Partying in Amsterdam

Clubbing basics

Amsterdam’s clubs usually open at around 10pm and keep going until 4am during the week and 5am at weekends. The city has produced a crop of internationally acclaimed DJ’s like Tiesto, Sander Kleinenberg, Junkie XL, Armin Van Buuren, Fedde Le Grand, Ferry Corsten, and Joost van Bellen. In general, the trendier clubs have a smart-casual dress-code, with no jeans or no trainers. At the more down-to-earth venues, anything goes.

Venues

Bitterzoet
This small club is popular with the younger crowd and focuses on giving emerging talent a platform to experiment and to play to larger audiences. The music at Bitterzoet ranges from rock, punk and ska to hip-hop, funk and soul. One night it could be just your thing and the next night not, so it’s a good idea to check the programme before you go

Ambiance:	Relaxed
Clientele:	Alternative, Students, Locals
Dress:	Casual, Trendy / Stylish

Club 8
An alternative club, Club 8’s slightly scruffy interior is appreciated by a young indie crowd on nights like Club Rascal and offers a vintage scene for nights like Amsterdam Beat Club and Burlesque Freakout.

Ambiance:	Relaxed
Clientele:	Alternative, College Students, Locals, Mixed
Dress:	Casual, Alternative

Club NL
Club NL started life as a swanky lounge club, but these days it has been revamped and features grooving house sounds, attracting a stylish James Bond-like audience. Celebs such as Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell and P.Diddy have been spotted here, and it’s also a regular haunt for Dutch soccer stars.

Ambiance:	Relaxed, Trendy
Clientele:	Beautiful People, Mixed
Dress:	Trendy / Stylish

Escape
One of the largest clubs in Amsterdam, Escape is often host to international DJ’s and hot local talent. It also delivers spectacular multimedia shows, with a huge indoor LED screen for the lightjockeys and VJ’s to dazzle audiences with. The complex is home to a variety of nightclubs ranging from house to classic 80s and 90s tracks, or you can take in some hip hop, R&B and lounge in one of the smaller areas.

Ambiance:	Trendy
Clientele:	Beautiful People
Dress:	Business Casual, Trendy / Stylish

Jimmy Woo
Jimmy Woo’s glamorous interior is both extravagant – with a stylish lounge area to strut your stuff - but also offers privacy with intimate booths to lounge in. Think gold leaf, black lacquer walls, Japanese lanterns and a genuine antique opium bed! The sound system has been imported from London and even staring at the ceiling is fascinating as it is studded with more than twelve thousand tiny light bulbs.
Every night a resident DJ spins an eclectic mix of Hip Hop, R&B, Disco, Soul, Funk and House. It helps to be on the guest list to get in, and if you’re staying in one of the high-end hotels, the concierge can usually help out.

Ambiance:	Trendy
Clientele:	Beautiful People
Dress:	Business Casual, Trendy / Stylish

Paradiso
What could be a better venue to worship music in than in a former church? This striking venue plays regular host to top artists from around the world, and on weekend evenings, top DJs thrill club-goers with house, jazz and disco across a variety of levels. Paradiso regularly holds indie/electro parties which are popular with the university crowd and anyone that doesn't need to concentrate too hard on a Friday.

Ambiance:	Relaxed
Clientele:	Mixed, Students, Locals
Dress:	Casual, Trendy / Stylish

Sugar Factory
Anything goes at the Sugar Factory, which bills itself as a a cutting edge multi-disciplinary night theater. Early on in the evening the programming features anything from art exhibitions, fashion shows, big band acts, performance art to multimedia events. Once the sun is well and truly down, these make way for a wide-range of parties, featuring some of Europe's hottest DJ’s.

Ambiance:	Relaxed
Clientele:	Alternative, Gay / Lesbian / Straight, Locals
Dress:	Casual, Trendy / Stylish

Dance Festivals

The mother of all dance events, The Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) is the gateway to the international electronic music scene. As Europe's leading electronic music conference and the world's biggest club festival, it's the perfect time and place to meet with international music minds, introduce your business to an international audience and connect with new music, new trends, new people.

The playlist is always suitably diverse: electronic, acid, techno, trance, house, hip hop, drum 'n' bass and other beat-filled sounds to groove to.

Dance Valley is a large outdoor dance festival held every July, in the Spaarnwoude recreational area just outside of Amsterdam. There are several stages and tents pumping out different music streams, such as techno, trance and hardhouse.

Other well-known festivals include Loveland (August), Lowlands (August) and 5 Days Off (March), which offers a cross-section of the latest in electronic music, with international artists, big names and new talent.

Pink party

It's hard to imagine a more gay and lesbian-friendly city than Amsterdam, and all of the venues mentioned above reflect this attitude. That said, there are many more gay bars/dance clubs, that could be described more accurately as 'gay-trendy. The Reguliersdwarsstraat is the hub of upscale gay bars like relaxed Soho, trendy April, and the city's biggest gay dance club, Exit. Sleek ARC serves tapas and transforms into a late-night lounge. Club 8 is also host to UNK, a gay club night – with UNK standing for several things, like hUNK, fUNK and drUNK.

A family affair

Look out for special family matinee disco’s sporadically held in some of the larger clubs on either a Sunday afternoon. The clubs are specially kitted out in a kid-friendly vibe: think extra soft-drinks stocked behind the bar, reduced music volume and a sound to get three generations moving on the dance floor.

So now you have some ideas of where to go, its time to polish up your best moves, get your glad-rags on and head out for a fun night on the town!