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photo from Elle Decor Credit: Sylvain Sonnet/Getty Images

I was delighted when I read the spotlight on Amsterdam in June's Elle Decor.  I plan on making the trip a yearly thing each February.  We had such a blast with friends this past winter that I don't want to pass it up.
The newly reinvented Stedelijk and Rijksmuseum will be reopening this year.  Benthem Crouwel designed the modern annex to the the Stedelijk allowing twice the art to be on show.

The famous Rijksmuseum maintains it's castle like appeal and boasts several modern additions by Spanish architects Antonio(s) Cruz & Ortiz.

While I look forward to trolling the museums, I am also thrilled about new hotel designs.  The melding of old and up-to-the-minute new never bores me.  The Andaz Amsterdam will be opening this year.  It's a former library being transformed by Marcel Wanders.

The Conservatorium Hotel, designed by Piero Lissoni is a study in major luxury.

What was once a bank then became a school of music.  It houses a restaurant called Tunes where Ferran Adria (of El Bulli) is claimed to have said to the chef, Schilo van Coevorden,  "You have the best oysters and lamb, and incredible cheese."
I am saving up & making reservations STAT.   (I still mourn the closing of El Bulli.  My bucket list is one line shorter.)

Above is ACRAM, the city's center for architecture.

photo from Elle Decor

You can read the article  here.