A square that stays awake
The square was a butter market until the nineteenth century and took the painter's name when his statue was placed in the middle in 1852. Today it is a nightlife centre, ringed by terraces, clubs and bars, with Thorbeckeplein and Reguliersdwarsstraat just around the corner. Hotels occupy the upper floors of the buildings around it and fill the streets towards the Amstel and the Herengracht. The mood changes over the evening. Until ten it is a place for dinner and drinks on the terraces; after midnight the clubs fill and the square becomes loud, especially on Friday and Saturday. Hotels one or two streets back, along the canals, are far quieter while still being a minute from the square.











