My 60 year old sister wants to go to one of these while in Amsterdam. Are there any that cater to an older crowd? Any that serve alcohol? Any near Rembrandtsplein? I saw some mentioned in a Travel guide--Siberie, Rokerij, La Tertulia, Kadinsky and Abraxas.

Sue

You got to be careful when you ask for 'Coffee shops ' in Amsterdam.If you are'nt specific you'll probably guided to one of the 'joints'.Most of these are meant for junkies.Each one has a menu with their selection of hash, grass, pre-rolled joints, and sometimes spacecakes.

The 'Cafes' on the other hand is what your sis is looking for.

Villa ZeeZicht
Tatty, cluttered, busy but very excellent, very relaxing café overlooking the fat Singel canal. Wood floors, impassive locals, and buzzing staff. Do good cakes and sandwiches plus a Tapas menu.
Torensteeg 7,

Café Ter Kuile
floaty afternoon drinking session
A busy bar at one end, and a wood-decked restaurant at the other. Low-key lighting and ambience good for a chatty meal. Food is good, moderately priced, and freshly cooked with daily specials. Line your stomach here before commencing a froliking good night
Torensteeg 7,

Greenwoods
Good looking, good smelling but pricey canal side hangout
Singel 103,

Café Vertigo
Sprawling open air park café - stretch out and watch the rollerbladers
Vondelpark 3,

W139
Huge ex-squat art gallery with tea and coffee sit down cafe
Warmoesstraat 139,

Hopr it helpful

I thought OP was asking for "that sort of" coffeeshop as she stated especially for her 60 Y.O.sister. So I put the names she mentioned in google and it seems at least some of them are THE Amsterdam coffeeshops that serve cannabis (so probably all are). I was in the city last week but was not particularly looking for one so I cannot comment. Perhaps the following might help you.

http://www.amsterdamhotspots.nl/smoke.html

Guess, I not good at reading between the lines!!

Have your sister take a look at www.channels.nl There is a link to a directory of all the coffeeshops in Amsterdam. There she can find ones that are near her hotel and which ones serve alcohol.

Tom

If you see the sign of a green leaf, you know what type of coffeeshop it is...

The ones on Rembrandtsplein are not much good (there are quite a few).Try the nearby streets or go over the narrow bridge to the old city to the Rusland (street also called Rusland - beside the university - no alcohol, one of the originals)
Siberie is also non-alcohol, specialises in tea, has net access, mostly local Dutch crowd and is good.There are 3 others round the corner (eg The Doors) which have more tourists as they are easier to find - at least one of these has alcohol.
Rokerij is good, mostly locals, Kadisky is ok (no alc.)
Rookies near Leidseplein has alcohol & is OK.Greenhouse in the old city has alcohol and is ok.
Please note alcohol and cannabis are not supposed to be sold in the same place - some get around it by having a separate "juice bar" in the same room.Some dont bother pretending.Just ask for the menu - they will assume you mean the cannabis menu.Beware - price is no indication of strength, but of supply/demand. So local weed is cheap but very strong.

Anywhere that sells cannabis will not sell alcohol, and anywhere that sells alcohol will not sell cannabis, so you won't be able to combine the two in one place.

And 'those' coffee shops are not meant for 'junkies' - a junkie is a heroin addict! They are primarily full of tourists and weekenders enjoying a couple of spliffs. It's quite easy to spot the coffee shops once you get the knack.

'the grasshopper' is a nice clean big cafeteria style one that is short on atmosphere but you might feel more comfortable in there than one of the darker pokier ones. It does some nice food too. It's just 5 minutes from central station.

Nona, that's not true in my experience. the Rookies (as example) in Leidseplein sells pot, beer, has a pool table, like that. it would be comfortable for any ages. very laid back.

Sue, i highly recommend getting a copy of "Let's Go Amsterdam" guidebook. i'm not usually a big guidebook user, but this one has excellent information and descriptions, by neighborhood, in the "Only in Amsterdam" chapters for the kind of info you're after.

Not surprisingly many coffeeshops are full of oldsters who grew of age in the 70s... the one that will surely be full of gray haired types is the famous Green House, not far from Rembrandtsplein. This is a favorite of cannabis gurus such as Jack Herrer and John Sinclair, a 60s radical who is now a poet and musician who has made this his home coffeeshop.
You can tell just by a quick look the shops that have a young crowd and others an older. But any i've been in are generally a mixed crowd.
There are three Green House coffeeshops but the one the old pot farts gravitate to is on the south side of the Redlight District on the eastside of one of the canals.

Here is a link to the Amsterdam Coffeeshop Directory -

http://www.coffeeshop.freeuk.com/ACDfrmGu.html

The BCD (Bond van Cannabis Detaillisten), or the Cannabis Retailers Association, has a free map of Amsterdam that you can usually pick up at the VVV across from Centraal Station or on the Leidesplein. It shows the BCD affiliated coffeeshops, as well as the cultural highlights of the city - it's actually a pretty good map!

You can recognize a BCD coffeeshop from the green & white diagonal sign in the window. Some of the BCD coffeeshops that we have smoked in include The Blue Bird (our favorite), Barney's Breakfast Bar (decent breakfast), Cum Laude, De Dampkring (Conan O'Brien smoked there), Dutch Flowers, Green House Centrum, Kadinsky, De Kuil, Rusland, De Tweede Kamer. There are many more that we have visited and enjoyed that aren't part of the association.

My husband and I (old hippies from the 60's/70's) have found that we enjoy visiting the coffeeshops during the day, before the younger crowd get out of work and start showing up. Although, it's interesting to watch the locals come in after work, buy their 3-5 grams and head home - from the young to the old, men, women, business people, college kids, working folks... Anyway, if you go during the day, when they're not as busy, you will have more luck getting the dealer to explain the different varieties of pot.

There is usually a "menu" that you can order off of from the dealer. The Blue Bird has samples in three loose leaf notebooks chained to the counter. Other places have containers filled with different varieties that you can pick out and have weighed for you. Many other coffeeshops have pre-packaged bags. BEWARE: Most coffeeshops have pre-rolled joints, but they are usually mixed with tobacco. That's the way a lot of Dutch smoke. The cigarettes also have a filter on them (rolled up piece of cardboard).

Just curious, when will you be in Amsterdam? Peace, Robyn >-

Some places even have little "to-go" tubes with their logo on them, so you don't have to smoke it all at once, is what the good bartender said.

Yes, I do want "that sort of" coffeeshop! It will be my sister's first time. Well 2nd actually, but she had no effect the first time. Didn't inhale?
We'll be ther in mid-Sept.
We'd prefer a clean place, with other tourists, not just regulars.
Pre-rolled seems easier, but I don't think she wants tobacco.

Sue

Not all pre-rolled have tobacco. Just ask.

Stopped at the "Bulldog" when we were there a few years ago. Not really my thing any more but didn't want to take any lip from old college friends if they knew I was there and didn't partake.

The "Bulldog" is kind of like the "Hard Rock Cafe" of "coffee houses". T-Shirts, gift shop, etc. but the staff was VERY helpful and the experience was great overall. My 15 minute trip to get more tonic water turned into an all night buzz but it was worth it. Our waitress that night got the remnants as we were leaving the next morning. We made the her night as well.

I don't know if it's like this everywhere but at the Bulldog all product was the same price and you got varying quantity based on price. My recommendation = buy the least; get the most

Have fun

La Tertulia is a nice civilized place on the Prinsengracht. Would fit in well on a day that you visit the Anne Frank house, since it's close.

Siberie is a little more hoppin' place. One thing about Siberie is that everyone there looked absolutely ripped to the gills as opposed to just nicely high.

De Tweede Kamer is a favorite of some dear friends of mine - it's the smaller sister of the famous De Dampkring.

artstuff (Robyn) illustrates the scene quite nicely in referring to the locals popping in for a gram or two to take home. I loved seeing that - it was so low-key and non-hysteric.

De Dampkring appeared in the first Oceans Eleven movie i guess. This is one place where being older won't bat an eyelash though it's often very crowded. But one of the coffeeshops with the very best reputation for goods; steps from the shopping streets.

You and your sister should understand that the local cannabis in Amsterdam can be incredibly strong stuff. Er...or so I'm told.

Go slow. Seriously.

Strength may vary as to price it seems so for starters start from the low end of the menus. And only experienced cannabis tokers should even fathom eating the 'space cakes' many of these places sell.

Ah, memories.

Well, if you're not a big smoker, I would suggest starting someplace like the Bulldog, which is used to catering to tourists and people who aren't..well, potheads, for lack of a better term. They're very helpful.

toke up for me, i don't smoke anymore, LOL

Christine