Melkweg and Paradiso are the two major concert venues in the city center, and both abut Leidseplein. Most nights they offer themed “clubs” with varying cover charges. Depending on the evening you can dance to gypsy, hip hop, techno, pop, or indie music, and sometimes more than one in a single night. Paradiso is a former church, with a main stage on the first level and a smaller more intimate venue upstairs. Melkweg (“Milky Way” in Dutch) has two fairly large rooms. On most club nights a single cover charge grants you access to both venues.
Just up the alleyway from Melkeweg is Sugar Factory, another top-notch club best known for Sunday night’s “Wicked Jazz Sounds,” a combination of live jazz and techno beats.
Culture hounds need not separate intellectual pursuits from a Saturday night fever. De Balie, between Paradiso and Leidseplein, is a unique fusion of art, culture, and nightlife. There are films, debates, art exhibits and a large, modern bar and café.
The bars directly on Leidseplein are fine, but not necessarily interesting. Otherwise there’s Boom Chicago, an American-style comedy club, with stand-up and sketch acts. Try any number of the alleys splitting off the square for more options—like De Spuyt, a ways down Korte Leidsedwarsstraat (the alley near Burger King), which has myriad Belgian beers … but beware, some top out at near 15 percent alcohol.
Spuistraat runs from just west of Centraal Station, looping south-ish towards Spui square. There is a string of bars, most of which are worth a stop. The Minds is a punk bar with cheap beer, a pool table, and interesting clientele. Bitterzoet (Bittersweet in Dutch) is good for unique live acts and a favorite among locals, but its pro-Dutch, anti-foreigner door policy may make it worth boycotting on principle. A brief “goedenavond” at the door should get you an “A” for effort and entry. In Spui square, nearby alleys are packed with small student bars.
Amsterdam by Night: Out of the way, off the beaten path
Or, for something definitely off the beaten path, look for OT 301. In the Oud West neighborhood, take the major thoroughfare Overtoom southwest from Leidseplein, the address is 301. It is a squatter bar, a formerly vacant building occupied legally. Any building in Amsterdam left vacant for more than a year is eligible for rent-free occupation, and while most transform into rundown flophouses, some become social hot spots. OT 301 has a bar downstairs, space for concerts, and a movie theater upstairs. There are random cultural events on any given night. In theory it is similar to De Balie, but definitely grittier.
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