A night out in Amsterdam could begin any number of adventures. And it is likely to cost less than any big city in Europe or the US. Drinks (meaning beer) are cheap, bars don’t have cover charges, and at the few clubs that do, they are minimal. (The exception being the occasional big bash—circuit parties or leather parties or gay pride weekend parties.)

Amsterdam boasts a huge number of gay venues—some of the most interesting clubs (Unk, Spellbound, Trash) only happen once a month, once every two months or even more erratically. There are dozens of gay bars that are open every night, though you’re likely to find some of them empty, depending on the time you visit. No matter, everything is close enough that you check them all out. And once you find a crowd—you’re likely to find a drink special as well! One of the most popular is the Sunday “happy hour” from 6 to 8 pm at the Soho bar, where the very happy crowd spills out into the Reguliersdwarstraat,a block south of the flower market,lined with many bars, restaurants and shops. On summer nights, this pedestrian street fills with young gays.. You can find people here most any night too, as well as at the adjacent, and trendier, Arc.

You’ll also usually find a sociable, if older, crowd at the three adjacent bars on the Zeedijk—the long running Queen’s Head, the Barderij, and newcomer De Engel, which has a popular canal-side terrace.

A good place to start your night is at the Amstel Taveerne (Amstel 54, Tel.: +31 20-623-4254), the oldest gay bar in Amsterdam. Across the street, Café De Steeg (Halvemaansteeg 10, Tel.: +31 20-620 0171) has live shows on Saturdays. The lower key Gaiety (Amstel 14, Tel.: +31 20-624 4271), attracts an older male crowd, and the nearby Mix Café (Amstel 50, Tel.: +31 20-420 3388) actually lives up to its name, drawing a festive crowd comprised of gay and straight people.

A few other bars deserve mention, particularly the new and quite popular Prik, which has a relaxed and friendly ambiance. Prik is Dutch for "bubble," and this unironic smiley face of a bar is pure effervescence -- from its fruity specialty apple mojito to the open terrace where you can pop toastie sandwiches to a weekend DJ spinning. If all that good cheer proves infectious, you can buy the I LOVE PRIK shoulder bag or T-shirt.The Café t’Leeuwtje is notable as one of the only gay bars to stock a wide range of delicious Belgian Trappist beers. For women, one of the few Lesbian bars remains the popular Saarein II in the Jordaan.

After midnight, there’s dancing on the Reguliersdwarsrtraat at the Exit, or at the campy (and cover free) Montmartre nearby and a bit later at the men-only Cockring—which features a popular darkroom in addition to two dance floors.(Cockring is currently closed) For most leather and sex barscheck out the Warmoesstraat just north of Dam Square and Nieuwezijds Kolk areas, where you'll find them amidst the coffeeshops, porn stores and take-out eateries.If you want cruising without the dancing, the Eagle, the Argos, and the rather shabby Dirty Dicks are all within spitting distance of the Cockring on the narrow Warmoesstraat…but don’t plan on going until well after midnight.

Where Warmoesstraat meets the Zeedijk, picturesque gay pubs draw sexually mixed crowds, from the maturely sophisticated to the young and artsy.On streets leading to Rembrandtplein from the Amstel canal, there are some lively local gay bars.

Still going strong, the all-volunteer Sunday night queer dance club de Trut offers a fun vibe, the cheapest drinks in the city, and a very young crowd. An antidote to the cruisier scene, De Trut's queer Sunday night underground dance party is fittingly held in a former basement squat and offers the best flashback to Amsterdam’s flower-power glory days.You have to get here early for a change—the line starts forming at 10 for the 11pm opening.

While Cockring and Exit are the two old Dutch masters of the thumping gay scene, but Church, which opened last year, is determined to shore up Amsterdam's bad-to-the-bone status with a calendar of nonstop kink that includes Wednesday night's Naked Bar (dress code: buck naked), Friday's underwear party, and Sex on Sunday (free condoms and, um, coat check). You won't go home feeling dirty, though; there are showers downstairs for that after-party scrub-down.

All bars in Amsterdam are now smoke free—which is definitely giving an advantage to venues with an outdoor area. I’m not sure how people will adapt in the colder months, but my highly subjective observation is that bars are already less crowded. But at least you will save money on laundry.

If you are on a budget, then drink beer (just ask for a “biertje”—pronounced “beer-cha”.) Mixed drinks are expensive and anything more complicated than a gin and tonic is impossible outside the trendiest bars (the ARC comes singularly to mind.) A Dutch happy hour is two drinks for the price of one, so this is the best time to satisfy your desire for strong alcohol should you tire of beer.

Alas, the lesbian nightlife scene in Amsterdam leaves something to be desired, although women are quite welcome - if in the minority - at virtually all of the bars mentioned above, except for the leather haunts along Warmoesstraat. Two mixed gay/lesbian bars of note are the long-running Saarein, in the Jordaan, and the art deco-style Vive-La-Vie, near the camp bars by the Amstel River.

Dancing & Gay Clubs in Amsterdam

If you are in the mood to dance all night, visit the IT (Amstelstraat 24, Tel.: +31 20 625-0111), the most famous gay club in town. It is extravagant and glamorous and attracts an exhibitionistic crowd. Exit (Reguliersdwarsstraat 42, Tel.: +31 20 625 8788) is a slick gay club on three levels with a comfortable bar and a balcony overlooking a large dance floor. The COC (The National Gay & Lesbian Organization, Rozenstraat 14, Tel.: +31 20-626 3087) has very popular and lively weekend discos, Fridays are mixed, Saturday is women-only. De Trut (Bilderdijkstraat 165, Tel.: +31 20-612 3524) organizes gay and lesbian dance parties, held every Sunday in a squatters basement club.