Vondelpark, Amsterdam

2 more images

Looking at a map of Amsterdam Vondelpark is spread out like a green picnic blanket over the south west of the city.

Opened to the public in 1865 the park is named after Joost van den Vondel, one of Netherlands foremost poet and playwrights. It covers approximately 110 acres and includes pathways, ornamental ponds, a rose garden and, of course, plenty of grassy space to spread out your own picnic blanket and join the community of cyclists, joggers, sun-bathers, dog-walkers, and roller bladders who use the park.

In summer an open-air theatre stages free concert and theatre performances and the Nederlands filmmuseum is also located in the park. The filmmuseum screens a large number of classic, arthouse, modern Dutch and world movies throughout the year and also has some open air screenings in summer. Café Vertigo, at the filmmuseum, has a lovely terrace where you can people-watch over your coffee while the strikingly designed t’ Blauwe Teehuis is a great place to stop and refresh yourself with a sandwich and cake.

3 more images

I walked through Vondelpark almost every day during the week I spent in Amsterdam. The scenery was pleasant, it was easy to stop by a museum or two (or more) - it was so relaxing, I got used to the constant mist/light rain (we visited at the end of March 2005). Vondelpark was a nice break from the more bustling city and/or tourist centers such as the Dam, Leidseplein, Anne Frank Huis, etc.

Located to the southwest of Central Amsterdam, this is a large and beautiful park. There are some lovely lakes, plenty of bike paths and an abundance of grassy areas for relaxing and taking some time out from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city. We came here one afternoon for an hour or so, and sat on the grass watching locals and tourists alike coming and going as the sun began to set. This is the perfect place to come if you're after a bit of peace and quiet, but is also a great spot for people watching.

Another great place to nap and watch people go by, like Munich's Englisher garden, but with surprisingly less naked people. Before you get to the park keep an eye out for the 'iguanapark' which is a fenced in area with 20 or so bronze iguanas (why I don't know)

This is a very HUGE park in the South-East part of Amsterdam,not more than 10min by car from the centre of the city.
Here you can relax yourself looking the gorgeous nature on a banch or directly on the grass lawn!
Obviously,this is an other spot where the most of people smokes..but not only,fortunately!
A curiosity:local girls,exactly as in Scandinavian countries,like to play SOCCER!!!!! Yes!! pratically the totality of the girls around us played-and quite good-the "second passion of the life"of the middle italian!!!!!!!! And unfortunately I'm one of the few Italians
that has never played soccer.... :-( Sick!

Enjoy!

Vodelpark is so loved in the Netherlands that they actually declared it a national monument. It was filled with people when I there, it was unbelievable how many people were just sitting around on the grass soaking up some sun. Rent a bike and cruise through, but listen for other biker's bells. When you hear a bell, get out of the way, I almost got hit more on once!

After a cultural visit to the museums you can relax in this nice park wich is very close to the art museums.
This park was open in 1865 and was created like the English parks style. This is a place to read, to walk, to just lay in the grass. Inside this park is the Cinema Museum. In the summer there are concerts held in the park too. The name of the park is due to the sculpture of Joost van den Vondel, a very famous theatre author.

When the weather is nice, nothing is more fun than drinking beer in Vondelpark. Ride your bikes to a beergarden, take a seat, and enjoy the sun. There's a very good vibe, and everyone having so much fun, yes!

The streets around Vondelpark are quite posh and walking from Museumplein to Vondelpark you can admire some especially stately ones. The ones pictured here have beautiful art-nouveau embellishments in their facades.

Vondelpark provides Amsterdam's citizens with plenty of green space, and thanks to the efforts of PieterJan, it has also become a prime spot for VT'ers meeting up!

As you can see in my pictures, it is really a very popular and populated spot and unfortunately a lot of people are not well-mannered enough to properly take care of their left-overs. The Dutch seem to be very much laissez-faire, but I would actually prefer a more zero-tolerance approach towards people messing up public spaces .