Audio: Discover Almere photography tour
Welcome to the #DiscoverAlmere Photography Tour! During this interactive audio tour, photographer Richard Terborg takes you on a tour of Almere's city centre. Walk past the most impressive architecture and learn how to take the best photos with your own smartphone!
Almere is a young city, but is gaining an increasingly rich history. Did you know that Almere ranks first among European New Towns? During the tour, you will learn about the meaning behind the architecture and the fun hotspots around it. You will walk through the shopping centre and past cosy hospitality squares such as Grote Markt and het Belfort. Feel free to step inside somewhere and #DiscoverAlmere!
When you finish the tour, we hope you have discovered the city centre and go home with a nice collection of photos. Share all your best photos with the hashtag #DiscoverAlmere....
Welcome to the #DiscoverAlmere Photography Tour! During this interactive audio tour, photographer Richard Terborg takes you on a tour of Almere's city centre. Walk past the most impressive architecture and learn how to take the best photos with your own smartphone!
Almere is a young city, but is gaining an increasingly rich history. Did you know that Almere ranks first among European New Towns? During the tour, you will learn about the meaning behind the architecture and the fun hotspots around it. You will walk through the shopping centre and past cosy hospitality squares such as Grote Markt and het Belfort. Feel free to step inside somewhere and #DiscoverAlmere!
When you finish the tour, we hope you have discovered the city centre and go home with a nice collection of photos. Share all your best photos with the hashtag #DiscoverAlmere and who knows, you might see your photo on the @VisitAlmere Instagram.
How it works
Click on the icon at the bottom right of your mobile screen (the map) to follow the route. Zoom in to the start (1) and press the numbered listening points to play the fragments. After playing the first fragment, walk to the next point (2) where you also play another fragment. This way you follow the complete route and discover the best photo spots in Almere Centrum.
You are going to see this
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Starting point:
Tourist Information Almere
De Diagonaal 199
1315 XM Almere
Navigate to starting point -
Starting point for the Discover Almere Tour – VVV Almere
Schutterstraat 17
1315XM AlmereStarting point for the Discover Almere Tour – VVV Almere
Welcome to the #DiscoverAlmere Photography Tour. You’ll start in front of the VVV Almere. Watch the video introducing the tour. Have fun!
Questions about the tour? We're sure we can help! Feel free to walk in.
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LISTEN: Viewline Almere Centrum
De Diagonaal 28
AlmereLISTEN: Sightline Almere Centrum
We start right in the middle of the city centre. Take a good look around, there are over 400 shops here! From here, you can see City Hall Square on one side and look all the way to het Weerwater on the other. Because of the structure of the city centre, there are several wonderful sightlines here. Towards the road, through the roofs, or just downwards.
While you're at it, it's time to take some cool photos. Swipe right to see what my photo looks like.
Now I'm going to tell you how to take this cool photo. If you stand in the middle of the clearing and look directly upwards, you can see through the holes. What all do you see.... If you look through this, you have a view of de Smaragd, a building with a striking orange and green colour. Looking through the circles, you can create a midpoint with the corner of this building a line of sight.
Swipe right again to get an idea of my explanation. Above all, get inspired and take as many photos as you like!
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LISTEN: The New Library
Stadhuisplein
AlmereLISTEN: The New Library
We have arrived at Town Hall Square. The large building you see in front of you here is The New Library. There are great sightlines in and around this building.
So what makes the architecture of this building so interesting?
Architectural firm Meyer and Van Schooten has approached the building as a monolith. What exactly is that? This is a piece of rock that rises above its surroundings. Still no idea? Check it on Google, I feel free to chat.
The offices are in the façade plane while the public route is placed outside. This way, visitors can always look outside. Feel free to walk in and find out.
How did I take this cool photo? By standing in the middle of the square! If you have the shopping street on the right, you can see the light falling nicely between them. Above all, don't get stopped here. Make a quarter turn to the left and you will see the town hall. This is another great view for your camera.
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LISTEN: WTC Carlton
P.J. Oudweg 4
AlmereLISTEN: WTC Carlton
This is the WTC building. Also called L'hermitage or WTC Carlton. This gigantic building is a whopping 132 metres high! This makes it the tallest building in the entire province! Especially from a distance, this building is interesting. Can you see the red slats on the sides? If the sun shines on them, they turn an intense red. If it is grey outside, they are less noticeable. Perfect for Dutch weather, then.
Personally, I think you can take the best photos here at the back of the building. You know when you are there when you enter a small park with circular planters. Step far back and take the building to its highest point. Now you also have a good view of the building next door: The Martinez Tower. See how the sky reflects in the glass of the building? Be sure to look around and take some nice photos, as there is plenty to discover here.
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LISTEN: Line of sight around Citadel
Citadel 9
AlmereLISTEN: Line of sight around Citadel
Take a good look around you. What do you notice? What is so special about this shopping street is that it is made up of layers. As you can see, you can look down and up into the street here. Underneath these streets are car parks and roads. Just look down. Do you see the black and white stripes?
On top of the buildings are homes and parks. Just look at that big apartment building sticking out on top of the shops. There you can see the houses.
Here we are going to visualise the layers a bit better. If you look down at the escalators, you can see the black and white wavy stripes on the ground. Play with this effect and follow the lines. Remember, you are the photographer today, so be sure to look for something unique!
*Meantime, artist Kasper Jongejan has created a new floor painting here. See how you can play with this play of lines.
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LISTEN: Leonardo Hotel
Koetsierbaan 2
AlmereLISTEN: Leonardo Hotel
This is the Leonardo Hotel. This hotel, the casino and the Media Market always give me a futuristic feeling. See what I mean?
The top part of the hotel was here first. So how did you get in here? Through the fire escape on the side. Nice and unusual, right?Today, you will also find a brown, round building below. This was designed by English architect William Alsop. This man decided to cut off part of the building. Just walk to the right side of the building. 'Like a potato, just make it yellow'. Handy opening, otherwise the MediaMarkt cannot be supplied. If you go across the road, you can catch the line from Apollo to the Side by Side, which is the twin building behind it.
Got a few nice shots to grab? Then walk along the yellow side of the building past the round large casino. Don't rush! Feel free to stop for a photo. Good luck!
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LISTEN: Casa Casla
Weerwaterplein 3
AlmereLISTEN: Casa Casla
This is the former Casa Casla. The idea of this building came from Lanoire Courrian. The large square extension with a glass wall makes the building perfect for public cultural functions. The building was therefore purpose-built as an architecture centre and has served as a cultural hotspot.
The cool thing about this building is that you can stand on top of it, walk around it or simply view it from a distance. Walk on up, from here you have a great view of a small harbour with very nice angles. On the right, you can see a big blue mural. I have lived in Almere for years and was there when this one was painted. Everyone thought it was a commission from the municipality, but he had secretly built the scaffolding and just started painting. When the municipality wanted to clean it up everyone came to protest and, as you can see, it's still there!
Looking further around you also see Silverline, Side by Side and The Wave. What a great view!
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LISTEN: Olstgracht Cycle Bridge
Hengelostraat
AlmereLISTEN: Bicycle bridge Olstgracht
This bridge is the transition from het Weerwater and the small harbour at Weerwaterplein. From here you can spot the coolest architecture in Almere Centrum. The bridge itself is a light structure consisting of five leaning steel masts. It looks a bit like sailwork from a boat, don't you think? If you look to the right, you see the Silverline. Looking ahead, you see The Wave.
But what is the ideal spot for a photo? First, we walk on to the other side of the bridge.
Make sure you step far enough back and play with the lines of the bridge. You'll get some really cool sightlines. Above all, take cool photos yourself from other angles, which you can find here.
Another great tip!
Take a walk downstairs, from here there is also plenty to see and discover. You can walk across the pier, or take shots from below.
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LISTEN: The Wave & Side by Side
Koetsierbaan
AlmereLISTEN: The Wave & Side by Side
For me, the row of large buildings you walk past now really mark what Almere is. From a distance, they create the beautiful Almere skyline.
Another tip!
You can get a good view of this skyline from Lumière Park. Want to see it? Feel free to ask how to get here at the tourist office.We start here at The Wave. This building was designed by Almere architect René van Zuuk. If you look closely, you can see that the flats slide out. This makes it look just like a matchbox, don't you think? By extending the flats, it almost moves with the waves of het Weerwater. Aren't you curious to see what such a flat looks like on the inside? I think the fun part here is that you can play with the perspective. Especially with the piece of grass here. You can also just take photos lying down here!
If you walk a little further now, you will come to the Side by Side. Designed by Frits van Dongen, it also stands on the beautiful Weerwater. You used to be able to walk across this and take a picture of the skyline. Now you can still do that, but by boat!
Looking back at Side by Side again, you can see that the character of the residential towers is enhanced by the large facades made of the grey surfaces and elongated windows. These two buildings were actually put up this way by accident. They should actually have been parallel to each other. So how come one of them is turned a quarter turn? The model of the building fell over, and in straightening it, a less symmetrical twist of the design turned out to be interesting. So you see, a mistake can make for a creative solution.
Above all, get inspired and take photographs!
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LISTEN: Kunstlinie
Esplanade 10
AlmereLISTEN: Kunstlinie
Welcome to the Kunstlinie. This beautiful building adjoins the Esplanade and het Weerwater and was designed by Japanese architectural firm SANAA. This building was opened in 2007 by none other than Princess Beatrix!
As you walk past this, take a peek inside. Take a look at the large mural by Japanese artist Michael Lin. This mural was inspired by a fabric made by Vlisco for the African market. No image to go with it? Feel free to look it up!
As you walk on past the building, you can see how it stretches from the Esplanade het Weerwater. So from the inside of the building, you have a great view! For my photo, I stand at the top of the stairs, the one with the waterfall in between. Now you get a clear view of the Kunstlinie, with the sky as a canvas.
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LISTEN: Esplanade & Lakeside
Esplanade
AlmereLISTEN: Esplanade & Lakeside
From Kunstlinie, you can cross the Esplanade back into the city centre. This square was renewed fairly recently, in 2020. These days, it is a lovely place to unwind, or roll through on your skates. This square is specially designed for various leisure purposes. In fact, these green grass strips consist of special festival grass which lies on a carefully constructed surface. So vehicles can drive over this, or tents can be placed on it, without destroying it. This soil also contains a special watering system. So what exactly can they do with this? This ensures that when a cool party takes place here, everything looks green and beautiful again after a few days!
Here, too, you can take the most beautiful pictures from the steps. You can kneel here, or follow one of the white lines of the seating areas in the square.
If you look to the left here now, you'll see the Lakeside. A pretty big and chunky building, but cool, if you ask me. This 'transformer' makes a distinct turn at the bottom. Again, the grey surfaces recur. The flats have loggias, kind of like balconies, which provide good climate control. You can well imagine that when the sun shines on these, it can get quite warm otherwise. Is it sunny at your place now? After this, I'm going to have a drink somewhere, look at my photos and enjoy the day.
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End point of the Discover Almere Tour – VVV Almere
Schutterstraat 17
1315XM AlmereEnd point of the Discover Almere Tour – VVV Almere
Watch photographer Richard's video to conclude the tour!
Share your beautiful photos with the hashtag #DiscoverAlmere and inspire others! Who knows, you might see yourself featured on the @VisitAlmere Instagram.
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