Royal Theater Carré

Koninklijk Theater Carre sits directly on the bank of the Amstel and was built in 1887 by German-born circus director Oscar Carre as a permanent home for his circus. Architect J. C. Boekhoudt designed a horseshoe-shaped arena in Neo-Renaissance style seating about 1,700; the facade carries a frieze of actor, musician and clown heads. Travelling circuses still performed here into the 1970s, after which the building established itself as the leading Dutch venue for musicals, cabaret and international concerts. Today Carre hosts everything from the long-running 'Soldaat van Oranje' to Andre Rieu, and guided tours show the ring, the backstage and the original stables still preserved beneath the stage.