LGBTQ+ and gay nightlife in Amsterdam

The street between Koningsplein and Rembrandtplein is the city’s best-known LGBTQ+ address. Bars and clubs sit door to door: Soho, Club NYX and Exit Café, Taboo, and our own Bar Blend, Blend XL and Montmartre XL. Come here for a packed street, terraces, drag and dancing until late.

During Pride and King’s Day the street turns into one big street party. Every venue, bar by bar, is in our Reguliersdwarsstraat nightlife guide. For the street’s history, read how Reguliersdwarsstraat became Amsterdam’s gay street.

In the oldest part of the city, between Central Station and Nieuwmarkt, are some of the oldest queer venues in Europe. Quieter and smaller than Reguliersdwarsstraat, with more brown café and more history.

Spread across the canal ring are a few more venues, each with its own crowd, from a relaxed neighbourhood bar to a fetish club.

De Trut in Oud-West is a queer disco run by volunteers. RAUM near Sloterdijk opened in 2024 as a queer techno club. For women and lesbian visitors, Café Saarein is a well-known name.

Many queer nights have no fixed club. Spellbound is a queer underground party at OCCII with electro, house and techno, and the Milkshake festival in Westerpark falls at the end of July, just before Pride. Check the I amsterdam listings for current parties.

Pride Amsterdam runs every year in late July and early August. The highlight is the Canal Parade on the first Saturday of August, with boats along the Prinsengracht and the Amstel. Around it are street parties, including on Reguliersdwarsstraat, the Zeedijk, Warmoesstraat and around the Amstel.

We wrote a lot about Pride 2026: read Amsterdam Pride 2026 and our WorldPride guide to Reguliersdwarsstraat.

Amsterdam is one of the most open cities in the world, but things can still go wrong here. At Reguliersdwarsstraat 54 you will find the RITA Community Center, an LGBTQ+ community space run by the city, where you can also report discrimination.

How we look after a safe night in our bars is on Safer Nights. Fetish clubs have their own rules and sometimes admit men only; check those before you go.