Rijksmuseum Café — Amsterdam, Netherlands

Avoiding the institutional atmosphere of traditional museum canteens, this café in Amsterdam’s newly renovated Rijksmuseum doesn’t do run-of-the-mill. Located in the building’s atrium, the vast, light-filled space by Dutch interior firm Studio Linse is clean and minimal with just the right amount of drama, brought in by the glass ceiling and a contemporary chandelier by Spanish architects Cruz y Ortiz. The palette of mushroom, taupe and stone, in furnishings by top Dutch modernists Gerrit Rietveld, Kho Liang Le and Friso Kramer, adds a warming counterpoint. The menu, supplied by the Vermaat group, which also operates cafés in the Kunsthal Rotterdam and Leiden Botanical Gardens, offers an array of baked goods by local bakery Patisserie Holtkamp, and serves a special Rijksmuseum coffee blend by famed Dutch brand Douwe Egberts - as well as the quintessential Dutch Jenever and Heineken beers.