NEMO Rooftop Terrace

Viewpoint · Oosterdok (Centrum)Amsterdam,Netherlands

A public square on an Amsterdam museum roof, tilted up over the harbour by the road tunnel sloping down beneath it.

NEMO's roof is a public square, open to anyone without going into the museum below. Renzo Piano set the building over the southern mouth of the IJ road tunnel, and the tunnel decided its shape. As the traffic slopes down under the water the roof slopes up, so the building looks as though it is lifting out of the Oosterdok. The highest point is thirty-two metres above the water. The roof is not high enough for a wide panorama, so what you get is the harbour close up, with historic ships lying in the dock below. To the west the old town looks almost flat, because the centre averages about fifteen metres and building above forty metres is in principle not allowed inside the ring road. That is why the church towers stand out: the Zuiderkerk nearest, then the Oude Kerk, then the Westerkerk further west. It opened in 1997, and its green outer surface is copper patinated in the factory before it was fitted, so the building looked old on its first day.

Worth knowing

Good to know

Take the outside stair on the harbour side — About a hundred and twenty steps climb the roof from quay level, and no ticket is checked on the way up.
Do not plan a sunset here — The roof closes with the museum in the late afternoon, so for most of the year the light is still high when you leave.
Come in the afternoon if you want the centre lit — The old town lies west of the roof, so morning puts it into flat shade and afternoon sun rakes across the gables.
There is nothing to hide behind up here — The deck is bare and the wind comes straight off the IJ, and the roof is shut altogether when it blows hard.
Look down at the planting as well as out at the city — The roof is planted with more than seventy-five kinds of plant, thick enough to draw insects this high up.

Things to do

1
Climb the roof without going inside
Find the wide outdoor staircase on the harbour side and start up. The steps follow the slope of the roof itself, so the harbour drops away beside you the whole way, and you arrive on the top deck having passed no desk, no barrier and no cashier.
2
Pick the three towers out of a flat skyline
Face west from the top deck and let your eye run along the roofline. Almost everything is the same height. The Zuiderkerk stands up first, close in, then the Oude Kerk, and the Westerkerk with its crown further off. You find your way over the old town by those three towers.