Music venues & clubs – All our local tips

Struik is a typical relaxed, ‘easy going’ café. The audience is a mix of locals, old & young, varying from hip to old fashioned.

At Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays dj’s are playing their music: hiphop/soul/classics. Popular but original at the same time. Once in a while special events take place.

The graffiti on the brick wall changes every now and then, made by several artists. Struik has a small lunch and snack menu; and most days of the week you can enjoy a great dinner for a lousy €7.50! Check the website to see what’s on the menu! Every day another ‘theme’!

Great to start off your night, or to hang around all night. Guaranteed you meet some nice locals!

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Bar Struik | Bars, Music, Snacks | Beer € 2.00
Rozengracht 160 | Canals
Mon 17:00 – 01:00, Tue – Thu 10:00 – 01:00, Fri 10:00 – 03:00, Sat 11:00 – 03:00, Sun 11:00 – 01:00

The Beurs van Berlage was built between 1898 and 1903 by the architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856-1934) for the City of Amsterdam. Construction started in 1898 and was completed in 1903. It was Berlage’s first really large commission – and it would make him world famous.

The building was constructed alongside the Amstel river, where trading ships used to moor. The building was designed to accommodate all forms of stock trading. At the time, the Beurs van Berlage was referred to as the Koopmansbeurs (Merchant Stock Exchange); in it, commodities, stock, corn, currencies and ship’s cargoes were traded, as were, later, insurance and options. Since 1987, the building has been the venue for exhibitions, concerts, congresses and other events.
Underneath the centre of the original main entrance on Beursplein are the Vaults. Here, individuals could rent a safe deposit box in which to store their securities and other valuables.

Neoclassicism was usual for the 19th century, but Berlage broke with this style. Therefor The Beurs van Berlage is a milestone in the history of modern architecture. It was built in the same period as Amsterdam’s Central Station and the Rijksmuseum (see the Rijksmuseum article), but what is really special about the Beurs, is that 80% of it is authentic.

Berlage made his exchange building into a Gesamtkunstwerk (a work combining various arts, wherein each is subservient to the whole). Berlage and his contemporaries felt that a building should have one clearly delineated shape, governing all details (and thus also the interior). It is ‘Unity in plurality’, as Berlage puts it. The interior is still complete and everything was restored to their former glory and opened to the public.

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Beurs van Berlage | Art & culture, Music
Damrak 277 | Old center | +31205304141
Depends on exhibition & concert times

Canvas is located on the top floor of the former Volkskrant (newspaper) building.
Besides that it’s a club; it’s also a café, restaurant, lounge, cocktail bar and exhibition hall. Because it’s not too close to the city centre, the venue is transformed into a local hotspot. The ultimate hangout of young creatives, students, and inhabitants of the neighbourhood.

Not only the spectacular panoramic view over Amsterdam makes this venue worth visiting. Other super features are the two rooftop terraces and the customized second hand furniture by artists.

In weekends DJs make sure you can dance the night away. Due to its small measurements, the intimate and cosy atmosphere is preserved. I can recall a certain Berlin-style.

The small menu offers the possibility to have dinner or lunch. Don’t expect exquisite dishes but the Canvasburger is tasty and reasonably priced. Simple but just fine!

Check the website for the program and flyers!

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Canvas op de 7e | Art & culture, Bars, Music | Wine € 3.00
Wibautstraat 150 (side entrance) | Plantage/Oost | +31207163817
Mon – thu 12:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sun 12:00 – 03:00

Club 8 is a great venue for a fully filled, entertaining night! With more than 24 pool tables there’s always space to start your game! Feeling hungry?
The restaurant menu offers burgers, soups, pasta and typically Dutch snacks like ‘bitterballen’ en ‘kaassouffle’.

The restaurant area might not be a picture perfect place for going out for dinner, but for a quick bite it’s just fine.

At night, Club 8’s nightclub plays funky sounds: electro, pop, indie, house….name it, they have it! Check out the program on the website, just to be sure you like what’s on that particular night!

The audience is very diverse: students, tourists, expats, and locals… everybody likes Club 8!

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Club 8 | Bars, Music, Restaurants (international) | One hour pool € 9.50
Admiraal de Ruyterweg 56B | Oud-West | +31206851703
Mon – Thu 14:00 – 03:00, Fri 14:00 – 04:00, Sat 12:00 – 04:00, Sun 12:00 – 03:00

Like lots of people I have to admit I’ve gotten so used to downloading music that I hardly ever buy a CD. But step one foot inside this shop and you will instantly feel the urge to listen to and buy lots of CD’s. It’s really kind of dangerous!

The shop actually consists of five shops stuck together. There are different areas specializes in pop music, classical music, jazz, world music, rock music, dance music. And they also have a DVD section. Once you get inside you can easily spend hours rummaging around the special offers, special editions, and CD’s of artists you forgot existed.

In the DVD section they’ve got complete selections of all the great TV series you can imagine. When I walk around there I always start getting greedy and I really don’t know where to start!

The shop has lots of different little corners where you can withdraw yourself from everything else and just listen to music. The people in the shop all know a lot about all the different sorts of music so they can always help you further when you don’t know how to make a choice between everything they’ve got to offer.

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Concerto | Music, Shopping
Utrechtsestraat 52 – 60 | Canals | +31206235228
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 18:00, Thu 10:00 – 21:00, Sun 12:00 – 18:00

In a street that crosses the Albert Cuyp Market you will find The Emaillekeizer.

Emaille is the Dutch word for Enamel. So as you can imagine this shop is full of it. Mostly cups, plates, teapots, bowls and many other kitchen utensils. All the stuff is very colourful and often painted with floral prints. Whenever I walk into the shop for a look around I always get a happy feeling. Besides the enamel plates and other kitchen stuff the shop also specializes in signs made of enamel. For instance house numbers, street names, and many other (funny) signs.

Despite of the name of the shop, enamel is not the only thing you will find.
There are lots of other things like colourful braided baskets in different shapes and sizes. You will also find funnily shaped chairs that look ideal for in the garden, in the park, or on the beach. And it’s not all. Except for al the things to fill your living room and kitchen, there are also things to decorate yourself with. Lots of handmade jewellery from Africa, made mostly out of beads and shells.

As I said I always feel happy when I visit the shop and I also get a summer vibe. This is mostly because of the music which is usually reggae-like. It won’t surprise you to hear the shop also sells lots of this kind of music.

All in all the combin

ation of colours, floral prints, a variety of different stuff and summery happy music makes this shop a nice one to visit. It is great for presents, and for all price categories. The combination of the somewhat old fashioned enamel and the original African stuff seems strange but it works wonderfully well.

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De Emaillekeizer | Music, Shopping
1e Sweelinckstraat 15 | De Pijp | +310206641847
Tue – Sat 12:00 – 18:00

The Weekly News Amsterdammer had exposed the shameful state of musical life in our capital Amsterdam. Where in other countries the officials provide good Concert Halls, our government had the motto that art is not a matter for the government.

It was Bernard Haitink who once described the Concert Hall as the best instrument in the orchestra it houses. This must have been what the great and the good of Amsterdam had in mind in 1881, when they decided that the Dutch capital should have a proper Concert Hall worthy of the name. Seven years later the miracle of neoclassical architecture, the Concert Hall, was finished. This building now enjoys a worldwide reputation, just like the Royal Concert Hall Orchestra does.

For this prestigious project architect Adolf Leonard Van Gendt chose the Viennese Classicism style of architecture. A lyre, part of the Concertgebouw’s logo to this day, proudly crowned Van Gendt’s creation. For the design and layout of the interior, Van Gendt got his inspiration from the Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig, rounded corners and the auditoriums surrounded by broad corridors.

The Concert Hall has diverse music entertainment. From opera, orchestra’s, jazz to classical music; there is a style of music for everyone. For younger adults, the prices are lower, the Concert Hall has many events: an orchestra of young adults, a free lunch concert on a Wednesday in which you are treated to beautiful music, a Sunday Morning Concert or a concert given by especially talented young musicians.

Before the Sunday morning Concert starts, you can join the Concert Hall tour for €4.50.

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Het Concertgebouw | Music | From € 0.00
Concertgebouwplein 2-6 | Oud-Zuid | +316718345
Open 40 minutes prior to the concert

The old film academy halfway on the Overtoom is now one of the underground cultural hotspots of Amsterdam.

With hardly any investments made in the interior, graffiti art on the wall, and not too much lighting, the place gives an industrial feel. It has quite a lot of empty spaces that can be used for festivals, regular movie nights, live music or clubbing.

OT301 used to be run by squatters, but it turned at least somewhat professional a while ago. You can find information about irregular events, the Tuesday movie night: Cinema Derive, the Friday and Saturday club night and the Tuesday Ping Pong Bar.

The crowd on a club night is a mixture between the alternative and the hip, but they have a love for partying in common. People are easygoing, so there is a pleasant atmosphere. Check out the OT301 website to see if there is anything planned that tickles your fancy.

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OT301 | Art & culture, Music | Beer € 2.00
Overtoom 301 | Oud-West
Fri 22:00 – 03:00, Sat 23:00 – 03:00

Paradiso in the seventies: think flowerpower!

Paradiso is set in an old church, with 3 dance areas. The main room is huge and has a surrounding wooden balcony on the second floor to get a better view, which also gives you a majestic feeling.

In the basement you can go to chill and have some late night food (hamburgers, candy, chips etc.) The 3rd room, on the second floor, also has a bar but is usually only opened when it gets really crowded or on special events.

Before Paradiso opens its doors for regular clubnights, the pop temple is a concert hall. Famous artists from all over the world come here to perform their act. From Robbie Williams to The Roots and many more have entertained Paradiso’s visitors, leaving them happy and satisfied.

At night, Paradiso is one of the most popular places to go to. On Wednesdays and Thursdays you can go wild at ‘Noodlanding’ with music varying from pop/indie to hip hop/rock to electro/techno. These nights are most popular among students.

In weekends they usually have a mix of jazz/soul/funk/hip hop, but the program changes very often. Be sure to check out the website.
New is Zonde! at Sundays for those that feel that the weekend hasn’t end yet!

Tip: Tickets can be bought at the door (make sure you bring your ID, they can be really strict on student nights!), but in case it’s sold out you can check for last minute tickets at the Ticketshop at the Leidseplein during the day.

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Paradiso | Music | Noodlanding € 7.00
Weteringschans 6-8 | Canals | +31206264521
(Usually) 20:00 – 04:00 daily

Pompstation a new place in town, New York industrial style, great food and wines. Fridays and Saturdays after dinner dance. Live music of young up coming jazzy performers and bands. I had a excellent food and wine experience on a casual Tuesday evening.

I choose the salad of green aspargus, confit of tomatoes and smoked sliced eggplant with a great vinaigrette. My main course was a ‘aged’ ribeye from the Creekstone Prime Black Angus USA Corn Fed. Very tasty and tender, this can becoming their best seller.

The winelist has a width range of beautiful offerings, from easy and nice prices up to the the famous and starred, and from France to the New World. For everybody there’s something to choose.

The interior is industrial, with the use of pure and original materials, impressive. Service is very nice, helpful and professional but still has to get used to their own restaurant setting, it has only to be fine-tuned!

The only thing is the location, which is a bit out of centre, but with tram 14 (stop at  ’Borneostraat 1 – terras’) you will overcome that problem. I say have fun and enjoy!

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Pompstation Bar & Grill | Bars, Music, Restaurants (BBQ & grill) | Main course € 28.50
Zeeburgerdijk 52 | Plantage/Oost | +31020692288
Restaurant Tue – Thu 18:00 – 22:30, Fri – Sat 18:00 – 22:30
Bar Tue – Thu 16:00 – 01:00, Fri – Sat 16:00 – 03:00

One of the Albert Cuyps hidden gems: South Miami Plaza offers everything what you haven’t thought of yet. Do you think you’ve seen/heard it all…explore your world here!

Music styles varying from Dutch and World to Blues and Rock, a never ending offer.

Wherever you look, special offers are a daily matter. 5 Dvds for 10 euros is not uncommon. Ok, don’t expect to find the newest released films and cds here…but you may find your lost samples of famous oldies or for example the Beatles in concert.  To complete your collection they also sell posters and cards of pop, tv, and filmstars.

The place does look like an old dump store, full of cheap, dusty cds, dvds, vinyl, video’s etc. But that shouldn’t hold you back. Be patient and you’ll bump into one favorite after another, and all this for the lowest prices ever!

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South Miami Plaza | Music, Shopping | DVD € 5.00
Albert Cuypstraat 116 B/C | De Pijp | +31206622817
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 18:00

The Tropenmuseum is a famous ethnographic museum. There is excellent information about and nice artifacts from almost every corner of the world. This is not the typical “pots and pans” museum.

The best permanent exhibitions are about former Dutch colonies (mainly Indonesia and Suriname). The irony is that the beautiful building this museum is housed in was paid for by money earned by exploiting the colonies and its people.

Exhibition Culture Couture is on from 16th of December 2009 until 16th of May 2010. It shows a collection of traditional and modern clothing, designs, drawings, videos and catwalk shows. Designers are talents from the Antwerp college of Arts.

Another exhibition is: The Art of Survival. Exhibit is from 6th of November 2009 until the 9th of May 2010. It is about the Maroon culture of Suriname. These Marrons are African slaves who where forcedto move to Suriname. There they liberated themselves and lived in the woods where they started a new life along the river.

If you get a chance, visit a concert in the Tropentheater. It is housed in the Tropen institute building. If there is a concert, it is usually someone unknown from a very faraway place. Always surprising! If there is no concert, at least try to see the inside hall, usually only open during concerts. It’s almost 100% marble. Too much, definitely, but still nice!

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Tropenmuseum | Art & culture, Music | Admission € 7.50
Linnaeusstraat 2 | Plantage/Oost | +31205688200
10:00 – 17:00 daily