Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is a small, beautiful and very gay friendly city. It has a large number of gay and lesbian residents and is a great place to visit for a long weekend.

The best way to travel in Amsterdam is by bicycle (available for hire at many locations in the city) or tram.

Amsterdam residents will help you if you are lost, or looking for a specific place.

There are three main gay areas to Amsterdam. These are The Warmoesstraat (leather area) near to the Central Railway Station - Centraal Station. The Reguliersdwarsstraat is the trendy, younger scene of the city, is in the city center and has 5 gay bars and a gay night club. Finally the Amstel area has a number of gay bars that are more typically Dutch.

Amsterdam can be expensive (especially hotel rooms). It is a must visit if you are in Europe and is very well connected by train and plane to other popular gay and lesbian European holiday destinations such as London, Brighton(UK), Sitges (Spain), and Gran Canaria(Spain).

Amsterdam has a Homomonument, commemorating and remembering all gay and lesbian people who have been persecuted and violated because of their sexual orientation. It is located at Westermarkt on a beautiful canal in the city center.

A couple of extra tips:
1. Smoking of cigarettes is currently allowed in bars and clubs (but there are plans to prohibit this in the next few years).
2. Smoking of cannabis is only allowed in licensed coffee shops and in private places such as a person's home. If you smoke cannabis in a bar or club in Amsterdam you will probably be told to stop.

Read all Netherlands Gay Holiday Reviews and Netherlands Lesbian Holiday Reviews