118 Best Bars in Netherlands

This unpretentious, minimalist bar sandwiched between the Red Light District and Chinatown is best known for its karaoke and mojitos at very reasonable prices, especially during happy hour (before 9 pm).

This one-room café a few minutes' walk east from Blaak station is a favorite among Belgian-beer enthusiasts, with a menu that tops 200 varieties, but best of all, it has an open log fire in winter. If it gets too crowded, there's a sister bar, Locus International, two doors farther west with the same menu.

A fantastic 1960s feel and an attractive young crowd, namely local students, keep it lively at this small Marnixstraat pub, a great spot for a nightcap after a live show in nearby Leidseplein. Next door, its sister location, Bar Weber, serves cocktails and bar snacks with a punky vibe.

This dive bar is the place to be for rock, blues, and live music with a local vibe. Occasionally, local musicians are joined on stage by bigger names, fresh from their gigs at bigger nearby venues.

With its idyllic location on Delft's nicest square, Moeke is not only a good place to eat, it's also a fine place to chill out with a cold one.

Stylish and cruisy with a Finnish sauna, a Turkish bath, a bar, and private cabins, the award-winning NZ Sauna, brought to you by the team behind Club ChUrch, has been steaming up the city's gay scene since 2013. Mellow Monday, No Towel Night Tuesday, and the biweekly Gender Fluids Wednesday mean there's something for everyone.

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.

This legalized squat in the former film academy offers fun alternative nights with live bands and DJs. The eclectic music ranges from hardcore to free jazz and Latin beats. Also on the premises are a movie theater, an art gallery, and an organic café serving on Sunday.

The latest local and international bands can be heard at Paard, where you can also dance and watch movies and multimedia shows.

Catch live music at this excellent rock music venue—Haarlem's answer to the Melkweg in Amsterdam, only without the really big bands.

In a newly built residential area a little northwest of the EYE Filmmuseum, this trendy modern bar has a great selection of wines, a bewildering choice of wild fermentation beers, and possibly the Netherlands' biggest range of craft ciders.

Claiming---with good justification---to be among the smallest bars in the city, this timeless but tiny old brown café somehow still finds room to fit in a stage for hosting its Sunday night live music events.

Indulge your senses in cocktails inspired by the rich Dutch history of trade, distilling and innovation in cozy-chic surroundings on the ground floor of an inn along one of the city's oldest canals. The makers and shakers here have a passion for jenever, korenwijn (old-style traditional jenever), and other local spirits and service is prompt and professional.

Rotown, a high-style restaurant, has new-talent bands playing on Saturday night.

Located along the Brouwersgracht since 1984, Siberie is an award-winning coffeeshop, selling high-quality goodies like organic weed. Visitors can also enjoy its friendly staff and the changing art on its walls.

Run by students, this artsy cultural café on the Zeedijk attracts a young, alternative crowd. They serve tasty, well-priced food, and three times a week there is live music, including jazz on Sunday.

A sublime example of the Dutch ability to turn landmark buildings into chic destinations, this hotel features a cavernous glass-and-steel brasserie with a loungy terrace and Taiko Bar, where you can enjoy cocktails and bites combining "Asian flavors, international luxury, and local roots.'' There are DJs on weekend nights.

Borrowing its name from the Yiddish word for "noisemaker," this is the podium for celebrated Dutch stand-up group Comedytrain. Many of its members have grown into national celebrities. The programming is often English-friendly, with regular appearances by international guests, especially during July's acclaimed ComedyTrain International Summer Festival.

With 30 taps and 120 more available in bottles and cans, this is the best craft-beer bar in town.

With 20 beer taps in its upper bar, a cellar café below that spills onto a waterside terrace beside the Oudegracht canal, and a full dinner menu, this city center taproom of Utrecht's foremost craft brewery is a popular meeting spot for locals and visitors alike.

This 1920s Amsterdam School edifice is a delightful place for a pre- or post-recital stop, with the Concertgebouw just down the road. The large sunny terrace has great views for architecture enthusiasts and urban anthropologists.

"Podium voor ongehoord geluid" (A stage for unheard sounds) is how this former squat describes itself. It's one of the few places in Amsterdam where you can hear live jazz every Tuesday, and on Thursday, anyone with an instrument can join in with the Oktopedians, a workshop orchestra playing jazz, blues, and world music. The restaurant serves a three-course vegetarian meal some nights.

Founded in 1946, this center of the Dutch Association for the Integration of Homosexuality is the oldest organization of its kind in the world. Check the website for parties and events.

Amsterdam's best lesbian bar, as it's been labeled, started out in the 1920s as a brown café in the Jordaan and has since been modernized; today a "mixed" policy prevails.