Spui, square in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Spui is an open public square in the center of Amsterdam, framed by old brick buildings, bookshops, and a few cafés. Its paved surface stretches between busy shopping streets, with a small statue near the southern edge and tram tracks running along one side.

The area was originally a body of water at the southern edge of the settlement, with a lock that could release water. After the nearby Singel canal was dug, the water here was drained, and the space was turned into a dry square in 1882, then made largely car-free in 1996.

On Fridays the square fills with long tables of used and rare books, and on Sundays local artists set up stalls to sell paintings and small works. Around the edges, students from the nearby university often sit on steps or cycle through, giving the space an everyday neighborhood feel mixed with a bohemian market rhythm.

The square is easy to reach on foot from Dam Square or the central station, and several tram lines stop close by. Since most cars are kept out, walking around is comfortable, but watch for bicycles crossing at the edges when you stop to look at a shop window.

A small bronze figure called Het Lieverdje stands at the south end, given by a cigarette company in 1960 to represent a mischievous Amsterdam street boy. In the following years, young people gathered around it so regularly that it became the meeting point for a local counterculture movement.