Best clubbing & dance parties

Decades of Dutch dance

Over the last 20-30 years Amsterdam has built a name as a night-clubber's dream city with infamous clubs and nights, stylised and artistic, each have their own identity, giving party-goers a vivid clubbing experience.

Big Beat Business

What began has a DIY movement throughout the creative undercurrent of the city combined with it's close proximity to the UK, Amsterdam experienced the dance music evolution from underground clubs and warehouse raves to the first generation of party-starters like RoXY and on to the full-blown stadium fanfare of Sensation White and festivals like Loveland, Lowlands and 5 Days Off we see today. These days, while the DIY ethos remains, organisations like Electronation, Chemistry, and Earth have developed to take the reins with club nights, record deals and booking agencies to make Amsterdam one of the key centres of the dance music industry.

Each year the Amsterdam Dance Event is one of the most important international dance industry summits on the calendar. Not only is it four nights of the world's top DJs descending on the city's clubs but a conference during the day which covers an array of themes concerning the industry; promotion, technology, and media.

Dutch DJs

Nurtured along the way has been some of the hottest DJing talent in the world with Amsterdam and the Netherlands has producing people like Tiesto, Sander Kleinenberg, Junkie XL, Armin Van Buuren, Fedde Le Grand, Ferry Corsten, and Joost van Bellen.

Around town

For tourists and locals alike the Amsterdam party scene revolves mainly around to areas, Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein. Nevertheless, Amsterdam has so many hidden gems in basements, hotels, at the top of old newspaper buildings and the more you look the more you'll find out of the ordinary.

Rembrandtplein

Rembrandtplein lies just east of the Rokin, a square that holds some of the busiest clubs in town as well as a lot of surrounding bars, expect queues on a weekend.

• Super club Escape is one of the largest draw cards to the square with regular nights like BAD, Framebusters and the minimal Sunday Night.

• So too is Club Home, playing dance music of all kind from squeaky clean house to dirty electro and techno with nights like Juice and Freaky Friday.

• Studio 80 offers more challenging electronic music popular with while arts and music students hosting nights like .M.U.L.T.I.S.E.X.I, WKND and Katapult.

• Rain services the pop and RnB, and house crowd and offers a dancefloor but also a lounge and restaurant.

• Club Jantjes Verjaardag is for those who just want to party and have fun to the top 40.

Leidseplein

Leidseplein in the bustling centre of Amsterdam is always busy with locals and tourists alike filling the many terraces to sip, nibble and people-watch. In the later hours there's great clubbing options nearby.

• In the Leidseplein at the centre of town you'll find Jimmy Woo's with it's oriental styled decor and a soundsystem booming out hip hop, drum n bass and electro.

• The Melkweg is one of Amsterdam's most multi-purpose venues. On the dance front it hosts electro night Klinch and Mixed Swim (Gemengd Zwemmen) an indie/party/electro night with it's own side party - Global Climax, serving up world dance like Balkan Beats, Bhangra, Latin and reggae.

• The Paradiso, equally important in the Amsterdam music scene, and just off the Leidseplein holds indie/electro parties like Noodlanding and Classic Noodlanding popular with the university crowd and anyone that doesn't value Fridays at work, and Zonde! an eclectic night for sunday night sinners. Keep an eye out too for Club Pera - a night of Turkish pop.

• The Sugar Factory lies across the road from the Melkweg and takes on an artistic approach with various arty parties, jazz and soul nights including the Wicked Jazz Sounds club, but still offer hip hop and dance nights.

Best of the rest

But Amsterdam's thriving club scene isn't just isolated to these zones. Check out some of these other bustling clubs for who's playing when.

• Bitterzoet - A venue with a varying program, Bitterzoet quite often has a range of dancefloor friendly nights, located right by Central Station, on Spuistraat.

• The Powerzone - A clubbers' club, the Powerzone regularly has International DJs perform, the likes of Erick Morillo and Paul Van Dyk as well as hosting live acts.

• Supperclub - Is it a restaurant or is it a club? Is it burlesque or is it sex? Is it right or so very wrong? Come visit the original Supperclub to find out.

• Club 8 - an alternative club, this venue in Amsterdam's west pulls a young Brit-loving indie crowd on nights like Club Rascal and a vintage scene for nights like Amsterdam Beat Club and Burlesque Freakout.

• MS Stubnitz - is a converted ship turned into a club on the north side of the IJ, docked by the NDSM Wharf. MS Stubnitz caters to those that like it loud and long, with nights fitting just about every genre.