There are many cool things you can do in Amsterdam when it comes to dating. I always suggest combining 3 – 4 experiences during one date. It gives a feeling of adventure and fun. For example, you may take a ride on a bike to the city center, play some old school arcades, eat something good and end up in a wine bar or a live music bar. Below you can read in short my favorite date ideas in Amsterdam. If you like any of them, scroll down to learn more. I am going to describe each and every position on this list.
15 Amsterdam Date Ideas:
- TonTonClub
- Pathe Tuskinski – Cinema
- KattenCafeKopjes
- Bottle of wine in a park
- Have Some Fun – Stand Up
- Live Music Bar
- Food!
- Cool Wine or Beer Bar
- Artis Zoo
- Baby Goats in Amsterdam Bos
- Canal Cruise
- Amsterdam Toren
- Get Lost in Amsterdam at night
- Rent a bike
- Go to the Seaside
These are my favorite places for a date in Amsterdam but if you know something cool please share your experience so we can explore some new hidden gems.
1. Ton Ton Club
This is one of my favorite spots in Amsterdam and always when I am there I have a lot of fun. A few weeks ago my friend asked me about a cool date idea and I suggested to him TonTon Club. Later on, he told me that his date was great, they wanted to spend their few minutes but they stayed in TonTon till 4 am.
There are 2 locations of TonTon Club. One is in Westerpark and another one in Red Light District. Both of them are cool. You may think I will go to the red light district because it’s closer. Wait, Ton Ton in Westerpark can be quite a good choice in the summertime and it’s only 13 minutes from a central station by bike.
When you go to Westerpark there are also other attractions, some cool restaurants, and bars. You can also take a bottle of wine, candle and just have a hippie romantic date in the park.
2. Pathe Tuschinski – Cinema
Normally I don’t recommend going to the cinema on the date. Why? It doesn’t create any bond, doesn’t bring you closer and doesn’t elevate emotions. But when you see this cinema you will understand immediately why it is on this list. Pathe Tuschinski is beyond anything you can imagine! Keep in mind that there are a
If you go to the cinema, don’t make a whole date out of it. First, go for a bike ride, eat something. After cinema you can chill in the rhythm of live music and drink some beer or wine.
They say that Pathe Tuschinski is the most beautiful cinema in the world. At least It is the most beautiful one I have ever seen. It’s close to Rembrandtplein, so after a movie, there are a lot of things you can do. I would suggest you have a burger. There are great burgers in front of Pathe Tuschinski – BurgerBar, it’s called just like this with a blue and red logo. They have fresh and tasty burgers. After you are full there is very close an Irish Bar The Mulligans. 3 days a week there is a live music session.
3. KattenCafeKopjes
Let’s say you know that a girl you go out with like cats or any sort of animals. KattenCafeKopjes is a place to be. There are 9 cats walking around and the whole room is arranged so they have fun and space they need.
You pay 3 euro entrance fee and you can enjoy cat atmosphere for 2 hours. Everything is in cat mood, you can even order a “Cattucino” They serve warm drinks, lunch, vegan cakes and I must admit that red velvet cake is Top Notch.
This is quite a new spot on Amsterdam Map. It was opened in 2015 and they earned money in a crowdfunding campaign. What an amazing era we live in 😉 You can ask people from all over the world for support and bring into
KattenCafeKopjes is located on Marco Polostraat 211 1057 WK Amsterdam. It’s a very small place so I suggest you call in advance and make a reservation. Here is their phone number 020-7370999. It’s open from Wednesday till Sunday from 10.00 till 19.00 o’clock.
Check KattenCafeKopjes website here
4. Bottle of wine in the park
I always like fun ideas like this. You don’t need to be rich or do anything extraordinary.
People used to fall in love without doing amazing things ^^ Sometimes less is more and in this case definitely, it is a truth.
There are many cool parks in Amsterdam, but I would suggest you go to Vondelpark or Oosterpark. If you have some extra time, Amsterdamse Bos is excellent! and huge – you can spend there a lot of time.
In Vondelpark, in summer, you should definitely visit an open-air theatre. Every friday, saturday and sunday there are events, concerts, performances. When hungry go to “Blauwe Theehouse”. You get a tasty food in a decent price. Food is good enough to spend some time there and it is in a lovely area surrounded by canals and trees. It’s a place to go when you visit Vondelpark. This park is pretty big so don’t spend hours searching for food!
5. Have Some Fun – Stand Up
Standup scene in Amsterdam is huge and performers know what they do. It’s one of my favorite way of spending free time. That’s why I’ve written an article about standup in Amsterdam.
I am proud to say that my friend Roxy established an amazing website with a standup schedule in Amsterdam – follow this link On this website you can check upcoming events and you will be surprised how many of them take place in Amsterdam. Almost daily there is a standup event and sometimes there are even two shows a day.
My favorite standup “bar” is Mezrab. I love this place because of
Why is this place so special? Because it’s run with passion, nobody wants to make money out of it. People who organize these events wanted to create a place where they can meet with friends and tell stories. There is always a homemade soup, served by Sahand Mother. (She doesn’t speak a word in English ;p but the soup is great ) People working there in the bar are volunteers, they don’t get paid, and prices in the bar are very competitive. Entrance, most of the time is free, donation-based. There is a colorful jar on the bar and if you spend a good time in Mezrab, share some of your money and support this cool initiative. Only sometimes when they hire professional humorists, you have to pay
6. Live Music Bar
Amsterdam is a great place for live music events. I love this kind of bars because it feels much better to hear live music, see musicians and interact with them. Everyone finds something for himself because there are many different live music bars with many different kinds of music. Here is an article dedicated to Irish Bars in Amsterdam 🙂
My favorite live music bar is Irish Bar “The Mulligans”. It’s small They serve Guinness – and this is enough for me :] But if you don’t like Guinness you should try some of their other kinds of beer, for example, Kilkenny. It’s an Irish beer, red beer, very good one – give it a try. 3-4 times a week there
are live music events. I love Irish music, this atmosphere of joy, people dancing. Irish bars with live music are the best.
But there are also other kinds of live music bars in Amsterdam. Another great place is Jazz Cafe Alto. Follow this link to check their schedule. You can also watch a video on their website. If you are into Jazz – Cafe Alto is a place to be. It is in the city center, so it’s a great place to visit during a pub crawl. It’s open daily from 8 pm.
I would like to mention one more live music bar, Waterhole. It’s located at
Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 49, 1017 PW Amsterdam. The Waterhole is open daily from 12 pm to 3 am and on weekends it’s open 1 hour longer. It has everything that a good bar should have, arcades, pool table, good beer and live music in the evenings. In waterhole you can’t expect one sort of music, they invite musical groups of different genres but I must say that the music is always great. The entrance is free.
7. Food!
Food in Amsterdam is amazing. There are 180 nationalities in Amsterdam itself and thanks to that you can find restaurants from all over the world. You must be aware that there are restaurants and small food vendors in the city center selling typical awful tourist food. Just be careful and don’t buy dry premade Pizza, ok? You can get something much better for the same price.
Dive into the complete guide on How To Eat On Budget In Amsterdam written by local 😉 Micaela shares her best spots with you.
It depends what you are looking for but I am going to mention now few budget spots where you can eat something very good: Poke Perfect, BugerBar, Sefa Grill Restaurant, Chicken Bar, Mount Everest Tandoori,
Bhatti
You find a lot of very good places to eat in Amsterdam, just avoid some Tourist traps on main streets in the city center. It’s also a good idea to check reviews on the Internet just before you enter a restaurant.
8. Cool Wine and Beer Bars
Having a short break for a beer or wine is a great idea. There are plenty of various bars in Amsterdam. Maja has written an article about the best cheap bars in Amsterdam and you can read it here.
I wouldn’t really plan where exactly to go. Read about a few bars and later on when you are in the city center just google what is nearby.
On the list, I put together in the article I mention above, there is also a paragraph about my favorite bars for a date, but you can choose out of the best live music bars, affordable bars, dance clubs, Irish style bars and many more.
9. Artis Zoo
It’s pretty amazing that there is a zoo in the center of Amsterdam. It can be also a great part of the
There are over 700 species living in this green paradise in the center of the old town. It’s almost 180 years old and there are many different things to do. There is a planetarium, zoological museum, and Amsterdam Botanical Garden. If your girl is an animal lover this is a place to be. There are two walking through areas. One of them is a rain forest with monkeys jumping just above your head and another one is a large butterfly garden. Both of them are cool and you are just in the center of
The entrance fee is 24 Euros per person and it’s wise to buy it in advance because then you don’t have to wait in the line. You can get tickets here.
My advice is to wear comfortable shoes, there is a lot of walking. It’s an open-air zoo so you should also take some raincoat if think it may rain.
10. Baby Goats in Amsterdam Forest
This is one of my favorite places in Amsterdam in general and,
There are not only goats but also chickens, lambs, pigs, cows, and horses. You can even buy some milk and feed little goats 🙂 That’s cool and they pull hard. I’ve seen one goat that has stolen a milk bottle from a man. There is also a machine with dry food, that you put on your hand and they eat it. I would say they lick it out of your hand with their long tongue.
In the middle of the farm, you find a little organic restaurant. You can buy there organic honey, herbs, vegetables, bio eggs, any sort of goat milk products such as goat cheese or a goat sour milk. You can also eat lunch here, have a coffee or relax on a sunny day with a beer in your hand.
After having some good time on the goat farm you can just explore an Amstedam forest. There is plenty of walking paths.
The entrance to the goat farm is free of charge. Goat farm is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm. Only on
11. Canal Cruise
You just can’t leave Amsterdam without going for a canal cruise. It’s very relaxing, cool experience. But I wouldn’t suggest a typical touristic cruise, although they are also cool. I want to recommend you a canal cruise with a local guide, a person who lives in Amsterdam, who has its own boat and being a guide is his extra job. That kind of tours are more personalized, there is a totally different atmosphere and you are not one of a huge tourists group. There is a website called withlocals.com where you can find that kind of tours provided by locals. When it comes to canal cruise in Amsterdam I recommend you this one – link here.
There are also some budget canal cruises, which may be better if you are only with two person. You can find a budget canal cruise in the window below.
Why canal cruise? Amsterdam canals represent Dutch culture and they they show a story of this town. 165 canals in Amsterdam were built over centuries to enhance transport and trade in The Netherlands. Amsterdam Canal Ring is part of UNESCO heritage and it is one of the most beautiful parts of The Netherlands.
12. Amsterdam Toren
Photo by Michael Coghlan|| Flickr
Amsterdam Toren is 22 floor multifunctional building with offices, restaurants, cafes, observation point and Europe’s highest swing placed 100 meters over the ground. Here you can get Swing Tickets.
It’s cool place where you can see whole Amsterdam from above.
Here is an adress :
A’DAM Toren,
Overhoeksplein 1,
1031 KS AMSTERDAM
Keep in mind that when the weather is bad, this swing isn’t in use. I mean when wind is too strong or it’s raining.
In the basement of Amsterdam Toren you can find a cool club called Shelter.
13. Get Lost in Amsterdam at Night
Budget, relaxing, bonding and beautiful. Amsterdam at night has
Probably the best thing you can do is to rent a bike and just ride along canals. When you find some cool spot, relax, chill a little bit and move on, discover lovely Amsterdam on your own pace.
You may think that Amsterdam at night goes crazy. Of course there are some parts of the city where it is a true, for example Rembrandtplein. However, most parts of the town are calm.
Is Amsterdam Safe At Night? It is completely safe. I have never had any problems and I have never heard of anyone having troubles. In fact, Amsterdam scores 5 on the world safest city ranking.
14. Rent a bike
You just can’t leave Amsterdam without cycling experience. There are more bikes than people and cycling paths measure more then 400 km. You can get almost anywhere on a bicycle and it is very easy to bike because infrastructure is amazing and Amsterdam has completely flat terrain.
Ok, let’s go straight to the point. Where you can rent a bike and how much does it cost. Bike rental cost may vary from 8 Euro up to 15 Euro per day. There are many bike rental shops in the city. I can recommend MacBike, Yellow Bike and I know that the cheapest bikes are at DiscountBikeRental.
If you stay in Amsterdam for longer then 1 week you should consider buying a bicycle. Here is my easy guide on how to get a cheap bicycle.
In many hotels, you can rent a hotel bicycle and this is very convenient because you don’t have to search for the bike shop and walk somewhere far away.
IMPORTANT!!
Always lock your bike properly. There are most of the time 2 locks. One of them lock a back wheel and other one you can connect to some firm piece of metal or conrete on the street so thief can’t pick it and carry with him.
15. Go to the seaside
Amsterdam is very close to the seaside. You can get there easily with a train within 30 minutes. I want to recommend two cities. One of them is Zandvoort and another one is Bloemendaal.
Zandvoort is the most famous seaside town in The Netherlands and it attracts a lot of tourists from Germany. Catch a train from central station which brings you from Amsterdam to Zandvoort in 30 minutes. This is a very long and wide beach, so you don’t have to worry about space. When on your way to Zandvoort you cross a Zuid-Kennemerland National Park, where you can see some wild horses and buffalos walking around. It’s a very nice trekking spot.
Bloemendaal is just next to the Zaandvort beach and it looks quite similar. If you have some extra time you should definitely go to Texel island or visit Scheveningen ( in my opinion the best beach in The Netherlands )
Before you go to the seaside check the weather. There is often very strong wind and maybe it is a good idea to go there on another day when the wind isn’t that bad.
Sum Up
As you can see you won’t get bored in Amsterdam with your loved one. There is plenty to do and Amsterdam is very romantic City. Its aged architecture is breathtaking and I am sure you fall in love with Dutch atmosphere. If you have any question do not hesitate to write a comment. Thanks.
