Amsterdam Travel Expert. Culture, Events and Apartments

Amsterdam is renowned for its great cafes, and below is a brief guide to some of my favourites.

Cafe Welling (Jan Willem Brouwersstr 32) - The exterior of this cafe simply drags you in. The bench with an overhanging bush is the height of romance, and the experience inside is pretty good too!!! There is a real cosy but genuine feel to this establishment that will

Amsterdam Cafes

make you wish it was your local coffee cafe.

In De Wildeman (Kolksteeg 3) - The setting in an old distillery gives this cafe much of its charm, whilst the mix of coffees and beers on the menu make for a diverse visit which will suit most tastes. The coffees are made fresh by trained waiters whilst the beers represent a chance to taste new brands.

Café Alto – If you like your cafe to be busy in the evenings with plenty of buzz and entertainment then this is the place for you. This cafe has hosted life jazz music for decades, and although it is not the same size as it used to be, it is still a great night out.

Café Latei – This cafe makes my list due to its bizarre appearance, typified by the random items which are placed around it, which are designed not only for display reasons but also for sale as a way of subsidising the income. The coffee is not to be scoffed at either.

Travelling Europe? Also check out friends website for barcelona burlesque classes and workshops for hen parties and for anyone interested. Back to Amsterdam. Some very good prices Red Light area rentals now on offer and also make sure to take advantage of the best Amsterdam saunas in the city, to relax during your stay also. Art Deco Sauna is one of the best and very central.

You’re never short of good nightlife in Amsterdam. With over 1500 bars, this party city comes alive at night, with people filling the squares and spilling out of cafes and clubs along the canal-side until the early hours.

Amsterdam Nightlife

There are a couple of places you can go for a guaranteed great night. Leidseplein is a good place to start, with its theatres (including the grand Stadsschouwburg and Lido theatre), cinemas, cafes and restaurants, as well as live music venues Sugar Factory, Melkweg and Paradiso (a converted church) – which also put on amazing weekend club nights. Things generally get going around midnight, and bars can stay open as late as 4am.

Head to Rembrandtplein for more good vibes – it’s a popular square with a green space and Rembrandt statue in the middle, lined with packed-out cafe terraces. There are plenty of nightclubs to try around here – go smart and sophisticated at Club Rain, boogie on the multi-level, multi-genre dance-floors at Exit or try your luck queuing for mega-club Escape. This is where the city’s gay nightlife really takes off too, with gay bars and saunas continuing on down Reguliersdwarsstraat, Halvemaansteeg and along the Amstel.

If you’re looking for something a bit more relaxed, head to the impossibly pretty Jordaan neighbourhood to chill in late-night ‘brown cafes’ – cosy pubs with dark-wooded interiors that serve coffee and alcohol. Alternately, trendy bars like Getaway and Seymour Lounge on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in the city-centre are good for nights out off the dance-floor.

The Red Light District is worth a look by night, too: it’s at its busiest, most atmospheric and, oddly enough, most attractive around midnight, with its up-lit crooked 14^th-century buildings and neon signs reflecting off the canal. The only heavily-enforced rule is: don’t take pictures!

Planning a trip? Find and book hostels Amsterdam. If you are nightclub person, you might also enjoy reading about Ibiza nightlife and Berlin nightlife.

Amsterdam may not have the reputation as one of the great culinary destinations of Europe.  And the truth is it isn’t. But by trying some local dishes, including those that have bought to the country by other cultures that have made The Netherlands home, it is possible to savour a true taste of Amsterdam.

One a cold day, there is nothing more warming than a steaming bowl of Erwtensoep. This hearty soup is the Dutch version of the universal Split Pea Soup, thought to be one of the oldest dishes in existence (it is mentioned in writings of Aristophanes). In Holland, it is mixed with smoked sausage

Dutch Gouda Cheese

and served with rye bread topped with ham. Another local dish you may come across is Stamppot, a comfort food mixture of endives, mashed potato and bacon, just the thing to soak up those pints of beer.

The culinary legacy of the Dutch colonisation of Indonesia include Nasi Goreng, and a few oddities such as the Rusttafel; a Indonesian-influenced, buffet-style banquet devised by the colonists in order to appease their large appetites. Dishes from other cultures that have made multicultural Amsterdam their home include salt beef and pickled vegetables (Jewish), couscous ( from North Africa) and falafel and stuffed vegetables from the Middle East.

Breakfast and even light lunches will inevitably involve rye bread, ham and Gouda, the ubiquitous, golden-coloured cheese that you’ll see in large rounds everywhere. To satisfy a sweet craving try a onthijtkoeck, or traditional gingerbread.

Going by the name you’d think that these places were simply in need of a good scrub. But no, the ‘Brown Cafes’ of Amsterdam are similar to British pubs (minus the TV screens) and are named after their dark wood furniture, low lighting and generally cosy, congenial ambiance.

They are located in all the neighbourhoods, and I love nipping into these places on a cold afternoon and having a small glass of local beer. Food tends to be limited, but you can always find a cheese sandwich or help yourself to some free hapjes (snacks) of olives, nuts or

Coffee Shop hour in Amsterdam

bitterballs (meat croquettes).  On a really cold evening you could have a shot of jenever, a Dutch spirit similar to rum.

One of the most famous brown cafes in Amsterdam is the Three Sisters (Rembrandtplein 17, Tel. 020 6275660 www.driegezusters.nl), which has its original moulded ceiling, and leather sofas, which curve into circular conversation areas, making it an ideal place to go for an intimate evening with small group of friends. If you get hungry, there is a steakhouse upstairs.

Another one is Arendsnest, or ‘The Eagle’s Nest (Herengracht 90 1015BS Amsterdam,  020 421 20 57 www.arendsnest.nl) which sells over 100 types of Dutch beer from the country’s 50 local breweries. Proost!

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