Reguliersdwarsstraat is the trendiest and most famous gay street in Amsterdam. Here you can go out in a variety of bars and clubs, each with their very own style...
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The biggest, most famous and trendiest bars and clubs are situated in the western part of the street. Two smaller and lesser known cafe's are in the eastern part.
Finally, there are also two gay-minded coffeeshops in the street: The Other Side and Free-I.
In the street itself you can easily recognize almost all gay venues by the rainbow flag.
See also How to get there and Where to stay
websites with information in English
are indicated by a flag
Coffeeshop Downtown
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 31 (since 1970)
- Downtown is a small lunchroom and coffee bar and is very popular by a whole range of gay people: "the young, the old, the leather queens and the disco bunnies". The interior is small, but light and cosy, and on the walls you can see expositions of modern art.
- During summertime there is a small terrace in front of the building, as well as in the street aside.
- Above the lunchroom is the Downtown Guesthouse with two rooms, where you can stay during a visit to Amsterdam.
Downtown is located in the oldest existing building of Reguliersdwars- straat, dating back to 1642. As such, this is a good example of how 17th century Dutch houses with a shop at the front looked like. In the 20th century there were different shops here, until it was completely renovated in 1969. In 1970 two gay friends, Fokke IJsinga and Frits Blaauw opened here an espresso bar, which became the first public gay cafe of the city. This makes Downtown the oldest existing gay establishment in this street.
In 1979 Downtown was taken over by Frans Monsma and Guus Silverentand who began organizing the first really big parties in Reguliersdwarsstraat.
- Open: daily 10.00 - 20.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.coffeeshopdowntown.nl 
Coffeeshop Downtown
Café April
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 37 (since 1981)
Closed up to April 2009 for a complete refurbishment!
- April is the most famous gay bar of Amsterdam. It's a big venue, which had a rather eclectic interior, three bars (one rotating!) and two terraces.
- April was visited by a wide variety of gay people: everything between young asians and men who come here since the beginning, but also a lot of gay tourists from all over the world.
- The sunday double Happy Hour from 18.00-20.00 has become an important regular social gay event (temporarily moved to Soho now).
- Report of the Demolition Party on January 6, 2008 (in Dutch)
April is located in a 19th century building. The bar itself was opened in 1981 by Frans Monsma and Guus Silverentand. Not only was April the first public gay bar which was open until late night, it was also one of the most hip and trendy bars of those days.
Direct from the start April became famous for its big and fancy parties with spectacular decorations. Gay people from all over the world came here on their trip to Amsterdam.
In 1996 April was completly renovated and extended and also a never seen rotating bar was installed. This made April the biggest gay bar at that time in Europe.
- Happy hour: sun. 18.00 - 20.00 hrs at Soho
- Homepage: www.cafeapril.eu
Café April
Pub Soho
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 36 (since 1999)
- Soho is one of the biggest gay bars of Amsterdam and has a great classic style interior with fine wooden panelling, mirrors, a fire place, a library and even a pulpit for the DJ!
- The ground floor has a large central bar in a somewhat more English style. Through a stately staircase you go to the first floor, which has a second bar in a more American style. Coat- check and toilets are on the second floor.
- Allthough Soho has a very classic decoration, visitors are not only older gay guys, but also trendy youngsters and some straight people too. Also a lot of gay tourists. Well known and popular DJ's play trendy club and house music.
Soho is located in a big former coach-house dating back to the 18th cen- tury. From 1981-1996 his building housed "36 op de schaal van Richter", which was made the most trendy and popular disco of that time by Gert-Jan Dröge. In 1996 it was bought by bar-tycoon Sjoerd Kooistra, who turned it into gay pub Soho, which was decorated in his own favorite style.
- Open: mon.- thu.: 16.00 - 03.00 hrs
fri.+ sat.: 14.00 - 04.00 hrs
sun.: 14.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Regular program of Soho
- Happy hour: mon.-sat.: 22.00 - 23.00 hrs
sun.: 18.00 - 20.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.pubsoho.eu
Café Pub Soho
Club Exit
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 42 (since 1988)
- Exit is a big gay disco with two bars and a large dancefloor with an overlooking balcony. Each of these areas has its own music: popular music at the first floor bar; R&B, hip hop, rap & latin at the second floor bar and club, electro and vocal music spinned by a DJ on the dance floor.
- Finally, on the top floor of Exit there is a darkroom. This makes the atmosphere rather cruisy and that's also where a wide variety of gay boys, guys and men come for.
Exit is located in a former coach-house dating from 1766, which in the mid-eighties housed the exclusive bar and restaurant L'Entree. This was a favorite place of many Dutch celebrities.
In 1988 this venue was bought by bar-tycoon Sjoerd Kooistra, turned into a disco for nearby gay bar April, and therefore named April's Exit. It was completly refurbished in 2001 and renamed Club Exit.
- Open: sun./thu.: 00.00 - 04.00 hrs
fri.+ sat.: 00.00 - 05.00 hrs
- Regular program of Club Exit
- Entrance fee: fri.: € 6,-
sat.: € 8,-
- Homepage: www.clubexit.eu
Club Exit (left) and Exit Café (right)
Exit Café
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 42
- Exit Café is a gay bar in the so-called aprčs ski style. Accor- dingly this bar is often crowded and loud, also because its the only gay bar in the street which is open late into the night every day.
- In Exit Café you can hear a mixture of the most popular dutch and international pop songs. If its not too crowded you can dance a little bit, as there are almost no seatings.
Exit Café is situated in the right corner of the Club Exit-building, which is a former coach-house dating back to 1766. When the Exit disco came in this building in 1988, there was a first Exit Cafe in the left corner. Later on this was moved to the right corner and renamed The Duke. This was however no succes, so within a year it got back its old name and the present day interior was build.
- Open: sun.-thu.: 23.00 - 04.00 hrs
fri.+ sat.: 23.00 - 05.00 hrs
- Happy hour: daily 01.00 - 02.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.exitcafe.eu
Exit Café
Bar ARC
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 44 (since 2002)
- ARC is a big, but first of all the most trendy lounge bar of Reguliersdwarsstraat. It has a sophisticated cosmopolitain decor with comfortable seatings, two cocktailbars and a reading table, which at night turns into a small dance floor. All designed by the famous Eric Kuster.
- Here you can get all sorts of cocktails and luxury finger food, while DJ's play trendy lounge, club and dance music. ARC attracts the most trendy crowd, both gay and straight.
Bar ARC was opened in 2002 by Anqelique, Rob & Company and from their initials the name was formed. The building was constructed only two years earlier on a ground which laid fallow since the disaster of 1943. ARC started as a restaurant and a cocktailbar, but nowadays you can only get smaller dishes and finger food. As the last in a row, ARC was taken over by bar-tycoon Sjoerd Kooistra by the end of 2007.
- Open: sun.-thu.: 16.00 - 01.00 hrs
fri.+ sat.: 16.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Regular program of Bar ARC
- Happy hour: daily 17.00 - 19.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.bararc.eu
Café Bar Arc
Café 't Leeuwtje
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 105 (since 2006)
- Café 't Leeuwtje (The Little Lion) is a gay bar with a typical Dutch interior and both dutch and international popular music. The bar is visited by a variety of gay people of all ages, all- though straight people and gay tourists come here too.
- 't Leeuwtje is also the only gay bar where you can get over 30 brands of special beer!
Number 105 Reguliersdwarsstraat has been a bar for decades. In the seventies it was a straight bar with teaser girls. In 1984 it became a gay bar named Papillon, but in the nineties it was an ordinary straight bar again. By the end of 2006 a new owner turned it into a gay bar for the second time.
- Open: sun.-thu.: 17.00 - 01.00 hrs (wed. closed)
fri.+ sat.: 17.00 - 03.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.cafehetleeuwtje.nl
Café 't Leeuwtje
Reality Bar
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 129 (since 1996)
- Small gay bar with a tropical style interior and latin music. It calls itself "The Hottest Black & White Gay Bar in Town".
- Reality is popular by black gays, wherever they come from, and by everyone else who like the latin and multicultural atmosphere.
Number 129 Regulierdwarsstraat has been a bar for decades: in the seven- ties it was for example a somewhat more distinguished cafe called La Reserve. Reality Bar was opened here in 1997 by a man from Surinam, which was a breakthrough in the Surinam and Latin-American community.
- Open: sun.-thu.: 20.00 - 03.00 hrs
fri.+ sat.: 20.00 - 04.00 hrs
- Regular program of Reality Bar
- Happy Hour: fri.-sun.: 20.30 - 22.00 hrs
- Homepage: www.realitybar.eu (under construction)
Café Reality Bar
The Other Side
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 6
Gay-minded coffeeshop where you can buy soft drugs.
- Open: daily 11.00 - 01.00 hrs.
- Homepage: www.theotherside.nl
Free-I
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 70 (since 1978)
Gay-minded coffeeshop where you can buy soft drugs in a not so ordinary atmosphere with trendy people, house, deep-house and lounge-music, spinned by well-known DJ's like Zoë Noa, Brian-S and Debra.
- Homepage: (under construction)
- EVENTS -
Queen's Day
April 30 (since 1949)
Queen's Day is the celebration of the birthday of the dutch queen. Especially in Amsterdam this is a very popular event, which attracts hundreds of thousands to the city centre.
In Regulierdwarsstraat Queen's Day is celebrated in different ways:
- In the western part of the street the big gay venues organize a big street dance party between ARC and April, with famous DJ's and drag queens, attracting a mainly gay crowd.
- In the eastern part of the street there is a famous hiphop street party called Devil's Pie, organized by café De Duivel and a smaller party by Jantjes Verjaardag, both attracting a mainly straight crowd.
Both the gay street party in the western part and the party by Jantjes Verjaardag already start the evening before (19.00 - 24.00 hrs), the so called Queen's Night (Koninginnenacht).
- More info: www.koninginnedagamsterdam.nl
- See also: www.queensdayamsterdam.eu
Gay Pride
First weekend of August (since 1996)
The Amsterdam Gay Pride is the largest gay event in the Netherlands. It is especially famous for the carnivalesque Canal Parade, in which, among many others, always one or two boats from Reguliersdwarsstraat venues participate.
In the street itself there are two great street parties, visited by thousands of gay and gay minded people:
- The biggest party, with famous Dutch and international DJ's, drag queens and open air disco is organized by the big gay venues. It is held in the western part of the street, between ARC and April. Also there are beer taps outside all gay venues and some of the restaurants (until 1.00 hrs).
> Friday: 19.00 - 24.00 hrs + Saturday: 13.00 - 24.00 hrs.
- A smaller, tropical latin street party is held in the eastern part, in front of the organizing Reality Bar. Other bars in this part of the street have outside beer taps (until 1.00 hrs).
> Friday: 19.00 - 24.00 hrs + Saturday: 13.00 - 24.00 hrs.
The official closing party of Gay Pride is held in front of the Stopera (city hall/opera house), but in the western part of Reguliersdwarsstraat there may also be a small surprise party.
- Official website: www.weareproud.nl
- Partners: www.amsterdampride.nl
- See also: www.amsterdamgaypride.nl
Pictures of Reguliersdwarsstraat boats and street parties:
- Gay Pride 2008 Canal Parade
- Gay Pride 2008 Street Party
- Gay Pride 2007 Parade & Parties
Street party on Saturday night, August 4, 2007
- FORMER GAY VENUES -
MacDonald
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 11 (1963 - 1982)
- This was the very first gay bar in Reguliersdwarsstraat. When it opened in 1963, it had curtains in front of the window and a doorman at the door to prevent suspicious people getting in.
- Nevertheless MacDonald was always a very decent bar, which was often visited by gays under 21, who where not allowed into the famous nearby gay disco DOK at Singel 460.
- MacDonald closed its doors in 1982 and was succeeded by gay bar Traffic until the mid-eighties.
De Viking
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 17-19 (1976 - 1987)
- De Viking was the first gay disco in Reguliersdwarsstraat. At first this was a rather hippie styled venue, but later on it got a bad name because of the business boys, the drug dealers and the wild sex parties. The Viking also had the first darkroom in Reguliersdwarsstraat.
- In 1987 The Viking was closed after a drug raid by the police. After a complete renovation it was succeeded by gay dancing Havana.
Logo of De Viking
Havana
Reguliersdwarsstraat nr. 17-19 (1989 - 2002)
- Havana was a very populair gay bar and dancing in the 90's. It had a somewhat more alternative flavour and was famous for its drag queen performances with Nickie Nicole, the Eurovision Song Festival parties and the musical nights.
- Upstairs one could dance on the very trendy club music of DJ's such as Natarcia, Kathy, and Groovemaster Johnson. His music attracted not only gay, but also a wide variety of straight people.
Havana in 1999
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