Diversity has resulted in Amsterdam’s advanced gender order, expressing an increasing variety of identities, memberships, lifestyles, scenes, and communities that are based on one or another sexual orientation.
Amsterdam is proclaimed as the world’s gay capital by admirers of the city’s long-standing acceptance and tolerance of gays as well as their right to marry. But whether or not the Dutch city is the gay capital of the world, it undoubtedly has a very gay nightlife.
While every cranny and corner is fair game for you to experience the whole range of the city’s gender-based identities and sexual orientations, the Amsterdam gay scene is divided into a three-ring circus in the city center.
Venues at Reguliersdwarsstraat are lovely and predictable, attracting mostly gay men in their 20s and 30s, even 40s. It is trendy but somehow tactful, but venues can get cruisey. The favorite late-night disco Club Exit’s dark room is definitely is definitely a place for some lascivious activities. Just thinking about the Thermos Saunas, near Kerkstraat, can steam up the scene.
Of the three gay districts in Amsterdam, the one along Warmoestraat is the least egalitarian. Bordering the infamous Red Light District, the area feels cut off from most parts of the city. It has few bars and clubs that welcome every walk of life. Most of the gay establishments here are dungeon-prone, leather-heavy, and men-only.
Amstel is your best bet at all-embracing homo-gezelligheid. Located off of Rembrandtplein, the district makes it likely you will have to dodge some drunken tourists, but it is all well worth it. Tacky gay pubs, drag bars, and lively lesbian clubs, Amstel is a paradise of pansexual hospitality.
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