For a truly unique Amsterdam stay, the year-old Sweets Hotel (www.sweetshotel.amsterdam) has transformed a series of 20 (and counting) iconic canal-side bridge houses into distinctive two-person hotel suites spread across the city, each with completely different views and decors. The most magical and romantic is at Amstelschutsluis, dating from 1673 and reachable only by boat, as it’s actually set on an island within the River Amstel. At 1,200 euros a night it’s not for the weak of wallet, but that rate includes river crossings with a private captain, full delivered breakfast, stocked fridge, and two bottles of wine.
As the city’s focus expands outward, Amsterdam tourists too are looking to neighborhoods they might never have
considered before, those like the historically business-focused City West district. One of the most tempting area hotels yet
is the new Park Inn by Radisson Amsterdam City West (La Guardiaweg 59. Tel: 20-242-0000. www.parkinn.com/hotelamsterdam-west), really a gleaming destination unto itself with an impressive 476 rooms, several restaurants, a spa, and even a 24-hour casino all within the same sleek complex. Room design is bright and modern, staff is very friendly, and the Sloterdijk train station is just a three-minute walk away, connecting you to Amsterdam Centraal Station in just seven minutes, or Schiphol Airport in just 12.
Amsterdam’s dining scene, which has grown exponentially in recent years, has lately added several more enticing new options to the mix. Having earned a Michelin star for 2019, Restaurant 212 (Amstel 212. Tel: 20-334-8685. www.212.amsterdam) offers a relaxed approach to fine dining with the city’s first no-table restaurantโseating
is entirely counter-style, surrounding the kitchen and its skilled team. At the top end is the eight-course menu, but
there’s also a five-course option, as well as ร la carte. 212 is the latest from chefs Richard van Oostenbrugge and Thomas
Groot, who met more than a decade ago at Amsterdam’s legendary culinary breeding ground Envy, and later earned two Michelin stars at Bord’eau.
On the other end of the affordability spectrum, and riding the crest of a wave of ramen frenzy in Amsterdam, is the new but already popular Ramen-Kingdom (Prins Hendrikkade 83. www.instagram.com/ramenkingdom), with a supremely convenient location just across from Centraal Station. You may have to wait for a seat, but it’s worth it for some of the city’s best ramen.
Also across from Centraal Station is the new brasserie Carstens (Hasselaers-steeg 1. Tel: 20-524-0649. www.carstensbrasserie.nl), located within the Park Plaza Victoria Hotel. Focusing exclusively on Dutch dishes and Dutch
ingredients (or those with Dutch links, e.g., with a touch of colonial flair from places like Indonesia and South Africa),
Carstens is the creation of Maik Kuijpers, previously the executive chef at three- Michelin-starred De Librije.
The city’s main gay strips, the mainstream Reguliersdwarsstraat and the naughtier Warmoesstraat, remain fairly unchanged, but that’s a good thing as they help make Amsterdam one of Europe’s most reliable and reliably fun gay scenes. Longtime favorite Prik (Spuistraat 109. Tel: 20-320-0002. www.prikamsterdam.nl) is still one of the city’s most popular gay
bars, while the notorious Church (Kerkstraat 52. www.clubchurch.nl) holds onto its reign as one of the best cruise and fetish clubs on the continent. For the more adventurous, Amsterdam offers a host of less hyped, more local-centric, and very fun club nights and parties, such as the queer and diversity-embracing WTF Wednesday at lefty social center and former squatters’ house Vrankrijk (Spuistraat 216. vrankrijk.org). Also on the queer end of the spectrum is the monthly underground Saturday dance party Spellbound (OCCII, Amstelveenseweg 134. Tel: 020-671-7778. www.spellbound-amsterdam.nl).
Hotel Mercier Wandkleden Restaurant
The very fun gay pop dance party Danserette (www.danserette.nl) happens in two sizes, large (at Panama, Oostelijke Handelskade 4) and intimate (Desmet, Plantage Middenlaan 4a). For the hirsute, Bear Necessity (www.bearnecessity.
eu), or just BN, has been one of the cityโs most popular parties for more than a decade. For the mainstream gay partier, Funhouse at Westerunie (Klรถnneplein 4-6) and Rapido at Paradiso (Weteringschans 6-8. www.clubrapido.com) are currently two of the most packed and pumping club extravaganzas. For lesbians, Flirtation (www.flirtation.nl) is one of the cityโs most popular recurring clubs these days, though it happens only quarterly or so, and Cafรฉ Saarein (Elandsstraat 119-HS. www.saarein2.nl) remains Amsterdamโs only real lesbian bar.
Amsterdamโs annual lineup of LGBTQ events is constantly expanding, offering more and more travel-worthy options for people of all predilections and proclivities. Of course the cityโs Canal Parade (www.pride.amsterdam) in early August is one of the most unique, popular, and festive Pride events in the world, drawing visitors from across the globe. Itโs preceded
every year by the very fun but lesser known (in America at least) Milkshake music and arts festival (www.milkshakefestival.com) in late July. Octoberโs Amsterdam Leather Pride (www.leatherpride.nl) is one of the biggest events on the global leather and fetish community calendar.
Amsterdamโs LGBTQ film festival Roze Filmdagen (www.rozefilmdagen.nl), held every March, has long been one of the best and biggest in Europe. In recent years the city has also hosted both the trans-themed film fest TranScreen
(www.facebook.com/transcreen) in summer, and the International Queer and Migrant Film Festival (www.iqmf.nl)
in December.
And with the Netherlands’ recent win at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest (thanks to the performance of singer Duncan Laurence, who came out as bisexual during the competition), Amsterdam now stands a very good chance of hosting the contest, one of Europe’s biggest and gayest annual events, next May.
Before you leave town, be sure to head across the IJ for a fantastic panoramic view of Amsterdam in all its glory at
AโDAM Lookout (Overhoeksplein 5. Tel: 020-242-0100. www.adamlookout.com), which opened in 2016 on the 20th and
21th floors of the AโDAM Toren (or Tower). If the 360-degree views of this beguiling city arenโt enough of a thrill, strap in and swing out over the edge of the tower on Europeโs highest swing.
