As you go around, look up to admire the elegant gables or look down to watch the flickering reflections of the street lamps on the canals. The evening hours are a magic time in Amsterdam; if nothing else has brought you around, a sparkling ripple on the water can make you fall hopelessly in love with the city. Many hotels have copies available for guests, in some cases for free, or you can get one at the VVV offices. There is also the free monthly listings magazine De Uitkrant, in Dutch, which you can pick up at many performance venues, and What's Up!, a free fold-up weekly guide in English that's available from many hotels.

The Melkweg is mainly a live music venue, but on weekends it also hosts a variety of dance events.

Amsterdam’s temple of modern music is set in a former church and has the best acoustics and ambience in the city.

Party in an old chapel! Like Paradiso and Melkweg, the multi-functional Arena hosts club nights – Timezones – during the weekend. Even though it is located a bit out of the center, a fair crowd is drawn to the ‘60s, ‘70’s and ‘80s music.

An elegant club in a converted seventeenth-century canal house. Odeon is three stories high; each floor offers a different taste in music. Popular with university students.

Every Sunday from 5 pm until 1 am (except July and August), De Club organizes a party for 1600 people in Cubic. Started five years ago by two Dutch actors, as a place where televisionmakers, moviemakers and actors would gather. Since then it has grown into a Sunday hotspot for every hip and trendy Amsterdammer between 22 and 40. Each Sunday is different, with DJ’s, bands, dance floors, dancers and a restaurant. And bring your children, there is even a childcare center! After 7 pm, you can only enter De Club with a membership pass.