for three of the world’s most important art institutions, but it began as a nineteenth century marshy dumping ground for…

The Van Gogh Museum holds a jagged, diamond-shaped glass wing that cuts across the corner of the building. This structure houses the world’s largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, kept here because his brother Theo’s wife, Jo…

The Stedelijk Museum sports a massive, cantilevered roof extension that locals call the Bathtub. Designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects and finished in twenty twelve, this stark white structure looms over the original nineteen century…

The Concertgebouw has a roof topped by a golden lyre that marks it from blocks away. It began as a project to bring classical music to a growing neighborhood in eighteen eighty-eight. When the builders dug the foundation, they discovered…

The Vondelparkpaviljoen stands out because of its bright, neoclassical white facade and the two curved wings that reach out toward the park lawns. Built in eighteen seventy-four, it served as a coffee house and a social hub for the wealthy…

The Vondelpark Openluchttheater stands out for its curved, wooden stage canopy that juts out over a wide, grassy amphitheater. Since nineteen seventy-four, this sunken bowl has functioned as a public stage for everything from opera to…

The Rosarium in Vondelpark features seventy different types of roses planted within a sunken, circular garden. Architect Jan Springer designed this space in eighteen seventy-seven as a formal retreat within the broader park landscape.…