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Fri / Jan 15
Despite its colorful and often tawdry reputation as a hedonistic playground, Amsterdam offers so much more than coffeeshops and the Red Light District. For locals, in fact, those are far more tourist attractions than a daily part of their own list of things to do.
The city’s vibrant scene of hip bars, cozy pubs, chic lounges, underground live music venues, international restaurants, and top-notch clubs is far more inviting anyway. Nightlife in Amsterdam is also rich with concerts and theater, to say nothing of the countless museums and the incredible shopping that can easily fill an entire day.
Yet with all this, the city remains intimate and friendly because it is so easy to get around: The metro system makes traveling between neighborhoods a cinch, and bicycles are almost everyone’s main source of transportation.
Sports? Pub crawls? Rowdy bars? Good beer? Then check out these suggestions from Lucas:
Exclusive hotspots? Chic crowds? Bottle service? Posh shopping? Then check out these suggestions from Adriana:
Eclectic crowds? Authentic bars? Live music? Nothing mainstream? Then check out these suggestions from Jonah:
Amazing drink deals? Unpretentious crowds? Karaoke with friends? Dancing all night? Then check out these suggestions from Emma:
Bursting with enough nightlife options to keep most partiers out until dawn, Leidseplein is a vast square that draws a crowd practically twenty-four hours a day.
In warm weather, the animated plaza hosts numerous street performers cheered on by travelers gathered on the square’s giant terrace, while at dusk the area begins to fill up with a massive young crowd gearing up for a night at the hot clubs and spectacular music venues.
The smaller streets off
... read full Leidseplein descriptionBursting with enough nightlife options to keep most partiers out until dawn, Leidseplein is a vast square that draws a crowd practically twenty-four hours a day.
In warm weather, the animated plaza hosts numerous street performers cheered on by travelers gathered on the square’s giant terrace, while at dusk the area begins to fill up with a massive young crowd gearing up for a night at the hot clubs and spectacular music venues.
The smaller streets off
... read full Leidseplein descriptionA historic area popular with many visitors to the city, the Nieuwe Zijds neighborhood is also home to some of Amsterdam’s most well-known coffeeshops and a booming nightlife centered along Spuistraat and Haarlemmerstraat.
Known as the “squatter ’hood” due to its population of young liberal types who participate in everyday society but often choose to live in abandoned buildings, Spuistraat is full of alternative bars and urban nightclubs that define
... read full Nieuwe Zijds descriptionNarrow streets, peaceful canals, and quaint 16th-century quarters make the Jordaan district one of the most scenic areas in Amsterdam.
Daytime attractions include novelty boutiques, art studios, and the Anne Frank Huis Museum, while a mix of less touristy bars and nightspots draw a continuous flow of local patrons who prefer the brown bars with their house party scene to the louder clubs in the city center.
On most nights, the taverns, upscale cafés
... read full Jordaan descriptionAfter Leidseplein, Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square) is the city’s second center of nightlife, itself a celebrated locale for clubbers looking for a more mainstream – and often pricey – experience.
The area’s plentiful bars and clubs attract a large number of upscale visitors and tourists who flock to the variety of venues, which include no-cover clubs with huge dance floors and underground techno scenes, upscale lounges where DJs pump out beats until
... read full Rembrandtplein descriptionAlthough they’re located right next door to each other, the East and East Docks neighborhoods each have their own look and feel that add to the diversity of eastern Amsterdam.
The latest addition to the city, East Docks is an architectural wonder built on “islands” formed by docks and old harbor materials. A mix of young business professionals and graduate students has helped this area flourish into a budding scene of stylish terrace bars and small music
... read full East / East Docks descriptionThe favored district for young and affluent creative artists, architects, and musicians, De Pijp is an appealing melting pot of cultures, apparent in its vast selection of ethnic restaurants and colorful shops.
By night, the De Pijp area attracts stylish urban trendsetters from all over Amsterdam who gather to socialize at the lively corner wine and cocktail bars just off Albert Cuypstraat and at the buzzing beer joints that line Ferdinand Bolstraat.
... read full De Pijp description