The 5 best places to enjoy classical music in Amsterdam

This Walloon Church was built as a Roman Catholic monastery in 1496. The rise of Protestantism resulted in the ousting of Catholicism from the city. After Amsterdam had dismissed its Catholic government in 1578, the church became a refuge for Walloon protestants and Huguenots who’d fled the Southern Netherlands and France. Concerts are organised here about once a week. 

The wholly renovated Park Church, built in the early 20th century, is now a venue where pipe organ music and live performances in classical, jazz and improvised music are combined. Orgelpark occasionally also shows film and dance performances with organ music.

The concert hall Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ is the main venue for contemporary classical music. There are two stages, which are both famous for the acoustics and were designed to facilitate a range of music genres. The ground floor has a cafe-restaurant with a large patio from where you can watch the sun set over the River IJ. 

The Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra uses the renovated, former Gerardus Majella Catholic church in Indische Buurt as its home base, which makes it the only orchestra in the Netherlands to have such a beautiful, well-equipped concert venue all to itself. Concerts are scheduled several times a week. 

Since the 1890s, Het Concertgebouw has been the most prominent concert hall for classical music in the country. Over 900 activities are organised here every year. Free lunch concerts are programmed every Wednesday at 12.30 pm, from September to June. The programme is usually announced one week in advance, and includes rehearsals of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, performances by talented young musicians and contemporary music.