The Red Light district, Leidseplein and Rembrantplein all have vibrant drinking scenes. If you want to experience the traditional ‘brown cafes’ -small, basic Dutch bars effortlessly achieving everything the JD Wetherspoon’s chain aspires to in this country-your best bet is in the Medieval Centre. One great brown café is ‘The Pilsener Club’, a slightly ramshackle place full of character, which has hardly changed since it opened in 1893. To get there, start at the small street running between the Peek & Cloppenburg building and Rabobank on Dam Square. Walk along this street for 3-4 minutes, past Marks & Spencer and the Ajax Supporters’ Store, until you see a large branch of Foot Locker on your right. Turn right at this corner and you’ll see the bar about ten metres further up.
There are also some good bars on Spui Square, a couple of minutes walk from ‘The Pilsener Club’. Simply continue on past Foot Locker for another hundred metres until you see the branch of Waterstones in front of you. Turn right here and you’ll see an attractive, tree-lined square with two brown cafes, Hoppe and Luxembourg, facing you.
Amsterdam, like most places these days, has an abundance of Irish bars. Two of the better ones are O’Donnell’s, on Marie Heinekenplein directly behind the Heineken Brewery, and Durty Nellys. To get to the latter, located on the edge of the Red Light district, walk along Damrak until you come to the main entrance of C&A. Cross the road, follow the small street running to the left of the car park entrance for the Bijenkorf Department Store and you’ll see the bar and the adjacent Hotel Winston on your left.