Muntplein is named after the Munttoren (or simply Munt) tower that stands on this square.

This tower was once part of one of the three main medieval city gates.

The guard house building attached to the tower is not the original medieval structure but a late 19th-century fantasy.

The eastern end of the floating flower market (Bloemenmarkt) along the Singel canal is directly south of the square.

The building on Muntplein at the intersection of the Kalverstraat and Rokin is an early design by prominent Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage.