Amsterdam Gay Lodging

Amsterdam is not a big city; most venues are at walking distance.

Amsterdam is probably the gayest city in Europe, with something to offer everyone. Gay Games Amsterdam 1998 left us with a new sense of pride and a stronger community that we’re eager to share with visitors from around the world. Amsterdam offers almost 100 gay bars, discos, shops and cafes, some of the world’s best and weirdest museums, classic architecture, and 350 coffeeshops, all within walking distance from Central Station. Combine that with the unique spirit of tolerance and freedom of the Netherlands, and that’s why Mayor Schelto Patijn proudly calls Amsterdam “the gay way to Europe”. While Dutch is the official language of the Netherlands, you don’t have to bother trying to learn the difficult language, Holland is one of the only countries in continental Europe where most natives speak English fluently. Homosexuality is legal in the Netherlands. Gays and lesbians even won the right to get legally married this year. The age of consent for gay sex is 16, but for prostitutes it’s 18.

Check out the VVV (Amsterdam Tourist Information) on Platform 2 of Central Station for tourist information, hotel bookings, tour information and local activities. The Netherlands and Amsterdam share a tremendously rich history and culture, which is shown off in everything from our beautiful architecture and world-renowned museums and concert halls to our scenic canals and endless fields of colorful flowers. The VVV can help you plan your time here wisely so you can accomplish all your goals in getting to know our beautiful country.

The currency of the Netherlands used to be the guilder, abbreviated as f, Hfl. or fl. Being part of the EU, the Euro has replaced the guilder here as well. Paying for things with your credit card is probably the best way to guarantee you’re getting a good exchange rate, and more and more stores accept MasterCard, Visa, and American Express (in that order). Often the easiest and most economical way to get cash from home is through one of the city’s many automatic teller machines (geldautomaat), especially if you have a Visa or Master/EuroCard or a debit card on the Cirrus or Plus network. The best place to exchange money and cash traveller’s checks is the GWK (open 24 hours a day in Central Station) or at any bank, but it’s more expensive.

Amsterdam is a compact city, where you can easily walk from one gay area to the other. Most natives travel by bike. It’s healthy, cheap and the fastest way to get around. If you feel like going native and you think you can manoeuvre safely through the dense bicycle, auto, bus, tram and pedestrian traffic without getting killed, you can rent one. Make sure you lock up your bicycle well, using both the rear wheel lock and a nice thick chain.

When you are offered a bicycle on the street for Eur 10, you can be sure that you are buying stolen property, which is guaranteed to bring you much bad karma (and perhaps the angry owner).

Public transportation is easy to use, with lots of trams, buses, Metro, and trains. The system operates from approximately 6 a.m. to midnight, although there are night buses for partygoers as well. If you’ll be in town for a while, then buy a pass from the little GVB kiosk across from Central Station. If you’re here for a shorter time, you can buy a punch card (‘strippenkaart’, still economical) at Central Station and many other places, or just pay cash to the driver when you get on (the most expensive way). Don’t bother trying to figure out the complicated zone system, just tell the driver or the conductor at the back of the tram where you’re going and they’ll tell you how much to pay or punch on your card.

If you need to make calls from public phones, buy a phone card, most don’t take coins. Many phones also take major credit cards, which is especially convenient. If you need a taxi, have your hotel call for one or go to a taxi stand. Most taxis won’t stop for you on the street. When you are travelling by car, you should know that anywhere you park you have to pay. It can be hard to find a parking space. If you forget to pay or park illegally, a wheel clamp will be put on your car, and you have to pay about € 75 to get the clamp off.

Amsterdam is a relatively safe city, but, like in every city in the world, use your common sense. While walking around with a backpack or a camcorder, it’s pretty obvious that you are a tourist and thus a prime target for thieves. The best thing to do is leave your valuables in your hotel’s safe. Around Central Station and especially in the Red Light District, the chances are pretty high that a friendly man will offer you drugs. The best thing to do is ignore them completely, or just say NO. If you want to buy grass, buy it in a coffeeshop. Hard-drugs like cocaine and XTC are not legal. Smartdrugs are legally accepted though, and provide a safe alternative. The Red Light District is Amsterdam’s best known tourist attraction where you’ll find hundreds of prostitutes behind the windows and junkies on the streets who are always desperate for money, so be careful in this area. Taking pictures or videotaping a prostitute is asking for trouble anyhow, for obvious reasons. As much as it might seem like it, the Red Light District is not a zoo. If a beggar approaches you with a sad story, you should know that Holland has one of the best welfare systems in the world, so the beggar is likely not going to spend your money on food or childcare.

Amsterdam offers so much more than gay bars and darkrooms. But of course you knew that, and that’s why all the cultural riches of the city are high on your To Do list….. right? Amsterdam is – of course – famous for its canals and museums. And yes, some of the clichés are true: the canal houses look picturesque, bikes everywhere, tulips on the flower market and it’s possible to get stoned simply off the clouds of smoke emanating from some of the coffee shops. But Amsterdam has many faces.

If you’re visiting Amsterdam for the first time, you might want to see a bit more than the bars and clubs. For first-timers, the canal boat tour is compulsory: in an hour or so you’ll get an excellent view of the 17th century canal houses from the water.

There are several tours which all take you through the canals, show you the hundreds of bridges and take you into the old harbour.

Also be sure you drop by the flower market by the Singel. This is where you’ll find all your tulips bulbs and wooden shoes. It’s souvenir time!

Ok, they are all women and the guys strolling around are mainly heterosexual, but if you haven’t been to the Red Light District near Central Station, you haven’t been to Amsterdam! Fortunately, most of the gay leather bars are nearby.

Be sure you also pay a visit to the only gay monument in the world. You can find the Homomonument next to the Westerkerk in the Jordaan area.

The monument consists of three pink, granite triangles, together forming one larger triangle. The triangle in the water of the canal is often used to commemorate the victims of AIDS.

Next to the Homomonument you’ll find Pink Point: a gay and lesbian information booth run by volunteers. Pink Point offers information and flyers from local organisations. It also offers an assortment of gay guides, souvenirs and gifts.

The Anne Frank House is just around the corner from the Homomonument and another spot not be missed.

You’ll probably need to queue for an hour or so, but once inside you get an impressive tour through the Achterhuis, where Anne wrote her diary, and a holocaust exhibition.

Amsterdam has many museums. The most famous ones are the Rijksmuseum, where you’ll be able to see the world famous Nightwatch by Rembrandt and the Van Gogh Museum, with the world’s largest collection of works by the Dutch 19th century painter. At the Amstel river you’ll find the new Hermitage, which will be extended in Spring 2009.

For more contemporary art you can visit the Stedelijk Museum which is temporarily located near Amsterdam Central Station, as the main building is being renovated.

Are you into wax? The Amsterdam branch of Madame Tussauds on the Dam square gives you the opportunity to meet the wax versions of famous people from around the world and Holland in person.

Amsterdam also has a variety of other museums to explore, like the Heineken Experience or the recently opened Handbag Museum (Tassenmuseum), which is very popular with the gay tourists.

Welcome to Amsterdam

As Mayor of Amsterdam,I would like to wish you a warm welcome to Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands.  The Netherlands, and especially Amsterdam, has a reputation to uphold. Respect and freedom are important for everybody here.

You will find many historical places on this map, which are well worth visiting. The museums and many other places make Amsterdam what it is, a city where everyone can feel at ease.

Amsterdam is a city with a great history which is readily apparent if you wander along the canals and see the beautiful façades. I can also highly recommend a boat tour through the canals – or if the weather permits, rent a water bike – and view Amsterdam from the water, a wonderful experience!

The Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, has an impressive ‘gay’ reputation to keep. The first gay wedding in the world was held here, in Amsterdam, after which many other cities and countries followed suit, an example to the world which I’m proud of. The Gay Games that were held here were also a great success.

Amsterdam has many gay possibilities. This map is a guide and a good means to help you on your way to find relaxation, restaurants, museums and so forth.

I wish you a most pleasant vacation in the capital of The Netherlands