GAY AMSTERDAM
If there were ever a city designed for the perfect gay vacation, its Amsterdam. Celebrated for its small city charms amidst a cosmopolitan pulse, the city is enjoying a renaissance. Once famous for its legal red-light district and “coffeeshops,”, Amsterdam redefined itself a destination open to change without forgetting what made it one of Europe´s top gay destinations.
Charming Amsterdam is a compact city, laid out along radiating canals (grachts) alternating with streets (straats), that were built during the 17th century, and very easy to explore by foot.
The city’s iconic canals (165 in total) were constructed to form a series of concentric semicircles which radiate out from the central old town, traversed by bridges (1,281 to be precise) and lined with similar 17th century gabled residences.
With the heart and soul of a village, Amsterdam is a city of well-defined neighborhoods, each one possessing its own distinct character. Wander like a flaneur and soak up Amsterdam’s pleasures.
Amsterdam is one of the smaller European capitals in size, but one of the continent’s most favorite gay hotspots. Its proximity to London and Paris makes it an ideal city to include in your European travel itinerary. Just hop on a high-speed train and you will be in Paris and London in just a few hours. The busy Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is a major gateway for many U.S. airlines, which makes it a great city to start your European adventure.
The city’s centre and old town is bounded by the most centrally located canal, the Singel. Located inside this is the red-light district around the Oude Kerk (Old Church), the Nes Theatre street, a maze of charming old fashioned streets and quiet canals, and the Royal Palace on Dam Square.
Also inside the Singel canal are the pedestrian shopping streets of Nieuwendijk and Kalverstraat, which run north and south from the Dam and the central train station.
Outside of the old centre there are three more circular canals, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. These are excellent to walk with the Herengracht being the grandest, especially along the Golden Crescent. It’s also useful to note when negotiating the city that these canals radiate out in alphabetical order, so it’s never difficult to work out where you are!
All of Amsterdam is very gay-friendly, so you won’t sense the “gay ghetto” mentality common in other cities. Nonetheless, some streets and neighborhoods do have a higher concentration of rainbow flags, tank tops and leather chaps.
The gay scene is divided into three areas. Around the Reguliersdwarsstraat district, situated on the street of the same name in between the Single and Herengracht canals, close to the Koningsplein Bridge, you’ll find trendier bars who are continually opening and closing for even trendier refurbishment.
The Reguliersdwarsstraat is home to trendy bars and cafes and can be rather tame by Amsterdam standards. As with all gay streets around the world, the area continues to become more mixed and mainstream. That said, the area is also under constant redevelopment with several new gay venues planned or in development. Reguliersdwarsstraat is famous for summer nights when this pedestrian street is packed wall-to-wall with young gay people moving between clubs, many of them new, that include: Club NYX, Exit Après Chique, La Cage, and Pub Soho, among various mixed nightclubs, lounges and restaurants along both sides of the street.
Along the Amstel River and the adjacent Halvemaansteeg, you’ll find an amiable mix of younger dudes, older guys and anyone else who loves to quaff a beer while listening (or singing along) to music. There’s a far more traditional scene round the Amstel and the Rembrandtsplein. The Amstel Taveerne is one of the oldest gay pubs in Holland and has a completely disarming naffness, while Montmartre de Paris around the corner is home to all things camp and pop.
There’s a much heavier leather scene around the Warmoesstraat which can be found just off the Dam Square down the street from the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. The leather crowd frequents here, in the heart of Amsterdam’s infamous red light district.
Getting Around
Public trams and trains are frequent and convenient. They don’t run all night, but few nightspots will be far from your hotel room.
For a carefree day out roaming from one Amsterdam neighborhood to another, the GVB day ticket is the most convenient and economical choice. This ticket provides you 24 hours of unlimited carefree travel on all GVB trams, buses and metros throughout all of Amsterdam. The 24 hours starts the moment you first check in. You can then transfer and check in and out as often as you want
GAY BAR MAP
Near Centraal Station, where Warmoesstraat meets the Zeedijk, the picturesque gay pubs on narrow streets on the canals draw mixed but mainly male crowds, from the maturely sophisticated to the young and artsy: Cafe De Barderij, De Engel van Amsterdam and the Queen’s Head are standouts. Across the Damrak, around Nieuwezijds Kolk, the Cuckoos Nest, the Web, and Boys Club 21 offer more erotic relaxation. Sauna Nieuwezijds is a recent addition to the neighborhood.
The oldest and traditional gay area in Amsterdam is situated around Kerkstraat, which is close to the Leidseplein Bridge in between the Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht canals. This district has many of the gay guesthouses and hotels situated here and has the most cosy and low key atmosphere of the gay areas of the city.
Club Church, Spijker and Bronx Video make their stretch of Kerkstraat sexy. As well as the many choices for accommodation you can also find gay shops, restaurants and cafes in the area which has a distinctly ‘village’ ambience. The gay bars here offer a distinctly traditional atmosphere and it makes for a great place to start your evening as it is popular with both tourists and the local Dutch clientele.
The Jordaan district is another quiet neighborhood, home to numerous cafés, bookstores and some excellent shopping.
Amsterdam is not a big city and the scene tends to reflect this. There are few mega gay clubs, but plenty of special nights, jack-off parties and backrooms.
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