Where to visit in Barcelona, Amsterdam or Berlin – in pictures

The Rijksmuseum is the pride of Amsterdam, displaying some 8,000 artworks and historical objects including masterpieces by Dutch painters Rembrandt, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum reopened in 2013 after an extensive refurbishment of the impressive gothic renaissance building. Photograph: Merten Snijders/Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Amsterdam is all about cafe culture and a few hours spent on a terrace in the sunshine sipping coffee and people watching is a pleasant way to get to know the city. Cafe Fonteyn serves one of the Dutch capital’s best cappuccinos on its vast terrace on Nieuwmarkt. Photograph: Alamy

The Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam (Amsterdam Public Library) is Europe’s largest public library – but it’s not just about books. This sleek building feels more like a modern art museum and is the perfect place to sit and read while looking out of the large south-facing windows over the city. Photograph: Alamy

Amsterdam has an architecture that is unmistakably its own. Stately mansion houses stand sentry along the city’s waterways, their towering stories of brick soaring up to gabled roofs in different designs – all reflected in the calm waters of more than 60 miles (100km) of canals running through the city. Photograph: Frans Lemmens

Gaudí’s distinctive modernist architecture can be seen all around Barcelona, but the pinnacle of his achievements is surely Parc Güell, a series of gardens high above the city on El Carmel hill. Sit on the rippled seating, which is covered in multicoloured tiles, and take in the view. Photograph: Jorg Greuel/Getty Images

Barcelona’s long sandy beach, at Barceloneta, is home to Rebecca Horn’s L’Estel Ferit (the wounded shooting star). Commissioned for the 1992 Olympic Games that were held in the city, it is made of four steel blocks and is referred to by locals as “Los Cubos”. Photograph: Carlos Sanchez Pereyra/Getty Images/AWL Images RM

La Boqueria is a temple to food. Come and worship at the riot of colour that is the fruit and vegetable stalls before shopping for jamón, cheese, olive oil and other local delicacies, or stopping for a quick glass of local wine at one of the small bars. Photograph: John Burke/Getty Images

Food is a serious business in Barcelona and you could eat all day here. Start by grazing on the freshest pan con tomate, chorizo and stuffed peppers at the market before heading to one of the city’s numerous tapas bars for jamón washed down with local red wine. Photograph: Alamy

Alexanderplatz has had a chequered history. Originally a cattle market, later a nightlife hub, it is now a pedestrianised square that is home to the constantly rotating Weltzeituhr (world time clock). The TV Tower, the tallest structure in Germany, is also located nearby and is a symbol of the city. Photograph: Domingo Leiva/Getty Images/Flickr RM

The Brandenburg Gate is instantly recognisable – to many, it is a symbol of the reunification of east and west. Originally a city gate, it was redesigned as a neoclassical archway in the 18th century and today stands next to pedestrianised Pariser Platz, an elegant square of townhouses and embassies. Photograph: travelstock44/Getty Images/LOOK

Strausberger Platz sits in the middle of the vast Karl-Marx-Allee, a boulevard lined with Soviet-era housing blocks. Walk east to Café Sybille for coffee and take a look around the small exhibition that explains the street’s history. Photograph: Maria Toutoudaki/Getty Images

The Pergamon Museum on Berlin’s Museum Island is home to full-size reconstructed buildings and monuments from Turkey, including the opulent Ishtar Gate and Processional Way. Alternating rows of lions and cattle march along the glazed tiles of this elaborate gateway, which was one of Babylon’s inner city gates. Photograph: Alamy