5 Best Bars in Leidseplein, Amsterdam

Eyeglasses peek over books and tablets as a well-read and socially conscious crowd fills the café-bar of this center for art, culture, and politics. This is an ideal spot for an affordable meal, drinks with friends, or date night. The English-language program includes film screenings and lectures, too.

This intimate pub just around the corner from Leidseplein is a local favorite. With a name that translates to "the drunk" in Flemish, the pub is aptly titled: there are more than 100 Belgian beers available and plenty of Dutch brews, too. Balance out all that beer with a hearty meal or thick slices of bread and cheese on the side.

Hear top-notch local ensembles in the jam-packed and ultra-intimate environment of one of Amsterdam's oldest jazz joints. Along with live jazz every night, a little Latin, funk, and salsa can also be enjoyed here.

The legendary "Milk Way" features live performances, DJs, and club nights covering everything from hip-hop to punk to world music. A former milk factory, this space began as a hippie squat in the 1960s. Today it's a slick multimedia center equipped with two concert halls, a theater, cinema, gallery, and café-restaurant.

This former church—vaulted ceilings and stained glass still intact—has become the country's most famous "pop temple," an epic venue for legendary musicians, new bands, and club nights. Paradiso also has a sister location, Tolhuistin, in Amsterdam Noord, just across the river from Centraal Station.