Centraal Station

Built on an artificial island in 1889, Centraal Station (Amsterdam CS to train travellers) was designed as a neo-Renaissance ‘curtain’, a controversial plan that effectively cut off Amsterdam from the IJ river. One of the architects, PJ Cuypers, also designed the Rijksmuseum, and you can see the similarities – in the square faux-Gothic towers, the fine red brick and the abundant reliefs (for sailing, trade and industry). The garage in the right-hand wing was built to shelter the Dutch royal carriage, but it’s rarely there (read: never). As for all that construction, it’s for another Amsterdam master traffic plan. Eventually the inner harbour will be enlarged, the station square pedestrianised, and buses and trams rerouted to a new terminal in the rear.