This busy, comfy and casual bar triples as a venue for theatre and music. Both bands and DJs tend to embrace the jazzy, world and urban side of sound, as...
Spuistraat 2
Being 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the sea, Amsterdam was hardly anyone's choice for a beach holiday until sand was tipped on the artificial islands of...
Bert Haanstrakade 2004
The famous tasting house at the base of the Gooyer windmill, where wares from award-winning local brewery 't IJ can be sampled. Inside is bare (still...
Funenkade 7
Despite its Swiss origins, the Dutch adopted the cheese fondue as a 'national dish' long ago. Sample its culinary conviviality at this suitably cosy brown...
Nieuwmarkt 9
When the previous owners hung up their pinnies in the '80s after 40 years behind the bar, they sealed up their café, retired upstairs and eventually passed...
Keizersgracht 157
A glass cabinet of trophies and trinkets and a jukebox give this bar an easygoing 1950s feel. It's an Amsterdam classic, by night full of bar-room...
Utrechtsestraat 76
A dirty old rockers bar where musos, journos and everyone else who refuses to grow up gets smashed in one big, sloppy melée. The soundtrack is the entire...
Marnixstraat 164-166
Cheap, cheerful, tasty, filling. That's what the food is like at this sparkly diner at the back of the thoroughly mixed lesbian and gay lounge. On Wednesday...
Warmoesstraat 51
The bar that began the gentrification of the Pijp is now one of the old guard, but its sleek-with-a-twist-of-kitsch chic (glossy red walls, American...
Ferdinand Bolstraat 24
Queer or not - Prik is hot. Indeed, true to the bar's slogan this venue attracts a diverse crowd who enjoy its delicious snacks, groovy sounds and special...
Spuistraat 109
Fun, attitude-free bar and clientele, with a great view over a canal at the back. Tuesdays is Show Night with drag acts and Thursdays is ArtLaunch café. It...
Zeedijk 20
Women-friendly during the week, Sappho turns totally lez on Friday nights, as a couple of hundred gay girlies and their friends of every gender and...
Vijzelstraat 103
One of the few landmarks which you can nestle down inside with a beer, HJAB Baanders' extraordinary 1930s teahouse - a sort of UFO-hat hybrid that manages...
Vondelpark 5
One of the most scenic terraces on one of the prettiest canals, it's no surprise that waterside seats are snared early in the day, so patience - or an alarm...
Egelantiersgracht 12
Oom-pah-pah, oom-pah-pah: that's how it goes at this salt-of-the-earth bar. It's relatively quiet during the week, but weekends are real swinging singalong...
Prinsengracht 114