10 Most Iconic Buildings in Amsterdam

The Royal Palace Amsterdam is for many people their first stop, offering a look at a historic 17th-century Dutch Golden Age building, now home to the royal family. Originally, this exuberant palace along Dam Square was built as a city hall to host administrative functions of the town and to symbolize the international influence of the city. The architecture is pure classical in style, paying homage to ancient Greco-Roman buildings of thousands of years ago.

You can walk the elaborate rooms and galleries to view authentic furnishings and décor from hundreds of years past and explore mysterious stories of the city's past. It's in the heart of the city centre.

The NEMO Science Museum is a vast science and technology museum offering hundreds of cutting-edge, hands-on exhibits tracing the history of science, all inside a big boat. Okay, it's not really a big boat, but it's hard to not see the resemblance of this iconic contemporary architectural wonder. The ship-like structure rises to 22 meters above sea level, forming one of Amsterdam's highest piazzas, and from where you can get phenomenal panoramic views of the city. The Renzo Piano building was built of copper and has a gorgeous green patina on it.

The kid-friendly science museum offers the ability to learn about math, computers and even travel to the ends of the universe. It's right in the city centre.

Het Schip is a historic building dating to the early 20th century and designed according to Amsterdamse School standards with gorgeous, curved brick motifs housing a museum of Dutch socialism. The museum was originally built by a Socialist housing development and housed low-income families for nearly 100 years. Today, the complex stands as a museum dedicated to the Dutch socialist movement and allows you to visit an original apartment and climb the decorative tower from where you can get gorgeous photos of the surrounding city.

This architectural wonder was built by Michel de Klerk and offers the opportunity to get a look at early modern Amsterdam development. It's 13 minutes north of the city centre.

EYE Filmmuseum offers visitors the chance to explore the entire history of the Dutch movie industry housed within a sleek, sloping and angular example of modern architecture. The museum's profile juts out over the harbor, offering dramatic views of the city. Within, you can check out movies at several movie theaters with state-of-the-art projection and sound as well as one of the Netherlands's largest movie archives. The museum offers paid and free exhibits to explore, so it's an ideal place to bring the family for some fun and education.

Whether you're there to check out the spaceship-like exterior or learn about movie history, EYE is a destination for movie buffs in Amsterdam. It's 11 minutes north of the city centre.

Rijksmuseum is a vast art museum that stands in a handsome neoclassical building dating to the dawn of the 19th century and housing over 900,000 objects and artifacts within. The museum's crown jewel is a vast collection of works by Dutch masters including Rembrandt van Rijn and Vermeer, but it stands today as among the most-visited museums in the entire city. The building has been immaculately maintained, so whether you're in it to photograph the artworks inside or you just want to capture photos of the building itself, you're sure to light up your social media feeds.

The building stands as a later tribute to Dutch Golden Age architecture. It's 15 minutes east of the city centre.

Stedelijk Museum dates to the late 19th century but combines the original neoclassic architecture with a postmodern wing, offering a unique juxtaposition of past and present. The more recent ultramodern wing was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects and has a unique shape that is colloquially referred to as a "giant bathtub" by locals and architectural enthusiasts. This museum is clearly one of the most unique buildings in all of Amsterdam because of the way it seamlessly combines the 1800s with the 21st century.

Inside, you'll see thousands of paintings and multimedia art by names like Pollock, Van Gogh, Warhol and others. It's just 15 minutes east of the city centre.

Scheepvaarthuis offers a chance to see the first complete representation of the Amsterdamse School of architecture in a century-old building that today is a 5-star hotel. This building was designed and erected in the early 20th century and has become synonymous with its architectural style, showcasing all of the expressive, dynamic features that are indicative of the movement. It's noted for its towering spires and stunning turrets.

Originally, the building was built to house shipping companies as part of the city's global trade operations. The maritime sculptures and carvings are still a part of its design today. You can book a stay here or see it right in the heart of the city centre.

Beurs van Berlage is among the most famous buildings by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, a famed city planner, originally built as a stock exchange and offering iconic architectural features. The building offers a striking, dominant bell tower inside of a soaring boxed turret and is marked by expressive arrangements of red brick. Its stone piers and glass roof are equally iconic and the building itself stands as a major influence on early modern architecture all over the world as well as an iconic piece of the Amsterdamse School.

Inside, the open floor plan and selective ornamentation form a striking sense of stark design. You can see it on the northern edge of the city centre.

Centraal Station offers shining, angular steel design with ultramodern sensibilities as well as the main metro link station of the city, allowing for easy connection between north and south. The station was a hotly debated structure that took over 22 years to design, get accepted and built, connecting 7 stations above and underground along a nearly 10-kilometre route. The task to engineer this system was monumental and required excavation of nearly swamp-like soil under the city's historic district.

Today, not only is this metro system a primary means to get around the city, its central station draws architecture enthusiasts from all over to view the interior, which is akin to art itself. It's 11 minutes north of the city centre.

ARCAM, or the Architecture Center of Amsterdam, is an art museum offering a trapezium-shaped building decked in shining aluminum and glass in a flowing design. Inside, you can explore an art museum dedicated to the history and development of architecture in Amsterdam, and the building itself is an astonishing accomplishment that in many ways stands as the pinnacle of architectural evolution. In addition to its flowing design, the building is notable for its glass façade at the main entrance. Here, you can take guided tours with knowledgeable architectural guides and view both permanent and temporary exhibitions.

You can also capture fantastic photo ops of the harbor and cityscape beyond for your social media feed. It's all in the city centre.