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Number 11 of 20 in Amsterdam

Vondelpark: Amsterdam's garden

On a fine day half of Amsterdam seems to be in the Vondelpark: on its lawns, round its ponds, on bikes along its paths. It was made by a group of citizens in the 1860s, and it has belonged to everyone ever since.

What it is
Garden
Time to allow
45 to 120 minutes
Cost
Free
Best time
A sunny afternoon, or a summer evening

Amsterdam this week

    Why the Vondelpark is worth it

    In 1864 a group of citizens bought pasture and marsh at the edge of the city to make a park for riding and walking. The architect Jan David Zocher designed it in the English landscape style, and it opened in 1865 as the New Park.

    In 1867 a statue of the seventeenth-century poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel, by Louis Royer, was set up in it on a base designed by Pierre Cuypers, and people began calling it Vondel's park. Zocher's son, Louis Paul, completed the last part between 1876 and 1877.

    It covers forty-seven hectares and has some ten million visitors a year. The paths, the ponds and the old trees are much as the Zochers planned them.

    What to see

    1. The Vondel statue

      The poet seated on his pedestal among the trees, the statue that gave the park its name.

    2. The pavilion

      The pavilion of 1878 near the main gate, built to replace an earlier wooden chalet.

    3. The Blue Teahouse

      A round modernist café of 1937 among the trees, with a terrace on the ground floor and another on its roof.

    4. The open-air theatre

      A stage in the middle of the park, with music, dance and theatre on summer days.

    5. Picasso in the park

      A large concrete sculpture by Pablo Picasso, The Fish, given to the city in 1965 and standing on a lawn in the park.

    How to do it well

    • Go in by the main gate at the Stadhouderskade, near the Leidseplein, and walk west.
    • Cyclists use the main paths too. Keep to the side when you walk.
    • Bring something for a picnic: on a sunny day the lawns fill with people doing the same.
    • The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum are ten minutes' walk from the main gate.

    Where it is

    Address

    Between the Stadhouderskade and the Amstelveenseweg, in Oud-Zuid

    Nearest station

    Leidseplein tram stop, five minutes from the main gate

    Museums and sights nearby

    Distances are in a straight line.

    Tickets and tours: Vondelpark

    Vondelpark: common questions

    Is the Vondelpark free?
    Yes. The park costs nothing to enter, and so do the summer performances at its open-air theatre.
    Can you cycle in the Vondelpark?
    Yes, on its main paths, which walkers share with cyclists. Many people cross the city through it by bike.
    Why is it called the Vondelpark?
    After Joost van den Vondel, the seventeenth-century poet and playwright, whose statue was put up in the park in 1867. It opened in 1865 as the New Park.
    How much time do you need for the Vondelpark?
    Allow 45 to 120 minutes. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.

    What visitors say about the Vondelpark

    Rating from Google

    4.7

    61,574 ratings on Google

    Google's figures as read on 19 October 2026.

    Read every review on Google

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