Nice, France

Nice is found in the South-East of France, along the southern coast. It has recently undergone renovation, and so the city is looking particularly vibrant.

The main square has undergone much improvement, with trams now running through, and the surrounding buildings and paving have all undergone a facelift.

 Down the road is this lovely little street, which has a large flower market running down the centre of the street, the majority of the buildings house restaurants, which give the street a lovely atmosphere.

Nice has much likeness to other Mediterranean cities, like Barcelona, the thin streets lined with local shops and tall storey building, it makes an intricate space, which is pleasant to stroll through.

Even though it was christmas time it was still sunny in town, in the central park that runs down between two of the main roads, there was a christmas funfair, and a small German Market.

Broadway, The Cotwolds

Broadway of the Cotswolds is a small village not far from the town Evesham, the architecture is typical Cotswold. All the buildings are sandstone, known as cotwold stone in the UK, and have timber beams as well. 

There was a gallery in the village that featured this piece outside, a piece I have seen before, by the artist Rick Kirby, known for his figurative pieces.

Brussels

I travelled to Brussels after Amsterdam. The architecture here was quite a contrast to Amsterdam I found. Through Amsterdam there are endless beautiful simple houses all thread around the canals. Brussels showed much grander buildings, this specifically shown in the Grand Place, shown further down this post. 

 These Pictures first two images are of the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, finished in 1847, a beautiful arcade filled with chocolatiers (of course for Belgian Chocolates) and restaurants, as well as other retail shops. The Galerie is split in two, each section spanning longer than 100m, a very impressive piece of architecture.

The building that houses the Brussels Stock Exchange,  finished in 1873.

 The Grand Place, possible one of the most beautiful squares i have ever been too. Every direction you look is an elaborate building. One of the most striking aspects of the Place is the combination of Gothic, Baroque and Louis XIV styles, all clashing together in one square, to make quite an astounding sensation. 

 The majority of the Place is surrounded by these Guildhalls.

 What i enjoy most about the Guildhalls, is the miss-match of the window alinement, I think this is something that really gives each building it's own individuality, rather than viewing the buildings as a whole row. If one was to compare this to British London townhouses, where the building can be seen as a whole as there is nothing to distinguish one another except a front door and porch.

 The Maison du Roi, a classic example of Gothic architecture placed alongside Baroque. Which I believe makes this particular building quite striking.

 The famous town hall of Brussels, opposite the Maison du Roi.

The Cathedral St. Michael and St. Gudula, was constructed between 1226 and 1276. Placed away from the main city centre, this building particularly reminded me of Notre-Dame, even though that was not build until the 1800's, the front facade's show similar features.

Amsterdam

 I have just visited the beautiful city of Amsterdam in Holland, i found as an architect student that this city is beautifully untouched. Almost every street you walk through in the city centre looks original. And if it is in fact modern, the majority of them have been styled to look like the original buildings anyway.

 This is the Westerkerk, situated in the Westermarket. This building was on the same street as my hotel, it was the first building i saw that i found really striking. The Westerkerk is a protestant church, built in 1631.

 This is a classic example of Amsterdam architecture, i thought the large shutters on the building really gave it some character.

This is the Rijks Museum the home of The Night Watch by Rembrandt, as well as a large collection of his work.

The Royal Palace in Amsterdam, this was built in the 17th century, in the year 1665.

Amsterdam is of course known for it's many canals, which were all kept beautifully clean, and made a lovely atmosphere with people on their own boats, or on canal tours