Entertainment in The Netherlands
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Di’Vino Wijnbar
Finally, a dedicated wine bar in the Jordaan. It serves only quality Italian wines (glasses €4 to €6, bottles €19 to €55), plus divine charcuterie and cheese plates (€6.50 to €17.50). The polished wood bar, flickering candles and lofty corner windows beckon you in – though the snuggle-into-me blankets strewn about the tables and chairs outside are equally inviting. Choices, choices.
reviewed
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Molly Malone’s
Regularly packed with Irish folk, this dark, woody pub holds spontaneous folk-music sessions. Bring your own guitar and let loose with the other Eireophiles. The (mainly Irish) pub grub is decent and on Mondays they offer curry and a pint for €12.50.
reviewed
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Café Cuba
This place maintains fidelity to Fidel, Che and ’50s Cuba, with low lighting, indoor palms, faux faded elegance, rum posters, and cane chairs and tables. Try Papa Hemingway’s favourite cocktail, the caipirinha, and the ubiquitous mojito. The outdoor seating is right on Nieuwmarkt.
reviewed
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Concertgebouw
Each year, this neo-Renaissance centre presents around 650 concerts attracting 840,000 visitors, making it the world’s busiest concert hall (with reputedly the best acoustics). The venue holds free, half-hour ‘lunch concerts’ on Wednesdays at 12.30pm between September and June.
reviewed
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Café Het Schuim
Schuim means ‘foam’ (on beer) and this grungy, arty bar is extraordinarily popular with beer-swilling locals – it gets packed any time of day or night. While the people-watching can be distracting, it’s wise to keep one eye on your belongings.
reviewed
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Café Zilt
This classy little dive is where the corpus delicti shudders to a halt after a night of glorious excess. There’s a great selection of seasonal beers (why go easy at this stage?) and bar snacks such as gehaktbal (spicy hamburger balls) to buoy the blood sugar.
reviewed
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Café P 96
If you don’t want the night to end, P 96 is an amiable spot to land. When most other cafes in the Jordaan shut down for the night, this is where everyone ends up, rehashing their evening, striking up conversations with strangers and grinning into their beers.
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Amsterdam ArenA
Matches usually take place on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon during the season (early September to early June). The ArenA conducts a one-hour guided stadium tour that includes a walk on the hallowed turf and entry to the Ajax museum.
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Dizzy
Live concerts Monday and Tuesday nights and Sunday afternoons. The evening performances are scorching: everything from hot jazz to fast and funky Brazilian and salsa. There’s regular jazz jam sessions.
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Jazzcafé the Duke
‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it’ is its motto, and amid this cool-cat interior of yellowing, vintage jazz posters, the fine live jazz never makes you doubt it.
reviewed
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Welling
Tucked away behind the Concertgebouw, Welling is a relaxed spot to unwind with a newspaper, sip a frothy biertje and mingle with intellectuals and artists.
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Café de Sluyswacht
It was once a lock-keeper’s house, and today the canalside terrace is one of the nicest spots we know to relax and down a beer (Dommelsch is the house speciality).
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De Doelen
Home venue of the renowned Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, a sumptuous concert centre that dates from 1935 and seats 1300.
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Dr Anton Philipszaal
Home to the Residentie Orkest, Den Haag’s classical symphony orchestra.
reviewed
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Cinematheek Haags Filmhuis
Screens foreign and indie movies.
reviewed
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Kurzaal Bar
Even if you're not staying at the plush, 19th-century Kurhaus Hotel, it's worth popping in for a drink at its bar (but wear your best shoes). The Kurzaal's on the edge of a stunning dancehall/restaurant with period trimmings, painted ceiling, frescoes, chandeliers, huge potted plants, portholes, artworks, and photos of Jacques Brel, Bing Crosby… The Rolling Stones played their shortest-ever concert here - just three minutes, before rioting teenage girls took over.
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Hill Street Blues
It feels more like a lounge bar than a coffeeshop, with jazzy music, an in-the-groove vibe and an international swath of visitors. Firm beanbag stools and comfy benches make great stations for watching the life forms on busy Nieuwmarkt while sipping a blended fruit-and-yogurt smoothie or one of the phenomenal shakes. For a grungier vibe, check out its location at Warmoesstraat 52, where graffiti covers every inch of the space and furniture.
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Podium Mozaiëk
‘West is the new Centrum’ boasts Club 8, a bare-bones club in the area west of the Jordaan. We wouldn’t write off the city centre anytime soon, but we can say that this and other grassroots nightspots here are worth a look: De Nieuwe Anita, a living-room-like art lounge; Zaal 100, which hosts a Tuesday jam session; and the multicultural arts space Podium Mozaiëk.
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Zaal 100
‘West is the new Centrum’ boasts Club 8, a bare-bones club in the area west of the Jordaan. We wouldn’t write off the city centre anytime soon, but we can say that this and other grassroots nightspots here are worth a look: De Nieuwe Anita, a living-room-like art lounge; Zaal 100, which hosts a Tuesday jam session; and the multicultural arts space Podium Mozaiëk.
reviewed
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't Mandje
Amsterdam’s - and perhaps the world’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 week until it reopened in 2008. The devoted bartenders can tell you stories about the bar’s brassy lesbian founder, and there’s live jazz and a retro DJ who spins 78s on a Victrola. One of the most gezellig places in the Centrum, gay or straight.
reviewed
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Minibar
If Homer Simpson went glam, this would be his palace. Present an ID at the counter; choose a fully stocked beer, champagne or mixed fridge; and grab your key to your own self-service minibar (more maxi than mini, actually). Select your tipple and sip in the mod-lounge setting, zoning out on the computerised light show; on our visit, plump white raindrops cascaded down a solid black wall. DJs spin a few nights a week too.
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Winkel van Sinkel
This stately early-19th-century building houses a grand café, a nightclub and a restaurant in an absolutely divine interior. It was once the Netherlands' first department store, inspiring this popular Dutch ditty (according to a Guardian reader: 'At the big shop of Sinkel's, all things can be bought/Sweeties and shandies, undies for dandies/Needles for knitting, and tablets for shitting'.
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Felix Meritis Café
Join the city’s cultural cognoscenti imbibing in this high-ceilinged, quietly refined (think theatrical lighting) cafe in the Felix Meritis Building. Huge windows and clever outdoor seating (you’ll see) overlooking the canal make it a stylish spot for a coffee or cocktail. Sit and ponder the society’s motto carved above the entrance: ‘Happiness through Achievement’.
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Tara
This expat meeting place combines Irish folksiness with Amsterdam chic. In its maze of rooms (the one-time home of German expressionist Max Beckmann) you’ll find warm fireplaces, a cool bar, gorgeous wall carvings and seats salvaged from an old Irish church. Catch frequent musical happenings and sports on the telly. Meals include burgers, and beef and Guinness pie (mains €12.50 to €15.50).
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De Drie Fleschjes
Behind the Nieuwe Kerk, the distiller Bootz’ tasting room dates from 1650. It is dominated by 52 vats that are rented out to businesses that entertain clients here. It specialises in liqueurs (although you can also get jenevers ) – the macaroon liqueur is quite nice. Take a peek at the collection of kalkoentjes, small bottles with hand-painted portraits of former mayors.
reviewed