Raoul Fokke

Whether you’re heading to the EYE Filmmuseum to catch a killer exhibition, a screening of an unusual movie or simply to snap a photo of its beautiful design, you will not be disappointed. We like to settle into their café with a coffee (or a drink!) to enjoy the sweeping views of the IJ. If you have a Cineville card or Museumkaart, you’ll get a little discount on your tickets.

Every hipster in Amsterdam (& believe us there are many) has been to FOAM once or twice in their day. This cool, contemporary museum focuses on photography & photography alone. They’ve got an ever-changing roster of impressive exhibitions from photography icons, as well as a small space to highlight up & coming photographic talent. Once you’ve sauntered through the museum, grab a coffee from their café downstairs & hit the gift shop. You can never have too many coffee table books.

These days, most of us are used to streaming music on Spotify or SoundCloud, but we really think there’s something to be said for good old fashioned records & CDs. Concerto is an amazing place to browse for or pick up any form or style of music you could dream of. Order an espresso at the bar & get carried away in the wild selection of music & videos.

The Netherlands may not be known for its gastronomic history, but luckily our dear Flemish neighbours are a slightly different story. Rijsel Rotisserie is a bright & airy restaurant with a bit of an industrial vibe that serves some of the tastiest food in town. Though all of their food is delicious, we find it impossible to resist their famous roast chicken.

You know what they say. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend. We like to think they’re everyone’s best friend. Well, sapphires as well. Wait, we can’t forget about emeralds…basically, we love everything at this famous Dutch jeweller. Not in the market for new or vintage jewels? You can also sell your old pieces here & put the money toward whatever tickles your fancy.

Did we really need another cutesy bar on the canals? Not really, we thought. But after visiting Café Marcella, we’ve changed our tune. Big time. This charming, red-awninged café on the Prinsengracht is a lovely spot for a long, languorous breakfast with the paper in tow as it is for a buoyant, booze-filled afternoon with friends on the weekend. They’ve scored serious bonus points for their elevated ‘borrelhapjes’.

Too young. Too young! The owners of Troppo Giovane (“too young”, in Italian) declared. The team at this super cool yet very friendly wine shop wants to encourage drinkers to move away from the newness that’s popular in many wine stores and embrace true age-worthy bottles. Their selection focuses mostly on Italian and French producers, but they’ve also got a nice, tight selection of orange wines, sake, mezcal and cider.

The museums of Oud-Zuid aren’t the only ones who rule the roost, despite how it may seem. This culture-soaked neighbourhood is also home to many a fantastic gallery. Chief amongst them is EENWERK. Designed by Barend Koolhaas & opened in 2017, this contemporary exhibition space has quickly become one of our favourite spots in the city.

The neighbourhood, de Joordan, bands together to create the community hub that is R. de Rosa. Though, it's not just the residents of Boomstraat that flock here. This charming corner café is always heaving with people from every part of the city. With coffee and cake served during the day, natural wines poured and plates of popped corn kernels shared in the afternoon, and a one-menu wonder for the dinner dish of the day from 6pm sharp. 

It turns out that the ever-dapper Babar is just as charming as he was when we were children now that we’re adults. Bathed in warm light and rich jewel tones, this eensy little bar is perfect for dates. Or for finding a date for next week! Come by for a few glasses of wine, a dish of olives and a nice people-watching session.