A really lovely restaurant with terasse with lots of sun hidden in the west and close to Erasmus Park. It is a place where you will a lot of locals catching up. The food is always great and there is a super cosy and friendly atmosphere. The kind of place you actually want to keep a secret so don't tell anyone! ;)

A great music venue with ping-pong tables used to be a squat. 

Gorgeous cinema near the Rembrandtsplein. Built in the early 1920s in a very rich architectural style that mixes Jugendstil, the Amsterdam School and Art Deco, the cinema was meant to be a temple for cinematography. The entrance and the main auditorium (Zaal 1) are just simply stunning. It’s been recently restored in its former splendor and is now owned by big distributor Pathé Cinemas. Though a lot of people have been criticizing the fact that a beautiful cinema as this is now exploited by a big commercial chain, I sort of like that fact that also the big blockbusters are usually screened here. It feels like the old days where I imagine you’d simply get overwhelmed by the place and the film and its technique. So my advice is: whatever (crap) plays in Zaal 1, just buy a bag of popcorn, sit back and enjoy.

I've always been inspired by old industrial buildings like factories, but unfortunately such buildings have become rather rare in the Netherlands. At the moment you can still find some of the remains of the old harbour of Amsterdam called the ‘NDSM werf’ on the other side of the river ‘IJ,’ but this area seems to be in transition as well. For the time being the NDSM werf is a creative place where a lot of activities are taking place. The best part for me is the 'Y-helling' to enjoy the (modest) skyline of Amsterdam and to write graffiti.



Smack in the middle of tourist district and right on the border of the red light district. My good friend (and super talented photographer Qiu Yang, check it out folks!) is part of the furniture there and because of him, we - his friends - are allowed to order outside of the menu. So none of that westernized mild gruel, but the real spicy tongue-numbing-deal. Before going out to parties, after gallery openings or just when we’re hungry, our bunch always gathers there. Good times!