Must-see nightlife in Medieval Centre & Red Light District

  • In ʼt Aepjen

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Candles burn even during the day in this 15th-century building – one of two remaining wooden buildings in the city – which has been a tavern since 1519…

  • The bustling Cafe Hoppe has been around since 1670.

    Hoppe

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    An Amsterdam institution, Hoppe has been filling glasses since 1670. Barflies and raconteurs toss back brews amid the ancient wood panelling of the bruin…

  • Row of beer taps

    Café Belgique

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Pull up a stool at the carved wooden bar and choose from the glinting brass taps. It's all about Belgian beers here: eight flow from the spouts, and…

  • Wynand Fockink

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Dating from 1679, this small tasting house in an arcade behind NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky serves scores of jenevers (Dutch gins) and liqueurs. Although…

  • Cut Throat

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Beneath 1930s arched brick ceilings, Cut Throat ingeniously combines a men's barbering service (book ahead) with a happening bar serving international…

  • Tales & Spirits

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Chandeliers glitter beneath wooden beams at Tales & Spirits, which creates its own house infusions, syrups and vinegar-based shrubs. Cocktails such as Any…

  • De Drie Fleschjes

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    A treasure dating from 1650, with a wall of barrels made by master shipbuilders, the tasting room of distiller Bootz specialises in liqueurs, including…

  • Proeflokaal de Ooievaar

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Not much bigger than a vat of jenever (Dutch gin), this magnificent little tasting house has been going strong since 1782. On offer are 14 jenevers and…

  • Brouwerij De Prael

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Sample organic beers (Scotch ale, IPA, barley wine and many more varieties) from the socially minded De Prael brewery, known for employing people with a…

  • Café de Dokter

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Candles flicker on the tables, old jazz records play in the background, and chandeliers and a birdcage hang from the ceiling at atmospheric de Dokter,…

  • Sample a pilsner, porter or ruby ale at Bierfabriek

    Bierfabriek

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Bierfabriek's Pure pilsner, Nero porter and Rosso ruby ale (plus a seasonally changing variety) are brewed in these raw-concrete surrounds and best…

  • New York Film Academy Café

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Inside the Beurs van Berlage cultural centre, with a massive vintage movie camera in its foyer, this spectacular café with soaring vaulted-brick ceilings…

  • Tailor Bar

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    The drinks list at this elegant bar in the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky pays homage to AW Krasnapolsky, a tailor who moved from Germany to Amsterdam in…

  • De Blauwe Parade

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    A frieze of Delft blue-and-white tiles – the world's largest Delft-tile tableau – wraps around the walls above beautiful wood panelling at this exquisite…

  • Cafe de Jaren in city centre.

    Café de Jaren

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Watch the Amstel flow by from the balcony and waterside terraces of this very grand two-level café with soaring ceilings, streaming natural light and…

  • Grab an American craft beer close to Dam Square

    BeerTemple

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    BeerTemple’s taps, with 35 rotating draught beers, feature mainly American varieties that you’ll be hard-pushed to find elsewhere in the Dutch capital, as…

  • Little Delirium

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Its location by the IJ at the northern end of Centraal Station makes this beer specialist ideal while waiting for a train or to pick up bottles to drink…

  • VOC Café

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Inside the landmark 15th-century Schreierstoren, this atmospheric café (pub) has a historical interior with hefty timber beams and a canal-side terrace…

  • Poolbar

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Plastered with posters and vinyl records, the subterranean Poolbar is an easy-going place to shoot pool at its eight tables, or play table shuffleboard or…

  • Kapitein Zeppo's

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Tucked down an alleyway off Grimburgwal, this site has assumed many guises throughout the centuries: a cloister during the 14th, a horse-carriage…

  • Hummingbird

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    A hummingbird by Brazilian street artist L7matrix covers one wall of this hip cafe, with local art also for sale. Small-batch roasts (London's Kiss the…

  • TonTon Club

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    It's a simple concept: craft beers plus arcade games in a neon-bathed room in the Red Light District. You can play retro games such as pinball (machines…

  • 't Mandje

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Amsterdam's oldest gay bar opened in 1927, then shut in 1982 when the Zeedijk grew too seedy. But its trinket-covered interior was lovingly dusted every…

  • Winston Kingdom

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Even non-clubbers will love Winston Kingdom for its indie-alternative music beats, great DJs and live bands. No matter what's on – from 'dubstep mayhem'…

  • Grand Cafe-Restaurant 1e Klas

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Dating from 1881, with soaring art-nouveau ceilings, this distinguished café (pub) in Centraal Station (upstairs by platform 2b) used to be the waiting…

  • De Roode Laars

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    A roode laars (red boot) on the facade above the stained-glass windows of this lamp-lit little brown cafe remains from its earlier incarnation as a…

  • Café the Minds

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Don't let the word 'cafe' in the name fool you – this is a hard-core (but very friendly) punk bar (Amsterdam's last remaining one) where the beer's cheap,…

  • Queen's Head

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Once run by legendary drag queen Dusty, this beautifully decorated, old-world-style café (pub) has toned down a bit and the crowd is now mixed, with gay…

  • Getto

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    This long restaurant-bar is loved for its open, welcoming attitude, great people-watching from the front, and rear lounge where you can chill. It's a…

  • Molly Malone's

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Dark, woody Molly's holds spontaneous trad-music sessions (bring your own instrument and let loose) as well as various live music gigs. Irish beverages…

  • Tweede Kamer

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    The teeny, wood-panelled Tweede Kamer ('second living room') feels more like a brown cafe than a coffeeshop, especially given the local crowd and…

  • Pilsener Club

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Also known as Engelse Reet (ask the bartender for a translation), this small, narrow and ramshackle place doesn't allow you to do anything but drink and…

  • Tara

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    In the Tara's maze of rooms spread over six buildings (one of which is the one-time home of German expressionist Max Beckmann) you'll find warm fireplaces…

  • Eagle

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Around since 1979, the Eagle is a classic. This men-only, leather-denim bar offers three levels of action, including basement darkrooms and a house-music…

  • Biercafé Gollem

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    The pioneer of Amsterdam's beer cafes is a minuscule space covered all over in beer paraphernalia. The 14 beers on tap and 200 in the bottle (mostly from…

  • Greenhouse

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    This is one of the most popular coffeeshops in town, with a mostly young, backpacking crowd partaking of the wares. Smokers love the funky music,…

  • Abraxas

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    Mellow music, comfy sofas, thick milkshakes and rooms with different energy levels spread across Abraxas' floors, connected by a spindly spiral staircase…

  • Dampkring

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    With an interior that resembles a larger-than-life lava lamp, Dampkring is famed for having one of Amsterdam's most comprehensive cannabis menus, with…

  • Bubbles & Wines Champagne Bar

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    More than 50 wines are available by the glass at this stylish wine bar, along with wine-tasting flights (three half-glasses from €16). All up there are…

  • Café van Zuylen

    Medieval Centre & Red Light District

    While the terrace spreading over a bridge spanning the Singel is one of the prettiest spots for a drink when the sun's shining, the interior – with its…

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