Clubs
The Power Zone
(http://www.thepowerzone.nl) daniel goedkoopstraat 1 3 metro to spaklerweg
Club 8
Admiraal de ruijterweg in west. a large alternative place with lots of art on its walls. there's ping pong, a very local and fairly young crowd.
Studio 80
(http://www.studio-80.nl) rembrandtplein 17 is an somewhat more underground, intimate club that's easy to miss because of its flashy neighbours. it prides itself by trying to stay on the forefront of electronic music in the city.
Melkweg
(http://www.melkweg.nl) lijnbaansgracht 234 near leidseplein can be compared to paradiso, although its live venues and events can eat up some of the nights. check their listing.
Bitterzoet
(http://www.bitterzoet.com) spuistraat 2. this placed used to be alternative, but changed ownership and is now more hip hop and r&b oriented. check their agenda to see what they're doing.
Jimmy Woo
(http://www.jimmywoo.nl) korte leidsedwarsstraat 18 near leidseplein is an upscale, relatively small club with table service and a notorious door policy. boys, don't come alone.
Paradiso
(http://www.paradiso.nl) weteringschans 6 near leidseplein. somewhat the safest bet in town. it's impressive, walks a fine line between pop and alternative, gets a mixed crowd and isn't too crazy expensive. it popularity is obvious by the huge line on the weekends.
FlexBar
(http://www.flexbar.nl) pazzanistraat 1 in the westerpark, a small venue off the beaten path in westerpark that plays electronic music, often until 5am.
Trouw
Is club that opened in 2009 in an old newspaper building with the same name. far away, amazing space, and great music. can be a little expensive because of its cool.
Korsakoff
(http://www.korsakoffamste...) lijnbaansgracht 161 near leidseplein a more alternative, run-down but cheap place that often has live music.
Club HOME
(http://www.clubhome.nl) wagenstraat 7 near rembrandtplein, at the old sinners in heaven location
Panama
(http://www.panama.nl) oostelijke handelskade 4, quite far away but can have its nice nights and the view on the water is excellent.
Escape
(http://www.www.escape.nl) rembrandtplein 11, a large, fairly uninspiring club that plays mostly mainstream house music.
OCCII
Is a rock venue for cutting edge music punk, noise, riot grrrl, etc.
Amsterdam features many famous clubs, including:
bars and pubs
The archetypical Amsterdam watering hole is the bruine "brown bar" or "brown café", a neighborhood pub of sorts with gorgeous dark wood panelling — hence the name — and booths. These do not sell cannabis, see coffeeshops below for that. Popular entertainment areas with lots of bars are the Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein.
coffeeshops
Amsterdam is renowned for its liberal drug policy. Coffeeshops, not to be confused with coffeehouses or cafes, are allowed to sell cannabis and hash for personal use not more than 5 grams. While technically still illegal, mostly to comply to international treaties, personal use of soft drugs are regulated by the Ministry of Justice under an official policy of gedogen; literally this means to accept or tolerate, legally it is a doctrine of non-prosecution on the basis that action taken would be so highly irregular as to constitute selective prosecution. The city council of Amsterdam allows coffeeshops to operate only with the provision of set, non-transferable licenses as shown by an official green and white sticker on the window of a coffeeshop. Coffeeshops are to sell only soft drugs such as cannabis, selling of other drugs is not allowed. Also selling of dried hallucinogenic mushrooms is not allowed.
That said, drug usage is increasingly being strictly controlled by the Dutch government. Garish advertising is not allowed look for red-yellow-green rasta colors and the English word "coffeeshop"; no alcohol or edible cannabis products may be sold inside a coffeeshop; customers who want to smoke their weed mixed with tobacco are limited to special sealed 'smoking areas'; the amount of coffeeshops has decreased significantly since 1995; coffeeshops within a '250 meter school zone' have been closed down; and the usage of magic mushrooms has been forbidden since December 2008 after two fatal incidents with foreign tourists.
Still there are about 250 coffeeshops in Amsterdam, most of them in the Old Centre. Prices hover around â¬7.50 for 1 gram, with the average joint holding around 0.33g and a 5g/person sales limit. Most coffeeshops are happy to recommend varieties and prepare your joint for you. Some offer vaporizers/inhalators for people who don't want to smoke.
Using soft drugs is not allowed in public places, though in reality it will never be an issue. Just stay away from children's playgrounds and schools. Many coffeeshops offer a 'smoking lounge' where soft drugs may be used. Also note that despite the confusion on the subject, the Netherlands-wide smoking ban applies only to tobacco. However, since the Dutch commonly smoke tobacco mixed with their marijuana or hash, many coffeeshops, especially those unaccustomed to tourists, may require all smoking to be done in a separated smoking section or outdoors this is far more common in coffeeshops outside of Amsterdam. Most central coffeeshops with large tourist clienteles will allow marijuana or hash smoking in their entire space, requiring you to smoke in the separated section only if your joint contains tobacco. Many coffeeshops also provide a non-tobacco herbal filler for those who find pure joints too strong. You may usually smoke joints containing this herbal filler anywhere within the coffeeshop although individual house rules may vary. If in doubt, always ask the staff.
Amsterdam is a huge city, so all individual listings should be moved to the appropriate district articles, and this section should contain a brief overview. Please help to move listings if you are familiar with this city.