Which is your favorite spot in #UrbanNatureAmsterdam?
On 27 October 2025, Amsterdam will celebrate its 750th anniversary in a big way: the garlands are already flying throughout the city and the accompanying #Amsterdam750 is eagerly being shared to remind us of all the wonderful things that residents, businesses and the city itself are organising for this anniversary year. One voice is underexposed: ‘the voice of urban nature’!
Everyone has a favourite spot somewhere in Amsterdam's urban nature. A place with a deeper (personal) meaning. It could be a tree, an inconspicuous piece of greenery, a busy park, your own balcony, a green roof, the view from your office, a bird's nest, a cemetery or a swimming spot. A green space where you fell in love for the first time or where you made friends, where you unwind or find inspiration, a place where you feel free and happy. Ahead of the celebration, we’ll share on this page and on the social media our friends' most cherished places in #UrbanNatureAmsterdam.
Gerlinde Schuller - theworldasflatland.net
I overlook my favorite green spot in the city from my balcony: the large, communal garden of Geuzenhof 1 in Amsterdam West. Since I supervised the redevelopment of this 8,300-square-meter garden with a group of residents, I know every flowerbed, tree and shrub. We are excited that the redevelopment has paid off. In addition to the regular visitors – the great spotted woodpecker, a group of collar parakeets and magpies – we now see many more birds and insects in the garden. The other day, a pair of ducks flew over the residential block to cruise around in our new pond.
What makes this place extra special to me is that I also know its history. As a data journalist, I researched it for years. I know that 90 years ago on the round, shady seating area there was a three-meter-high aviary, with canaries, peacocks and even chickens that provided fresh eggs every morning. I know that garden architect Mien Ruys, who laid out this garden in 1935, planted two downy birches next to the aviary, one of which is still standing. I find the fact that I can visualize this fusion of past and present from my balcony invaluable.
Would you also like to get to het to know this place? Then visit my exhibition 'The People of Geuzenhof', on view until April 6 at Arcam, Architecture Centre Amsterdam or read 'The Story of Geuzenhof'.
#5 Arita Baaijens - www.aritabaaijens.nl
My favourite spot in Amsterdam is around the corner from my home. In Beatrixpark there are two beautiful weeping beeches with thick, inviting branches in. During the spring and summer, the branches form a green dome that reaches down to the ground. As soon as you enter this dome you also enter a magical space where time no longer exists.
It is my favourite disappearing act in Amsterdam. I climb the bottom branch of the tree and although the world goes on and I see people and dogs walking by between these branches, they no longer see me. This is a delightful feeling. The beech trees provide a firm and welcoming anchor in a maddening world. (Image:Ten Hove Bomen)
#4 Rian Knop - Studio Rian Knop
Where can you suddenly experience the great outdoors in the middle of the city? Hear the crunch of shell paths, smell the scent of greenery and be as far away as possible from any form of motorised transport? My answer is the Garden Park Ons Buiten. Here the gardeners are enjoying their own plots and the guests take walks through well-maintained nature, right against the more rugged Oeverlanden.
This spot is my big favourite!
#3 Wieke van der Heide - businessfilmschool.nl
Why is Rembrandt Park is such a nice place? I live between three parks and find all three equally beautiful. But if I'm looking for peace and quiet, I choose the ‘Rembrandtpark’. There are no tourists or large groups barbecuing here. There is a little children’s playground, a petting zoo and above all, this park is the ideal place to walk, run, read a book or just do nothing.
#2 Tamara van Witzenburg - Wanderwalk
Even in a city as Amsterdam you can experience the ‘island life’. The Prinseneiland neighbourhood is surrounded by water you can only reach via one of its three bridges. Even halfway across one of those bridges, you start feeling a deep tranquillity. After a short walk you will land in a community where time seems unimportant and daily worries fall away. The vibe can be an Italian one, a Caribbean one or even one we all recognise from the much loved Dutch Wadden Islands.
From Wanderwalk’s base in the Jordaan neighbourhood, I am walking several laps of the city each day. If you pay attention, between the concrete of the city there is always also nature. From the beautiful Amsterdam’s elms to the residents' flowers on the pavement. It would be great if the municipality would support its residents in greening their streets and rooftops.
My favourite place is the tropical oasis on Prinseneiland: a nature pocket filled with palms and bamboo, created and maintained by the locals. This tranquil historic spot is my favourite #UrbanNatureAmsterdam. If you bring a laptop you can work there outdoors. The old warehouses that served as storage for goods coming from the colonies, combined with the tropical vegetation from there make you aware of a long eventful history of Amsterdam. We are experiencing it with the knowledge we have now; under these palms, the sense of guilt, the urgency for justice and even the hardship in the society seem to waft a little bit away.
#1 Natascha Hagenbeek - https://natascha.net
My favourite urban nature is De Oeverlanden nature reserve. Over 20 years ago, I lived there just a five-minute walk away. It was my ideal place to take a stroll along the banks of the Nieuwe Meer. With groups from our live-work house, we used to swim naked in the lake there in summer, it used to be so quiet and undiscovered back then. Later, when the area was laid out with beaches and I only had a mobile home nearby, we celebrated my young children's birthdays there every year. How much fun and adventures they and their friends had there. Every time I am back in De Oeverlanden, all these wonderful memories come up.