13 Best Bars in Medieval Center, Amsterdam

This highly popular pink bar is situated rather off-the-beaten-path (for the gay scene, that is)—which was exactly the intention of its founding gay couple, as they aim to be as all-inclusive as possible. Whatever their intentions, they keep winning "best gay bar" awards. The staff and clientele are as cheerful as the venue's name—prik means "bubbles" in Dutch and refers to the prosecco on tap (among other things). They serve great cocktails and finger food, too.

This is Amsterdam's most famous—and miraculously its least hyped—proeflokaal (tasting room). Opened in 1679, this dimly lighted, blithely cramped little bar just behind the Hotel Krasnapolsky has a menu of more than 60 Dutch liqueurs and jenevers that reads like poetry: Bruidstranen (Bride's Tears) and Boswandeling (A Walk in the Woods) are two favorites. Call ahead for a guided tour of the distillery.

Down a small alley, just a stone's throw from the Dam, you'll come upon what would seem to be the multilevel home of a family of hip hobbits. You'll know better once you spot the suitably slumped travelers smoking joints or nibbling on blueberry "space muffins." At No. 6 is the souvenir shop, where you'll find branded organic cotton hoodies, T-shirts, and weed-theme memorabilia.

As the name suggests, this welcoming little café right behind Nieuwe Kerk offers over 50 Belgian beers, including eight on tap.

This light and airy multilevel café offers reasonably priced food and a lovely terrace overlooking the Amstel. It is popular with a big cross section of the population, from students and pensioners to artists and businesspeople.

Quite popular with students and locals, this well-known brown café near Dam Square has far too many beers to try in one go. In fact, there are more than 250 bottled beers and 14 on tap, mostly from the Netherlands and Belgium. One of six Gollem cafés in Amsterdam, there is also a bar and restaurant, Proeflokaal Gollem ( Overtoom 160--161), with beer tastings and, on some nights, pub quizzes. The latest addition, Biercafé Gollem aan het Water ( Entrepotdok 64), offers waterside views of the ARTIS zoo.

Back in 1984, this bar was so leather-lined it put San Francisco's Folsom Street to shame. Today it attracts a more diverse crowd, many of whom find their way to what's rumored to be one of the biggest dark rooms in Europe.

Wine and whiskey are just what patrons of De Dokter (The Doctor) have been ordering for centuries. According to local lore it was founded by a surgeon in 1798 to serve the doctors and medical students from the nearby university. However, historians recently discovered that the city's smallest pub dates back even further (to 1706), making it one of Amsterdam's three oldest. Either way, it is still run by the Beems family many generations later. 

Also referred to as "the Pilsner Club," this unmistakably brown venue, which celebrated its quasquicentennial in 2018, seems to belong to some lost age when beer was the safest alternative to drinking water. Reinforcing the impression that time has stood still here, the bar has been run consecutively by a Teun van Veen (I, II, III, and IV) since opening.

A wide selection of beers and ales from around the globe amid jolly surroundings in a former distillery attract all types and ages. There are 250 bottled brews to choose from, 18 beers on tap, a featured beer of the month, and regular beer-theme events.

This chain serves mellow jazz alongside scrumptious chocolate-chip cookies in airy historical locales, providing a refreshingly understated approach to getting high. Take your purchase to Café Zoutsteeg across the street at No. 11, if you like to enjoy your smoke with a drink. There are also outposts on the Langebrugsteeg 7A and Rosmarijnsteeg 9 nearby.

Nestled on an easy-to-miss alley is this atmospheric bar and restaurant named after a Flemish TV hero from the 1960s. The food, the furniture, and the French chansons (lyric-driven songs) playing transfer you to Paris in the 1950s. A glass of wine or a simple meal here can be memorable, especially when accompanied by the occasional live music upstairs.

Known as one of the best coffeeshops in town, with plenty of Cannabis Cup awards to prove it, Dampkring became even more popular after its use as a set for Ocean's Twelve. The weed menu is exceptional, and the smoothie and milk shake selections remarkable. Other coffeeshops have opened under the same name, but this is the one-and-only real Dampkring.