Drinking
Club 11
Bar/restaurant
Club 11 is situated on the 11th floor of what used to be a post sorting building near Central station. It is a restaurant/bar/club which offers amazing views of the city and the IJ river. The food is incredibly reasonable for the standard you get and if you have the time to hang around it is a great club for dancing afterwards with a laid-back atmosphere :: Oosterdokskade 3-5, 1011 AD Amsterdam
Simon Levelt
Coffee and Tea Outlet
Old, established and interesting :: A.Hofmanweg 3 2031 BH Haarlem
Eating
Van Dobben
Traditional Dutch/Amsterdam snacks (bitterballen)
This place has been around since just after the war and soon become a popular place for the more artistic types in Amsterdam. It is now famous way beyond the borders of Amsterdam for its Van Dobben croquetten :: Korte Reguliersdwarsstraat 5-9 bij het Amsterdamse Rembrandtplein
Kwekkeboom
Traditional Dutch/Amsterdam snacks (bitterballen)
If you have sweet tooth you will not be able to walk past the array of whipped cream gebak cake, harig cakes, saucizenbroodies and the famous Kwekkeboom croquette. If you don't have a clue what all these are then just go and find out for yourself :: Papaverweg 36, 1032 KJ Amsterdam
FEBO
Snackshop (hole in the wall snacks)
If you are at the point in the evening where you think these are a good idea then you will enjoy them, otherwise they are not the finest cuisine you'll find in Amsterdam - but certainly the most convenient :: Located all over the city
Westergasfabriek Bakkerswinkel
Local bakery
Studio De Plantage
Dutch/Amsterdam media cafe/studio
You can be sitting back enjoying your coffee when a TV crew turn up and start filming a TV programme from inside the cafe :: Plantage Kerklaan 36 1018 CZ Amsterdam
Soup En Zo
Speedy soup
In spring and autumn, when the sun comes out but there's still a nip in the air, there's no better place for your al-fresco lunchbreak. En Zo serves a variety of home-made soups in strange but delightful flavours (for example spicy peanut or spinach and cream) the prices are very good for a hearty but healthy meal :: Jodenbreestraat 94A, near Waterlooplein and opposite Albert Hijn supermarket
Cafe in Metz Department Store
Cafe
The cafe at the top of Metz Department store has cracking views over the skyline. Its on the sixth floor and has windows on three sides. If you are in the moodfor tea and cake it is pretty close to perfection :: 455 Keizergracht (on the intersection at Keizergracht and Leidsegracht)
Brasserie Harkema
Restaurant
A lovely restaurant, with a great atmosphere, hardly any tourists and excellent European cuisine with a twist. Great wines too. Situated on Nes, it's only a five minute walk from Dam Square but a world away from the stag parties :: Nes 67, about 5 mins walk from Dam Square
Other
Paradiso
Live music
This is the best live music venue in Amsterdam. It used to be a church so the sound is always great. A good place to see new bands just after they've toured the UK :: Weteringschans 6-8, 1017 SG Amsterdam
Bloemendaal aan Zee
Every weekend hip Amsterdammers descend on the beach 20 minutes outside the city. By day the area is a sea of gorgeous looking bikinied bodies and surfer dudes lounging on over-sized cushions and hammocks, by night there is dancing in the sand at one of the Ibiza style-clubs. It's a glamorous hippy vibe with yoga classes held in between DJ stints :: Trains to Bloemendaal leave from Amsterdam Centraal Station every half-hour. It's a short taxi ride from the station to the beach.
Albert Cuyp
Market
A place where almost all nationalities of the world meet and where you can find a matching variety of food, textiles and a whole range of other stuff :: Albert Cuyp street in the neighbourhood of De Pijp
Magere Brug
Famous Bridge over the river the Amstel
Legend has it that the bridge was named after the sisters Mager, who were supposed to live on opposite sides of the river. They are said to have had the wooden bridge built to make it easier to visit one another. However what is more likely to be true is that it got its name from being so narrow (mager means skinny in Dutch), that it was hard for two pedestrians to pass one along another. As traffic along the river Amstel increased, a wider bridge replaced the narrow one in 1871 and so it is about as far from skinny as you get. It looks amazing at night when lit up :: Amstel, between Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht
Jacob Hooy
Traditional Dutch Sweetshop and Pharmacy
Kloveniersburgwal 10-12
Kleine Comedie
Amsterdam alternative comedy club
Amstel 82 3-hoog, 1017 AC Amsterdam
Begijnhofje Kalverstraat
Traditional Dutch houses
The Begijnhof is a lovely little enclosed green with nice gabled houses all around. It was originally built in the 1300's for a Catholic sisterhood of women who lived similarly to nuns. They were a Catholic order of unmarried women from wealthy families who cared for the elderly. They lived a religious lifestyle without taking monastic vows. The last true Beguines died in 1970's :: Intersection of Spui & Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal
Fietsfabriek
Bike shop
These guys keep the city pedaling :: 1e Jacob van Campenstraat 12, 1072 BC Amsterdam
NL20
Magazine
The 'Time Out' magazine of Amsterdam
Bimhuis
Experimental jazz venue
It has been the centre for jazz in Europe since it opened in 1973. For the serious officianado and has been described as one of the two or three best jazz clubs in the world :: Piet Heinkade 3, 1019 BR Amsterdam
Dikker and Thijs
Hotel
Sounds like it should be in the red light district, but this 4 star hotel with real Amsterdam quirky edge (check out the elevator and the 3 floor underneath the 2nd floor) :: Prinsengracht 444, 1017 KE Amsterdam
