De Nieuwe Anita on Frederik Hendrikstraat runs an upstairs brown bar with eclectic furniture and a cellar room that flips between cinema, comedy, stage and dance floor depending on the night, capacity around 250.
Tip: Doors from the side; the basement stage is small enough that bookings sell out fast on weekends. Cash bar runs the upstairs while the basement is on.
Address: Frederik Hendrikstraat 111, 1052 HN Amsterdam
OCCII runs a legalised squat venue facing the south gates of Vondelpark, programming punk, noise, hardcore and experimental music with a vegan cafe, rehearsal rooms and children's theatre attached.
Tip: Cash bar; door usually 21:00 with a low cover. The Binnenpret complex around it adds a vegan kitchen and the MKZ collective dinner on selected weeknights.
Bitterzoet sits on Spuistraat a short walk from Centraal Station and runs as a bar, theatre and club under one roof, with live hip hop, soul and funk early in the night before DJ sets take over the floor.
Tip: Doors typically 22:30; lines move fastest before midnight. The upstairs balcony is where to stand for a clear view of the stage during live bookings.
Vondelbunker operates inside a 1947 nuclear fallout shelter beneath a bridge through Vondelpark, run since 2011 by a non-hierarchical volunteer collective as a free, non-commercial space for bands, DJs and film.
Tip: Free entry by donation; events listed on the website only. Acoustics are concrete-hard, so bring earplugs for louder bookings.
LuminAir sits on the 11th floor of the DoubleTree by Hilton next to Centraal Station, the rebrand of the long-running SkyLounge, with a 360-degree wraparound terrace looking down on the IJ and the city centre.
Tip: Lift from the hotel lobby; the outdoor terrace runs both north and south sides. Sunset is the slot, walk-ins fine on weekdays, reserve for weekends.
Twenty Third Bar sits on the 23rd floor of Hotel Okura above De Pijp, with bar manager Markus Vennemann running a bespoke cocktail and champagne list alongside bites from the two-Michelin-starred Ciel Bleu next door.
Tip: Reservations recommended for window seats at sunset; smart-casual dress code, no shorts after 18:00. The view runs west across the city to the harbour.
Mr Porter occupies the sixth-floor rooftop of the W Amsterdam on Spuistraat, running a modern steakhouse by day that slides into a cocktail and DJ room after sunset with city-centre views across the rooftops.
Tip: Lift from the W lobby on Spuistraat; the south terrace catches the late-afternoon sun, the indoor bar takes over once the kitchen winds down. Reservations smart.