Amsterdam Culture and Nightlife
See also:Amsterdam for families
Cheap & free Amsterdam
back to Amsterdam highlights
In this section:
Amsterdam's museums & art galleries
Music, opera & ballet in Amsterdam
Theatre in Amsterdam
Amsterdam's cinemas
Literary events in Amsterdam
Amsterdam nightlife
Museums & art galleries in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has more than 40 museums, ranging from some of Europe's finest art collections to a host of small, specialist museums reflecting the diversity of the city's culture. The top two attractions, the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh, are conveniently located next to each other on Museumplein; however, the Rijksmuseum is undergoing major renovation work which will not be completed until 2008 - it remains open but much reduced in scope.
The city's major modern art museum, the Stedelijk, is in the process of an even larger restructuring, which means that its Museumplein site will be closed to the public until 2006 - some exhibits have been moved to a temporary location on the Waterfront.
If you intend spending a large proportion of your time visiting museums, buy an Amsterdam Pass, which gives free entry or substantial discounts to all the most important museums, a free canal cruise and discounts to tourist attractions. This is a viable alternative to the Museum Card (available at main museums and the VVV), valid for a year and entitling you to free entry to approximately 350 museums in the Netherlands, 16 of them in Amsterdam. The price of the Museum Card is such that you need to visit at least 10 museums before you make a saving, therefore making it more attractive to locals.
Most museums are closed all day Monday. They are generally open Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat-Sun 11am-5pm.
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Music, opera, & ballet in Amsterdam
The chief venue for classical music is the Concertgebouw, which holds special Sunday morning concerts, as well as other events including free lunchtime concerts (12.30-1pm) on most Wednesdays. Chamber music is often performed in the city's historic churches, and there are student performances at the Music Conservatory (Conservatorium) at 27 Van Baerlestraat.
The IJsbreker café/concert hall at 23 Weesperzijde is a popular venue for contemporary music played by many international and local artists.
The beautiful old Stock Exchange building (Beurs van Berlage) near the Dam is now a twin-hall concert venue and home to the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra.
The impressive 1,600-seat Muziektheater, overlooking the River Amstel by Waterlooplein, is home of the National Ballet and Netherlands Opera. There are usually free half-hour performances on Tuesday afternoons. The ballet, under the direction of Wayne Eagling, offers a varied repertoire of classics as well as modern work by today's top choreographers. As artistic director of the opera for more than a decade, Pierre Audi has helped it achieve worldwide renown with its mixed repertoire of classic and modern productions, from Monteverdi to Robert Wilson.
For something louder, take in a big-name concert at Amsterdam ArenA, the Ajax stadium in Amsterdam-Zuidoost (southeast).
Free concerts, dance and other events take place on summer afternoons and evenings in the Vondelpark, mostly in the amphitheatre.
The Holland Festival is an annual event each June, featuring international opera, theatre, music and dance. The main venue is the Stadsschouwburg theatre on Leidseplein. Over the last weekend in August, theatre, dance and music companies from around the country perform extracts from their year's forthcoming programme in the streets of the city, during the Uitmarkt.
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Theatre in Amsterdam
Most theatre performances are in Dutch but during the Holland Festival foreign companies perform in different languages. Amsterdam is putting on more English-speaking events year round. The VVV (Tourist Office) publishes brochures promoting these Amsterdam Arts Adventures in summer and winter.
Musicals are popular in the Netherlands. Several companies tour the country with Dutch productions and adaptations from foreign musicals, which are presented mainly at the 19th-century Theater Carré, on the River Amstel. Fast-paced improvisational comedy rules at Boom Chicago, Leidseplein Theater, on busy Leidseplein.
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Amsterdam's cinemas
The largest cinemas are located around Leidseplein, Rembrandtplein and Haarlemmerplein. Due to the popularity of the large multiplexes, small art-house cinemas are becoming more scarce, but there are still some thriving, notably The Movies, Kriterion, Rialto, Desmet and Uitkijk.
All films are shown in their original language with Dutch subtitles. In the larger cinemas, many films are stopped halfway to encourage custom at the snack bar. Listings of screening times and venues are posted in most cafés and in front of cinemas.
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Literary events in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a literary kind of place, and there are a correspondingly large number of bookshops. There are occasional book signings for a foreign author at local stores such as Athenaeum or Scheltema, and that often means the author might be giving a reading somewhere.
The John Adams Institute for American Literature offers a reading series throughout the year at various venues in the city. Authors have included John Irving, Paul Theroux, Peter Matthiessen and Carol Shields. For information, tel: 624 7280. Winston Kingdom, a cultural centre/hotel holds poetry evenings on Monday around 10pm.
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Amsterdam nightlife
Amsterdam is well known for its nightlife. After dark, entertainment focuses on three main areas: Leidseplein, for lively discos and nightclubs; Rembrandtplein for clubs, discos, cabarets and strip shows pandering to older tastes; and the Red Light District, notorious for scantily clad females sitting in windows.
Strip shows, porn videos and sex shops centre on the main canals of Oudezijds Voorburgwal and Oudezijd Achterburgwal. The smaller, sleazier streets leading off these two canals are best avoided - and don't take photographs. On a different note, you could take a candlelit canal cruise, with wine and cheese or full dinner provided, or try a brown café, or one of the new-wave bars with cool, whitewashed and mirrored walls, an abundance of greenery and a long list of cocktails.
Updated May 2005