Introduction

Amsterdam is definitely "gay friendly" and like London it is a case of live and let live. Amsterdam has a lot to offer gays, from the Reguliersdwarsstraat to the Warmoesstraat to the Amstel/Rembrandtjplein area. Then there's the Homomonument, the world's first memorial erected in honour of persecuted homosexuals.

But even more so, Amsterdam has much to offer any tourist seeking a memorable journey. The city is known for its impressive museum collections, fine restaurants and vibrant nightlife. The country is known for its beautiful scenery and magnificent flowers. Hiking and biking trails can be found everywhere. There's literally something for everyone in this delightful country. April 30 is the birthday of the queen-mother of Holland, Queen Juliana, and it has remained the official Queens Day in her honor. Gays from around the world have adopted this day of celebration and come to Amsterdam to celebrate. In honor of the occasion, the city center is closed to traffic to allow for many street markets, music, food stands and a Mardi Gras-like atmosphere. April is also the height of the tulip season, making for a spectacular time to visit the land of windmills.

Getting There

When flying to Amsterdam you will arrive at Schiphol airport. The best way to get into the centre of Amsterdam is to take the train to Amsterdam Central Station (indicated as Amsterdam CS). The train station is within the Airport building and is clearly signpost. Trains normally leave from Platform 2, cost around fl. 6,25 and the journey takes about 20 minutes. You can also take a taxi from the Airport although this is a more expensive option costing around 50-70 guilders. If you don't know your way around when you arrive at Central Station we suggest you take a taxi to you hotel.

Accommodation / Gay Hotels

As we mentioned previously the are many hotels in Amsterdam. Many are located close to Central Station or within the central part of the city or close to the gay scene. As well as staying in one or two of the "gay" hotels we've stayed a couple of times in the Crowne Plaza American Hotel which we can thoroughly recommend for its excellent location and fabulous cocktails. Click here deals on Amsterdam hotels. Aparently it is illegal for any hotel in Amsterdam to refuse a gay couple.

Here is a list of some of Amsterdam's gay hotels. Most of the hotels have their own websites enabling you to get a better view of what's on offer. Most are within easy reach or the gay scene.

GayAway Apartments Amsterdam	135 Prins Hendrikkade, Amsterdam 1011 JZ, The Netherlands	Tel: 00 31 648 47 26 59 Fax: 00 31 206 38 57 26
	Description: This is a lovely ground floor two double bedroom apartment. The kitchen is equipped with everything you need. There is a TV and a stereo system with cd player and DVD player. The apartment has a spacious bathroom with shower and bath with toilet and all towels are provided. The sitting area has an extra sofa bed, so that a maximum of 6 persons can be accommodated. Web site, Email

Amsterdam Central Bed & Breakfast	Oudebrugsteeg 6-II, 1012JP AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands	Tel: 00 31 624 45 75 93 Fax: 00 31 206 18 60 60
	Description: Cozy B&B rooms and a nice apartment for rent in centre of Amsterdam. 2 minutes walking distance to the central station and less than 30 seconds to the main gay area, the Warmoesstraat, with lots of gay bars, a gay sauna, and more. Owned and run by a young gay couple. Web site, Email

EnSuite Apartment	Keizersgracht 122, 1015 CW Amsterdam, The Netherlands.	Tel: + 31 20 4211887
	Description: En Suite Apartment is located in downtown Amsterdam on one of the main canals of the city. The nicely decorated apartment offers a spacious living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette, including microwave, coffee making facilities and a fridge (incl. complimentary beverages). The apartment is convenient located, closeby museums, bars, restaurants and gay nightlife. Only 1 minute from the Gay monument. Web site, Email

ITC Hotel	Prinsengracht 1051 , NL-1017 JE Amsterdam, The Netherlands.	Tel: +31 61 990 4484 Fax:+31 20 624 5846
	Description: ITC Hotel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The prettiest gay hotel in Amsterdam at the famous Prinsengracht-canal in the centre of the gay-area. Web site, Email

Truelove Antiek & Accommodation	Prinsenstraat 4, 1015 DC Amsterdam, The Netherlands	Tel: +31 62 480 5672 Fax: +31 20 320 2500
	Description: Guest House and antique shop in the old centre of Amsterdam the Jordaan. Situated in a little street between two canals and run by gay couple. Close to tourist atractions, musea markets and bars and restaurants. Web site, Email

Advertising: A boxed advertisement as above is just £100+Vat (or equivalent in €Euros per annum. You get listed on this page, the worldwide gay directory (www.gaytravel.co.uk/www.gayhotel.co.uk and The Index (www.gayindex.co.uk) UK's leading gay search engine) Click here to advertise.

Getting Around:

Gay Bar / Club Scene:

Given out hotel location we usually ended up along Reguliersdwarsstraat visiting the Aprils Bar, Bar Soho and the ultra trendly Bar Arc. Soho is a large traditional styled but modern bar on two levels. Very cruisy at weekends. Aprils is a smaller popular venue with its famous rotating bar. Bar Arc is ultra modern in its design, very swish packed to the rafters with "trendy" A Class queens. There is also a very good restaurant situated at the rear of the venue. Anyone familiar with the London gay scene is bound to be slighty disappointed by the small scale of the Amsterdam club scene. Club Exit (Reguliersdwarsstraat) is worth checking out though, a good dancefloor, cafe bar and a dark room for the adventurous. The London club is infinitely larger and more diverse, however there is a lot more to Amsterdam than just gay clubs. The are also many bars situated along Warmoesstraat including the Cockring. We spent a very pleasant afternoon drinking and people watching in Remplantplatz follow by more booze in De Amstel Taverne, a small traditional bar playing cheesy pop and classic tracks.

Drugs:

As you probably know The Netherands has a fairly liberal policy of drugs. However there is an important distinction between so called soft drugs (marijuhana, hash) and a hard drugs (coke, speed, ecstacy, LSD, etc). Soft drugs are tolerated and Amsterdam has so called "coffeshops" where one can buy and smoke these if you wish. Hard drugs like ecstasy and cocaine are just as illegal in Holland as anywhere else. If you decide to wander round the Red Light district you are constantly pestered by people flogging "drugs" Don't risk your money, you're just get ripped off.

Eating Out

We eat at a couple of the steak houses situated just off Leidersplein where the food was excellent. Just look out for the busiest restaurants should give you some idea of how good the food is. If you remember to eat it is worth getting a table around 8pm as the restaurants all tend to finish serving around 10.30/11. There are plently are late night snack bars around if you get the "munchies" after a night's boozing.

Annual Events

Queen's birthday. Weekend closest to 30th April

Gay street parties on the Amstel river, the Reguliersdwarsstraat, and the Roze Wester festival at the Homomonument.

Canal Pride: First Saturday of August.

Location: Prinsengracht, Amstel river. This is Amsterdam's "Gay Pride Event" In this spectacular parade all kinds of boats/floats will cruise around Amsterdam's most canals. Around 250,000 normally attend this event. The boats meet at 12 noon at the Westerdok, from where the parade will begin at 2pm. The route is: Westerdok, Korte Prinsengracht, the whole of the Prinsengracht, Amstel, Zwanenburgwal, Oudeschans and finishes at the Oosterdok.

Useful Links

Summary

This overview of Gay Amsterdam is compiled from a british tourist perspective. Although not all encompasing we hope you find it useful and welcome any constructive comments, updates etc.

If you're visiting Amsterdam this year let us know how you get on.