The 5 best places to party after dark in Amsterdam

Dark corners, precise techno, and a second room where the nineties come back to life. Club RAUM offers a sense of controlled chaos: industrial yet intimate, exuberant and welcoming. The atmosphere of this queer-run cultural space in a former bookbindery near Sloterdijk train station is open, and the norms fluid.

The western dock area was the scene for many (illegal) rave parties in the nineties. The warehouse at Elementenstraat 25 was closed for years, but re-opened in spring 2014 as Warehouse Elementenstraat. The venue still has an industrial feel to it and hosts regular techno and house parties for up to 2500 revellers.

This used to be a school where dentists trained but now it’s home to one of the more innovative and original cultural platforms of Amsterdam. Located out west, Radion organises regular club nights, performances and lectures. Thanks to their 24-hour permit, nights seamlessly blend into days.

Tiny, quirky and independent Garage Noord opened in 2017 in the rapidly developing former industrial area ‘Hamer Quarter’. The club has been called ‘a DIY paradise’, and its line-up is filled with exciting DJ’s that receive an open invitation to play whatever music they feel like. Those who like to start early can enjoy a bite of Sichuan Chinese food before the music starts playing.

Levenslang (literally: life sentence) is a club like no other, hidden deep inside the belly of the old Bijlmerbajes (Bijlmer prison). Built inside the cavernous former boiler room, the vibe here is raw, industrial and eerily atmospheric. The rotating neon cage suspended from the ceiling in the main room nods to the building’s past. The founders also run local brewery De Eeuwige Jeugd (‘eternal youth’), so the beer is as offbeat as the vibe.