Rijksmuseum

In front of you is the Rijksmuseum, the national museum of the Netherlands. Its collection was born in 1800 in The Hague and moved to Amsterdam in 1808 on the orders of Louis Bonaparte. The building you see, designed by Pierre Cuypers, opened on 13 July 1885.

1A museum or a cathedral?

Cuypers blended Gothic with the Dutch Renaissance and covered the red-brick façade with sculptures, tiles and gilding that tell the story of the country's art. Many thought it looked far too much like a church. Cuypers was a Catholic, and in a country with a Protestant tradition people said he had built an 'archbishop's palace'.

2The cycle tunnel

Running right through the middle of the building is a public passage linking the city with Museumplein. During the major renovation completed on 13 April 2013, led by the Seville architects Cruz y Ortiz, there were plans to close it to cyclists. The outcry was such that bicycles still ride through: very Amsterdam.

It is probably the only great museum in the world you can cycle through.

3The Night Watch

At the end of the Gallery of Honour waits the museum's most famous work: The Night Watch, completed by Rembrandt in 1642. It is a portrait of a company of the civic militia, but Rembrandt broke the rules and painted it in full motion, with theatrical light. Around it hang Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen.

4What to look out for

• The central passage, with bicycles and sometimes street musicians.
• The façade, decorated with scenes and names of Dutch artists.
• Museumplein, on the far side, with the Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw.