In a nutshell: 24 hours in an Amsterdam weekend

1pm: Sleep until lunchtime, you are going to have a late night. Then grab some traditional Dutch grub at Haesje Claes

2pm: burn off the food with a stroll around the calm, narrow streets of the Joordan

4pm: back into the centre, pick up some records or CDs at Mid-town

7pm: dinner at fashionable Envy, or if you are feeling open-minded give Supperclub a go - there you'll be entertained by the weird and wonderful while you eat designer food (lying on beds if you book ahead)

9pm: you may be sucked in and stick around at Supperclub for the music and pre-club experience. Otherwise try one of the many funky bars such as Absinthe, Zebra Lounge or Lime (Zeedijk 104),

12am: just about late enough to move on to a big all-nighter, Paradiso and Melkweg are the best venues (check the listings)

6am: catch some well-earned sleep

10am: take a canal cruise - they depart near Central Station

11am: you'll need coffee to make it through to siesta-time, Café Kobalt is a good refuelling option just around the corner

12pm: lunch at Brasserie Harkema, a former tobacco factory and now a big open-planned restaurant and bar

1pm: prepare for another night out with some more sleep. Then get your dose of art at the Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam Dance Event and more nightlife

For those looking for young fun away from coffee, dope and sex shops, it's easy to tap into the burgeoning electronic dance music scene that mirrors Holland's pioneeering techno neighours, Germany.


Dance and Music 2007 is Holland's tourism theme for next year, so it's appropriate that the Amsterdan Dance Event is challenging the Miami Music Conference as the biggest occasion for industry professionals and die-hard clubbers to revel in a parade of the biggest and best DJs, producers and locations for cutting rug on a grand scale.

For four or five nights the city's dance bars and nightclubs are taken over by global names playing the best in house, techno, electronica and breakbeats, while various venues host conferences, films and exhibitions. For the regular punter this is the perfect opportunity to get around loads of clubs in a city that's second only to Berlin as a Mecca for clubbers.

On Thursday the event hots up with a big night out in Melkweg, one of the city's most famous venues, housed in a former dairy that has played host to many legendary gigs, from Nirvana to Orbital. For this night UK techno god Dave Clarke fills the main room, its balcony providing just enough room to dance compared to the heaving throng on the main dance floor that it overlooks. In the equally impressive second room local DJ Shindoe plays a slower electro-techno set to an appreciative crowd, one of many excellent Dutch DJs who haven't made a name for themselves in London but could put many of our artists to shame.

She is followed by Octave One showcasing their live techno and big tune Blackwater. Elsewhere in the large arts complex there's a café bar and gallery, and it also shows films when the clubbers aren't about. Later in the weekend we return for Kraak and Smaak, a favourite live band in the Netherlands who are just starting to make it in this country with their soul-singing dance floor-shaking funk.

On to Friday night and we begin in Rain, a shiny dance bar hosting American house DJ Gene Farris, before heading across Rembrandplein, one of the main partying squares, to Escape for Paul van Dyk. The German trance DJ packs out the large club, one of the biggest around regularly featuring globally famous DJs, and we soak a bit of that up before moving on to The Sand, a new venue away from the centre billed as an 'indoor beach complex', which is basically a cavernous warehouse that is filled with sand normally for indoor beach sports. Again it's nice and modern, unlike many of the rundown venues that you get around London, and we are entertained by the techno beats of German legend Sven Vath and Portugese stablemate Ricardo Villalobos until it winds up at 7am.

By the second evening some differences to the London clubs, beyond their décor, are emerging. Firstly, drinks are a lot cheaper than in the UK, often closer to pub prices. Bizarrely though some of the more commercial venues, such as The Sand and Escape, charge to use the toilets. If you've been fuelled by alcohol and plenty of water to keep you dancing that can add up over a long evening, but it's better than the toilet attendants in London where tipping or not to tip (and how much) is always a difficult call.

The Sand, the biggest venue, has an interesting cloakroom. You buy a key to one of a line of lockers, it costs 5 euros to use but can accommodate a few people's coats. It also sells tokens to buy drinks, as is the norm in many big festivals nowadays. The intention is to reduce bar queues, but time saved is negligible and it's quite easy to forget to spend all your artificial money.

On Saturday we've a few more clubs to visit. Supperclub is famous for extravagent shows and dance floor action alongside its designer restaurant, so it's a good place to start, though you'll have to be open-minded and prepared for the weird and wonderful from performers and staff alike.

From there the big event is in Paradiso, a large converted church where Tiesto, one of the world's most famous DJs, is playing to the devoted. There's two levels of balconies to gaze over the main dance floor, and the lazer show combines with Tiesto's big tunes perfectly. Paradiso and Melkweg are the two most famous venues for dancing to underground sounds on a large scale, and they are the best of the bunch on just about every level. And there's no charge to relieve yourself.

Back on Rembrandplein we check out internationally renowned Dutch DJ Michel de Hey in Studio 80, usually a non-profit venue for young talent set up by big Dutch tech-trance label ID&T. Up the road to Escape and American house DJ Todd Terry works the crowd. Then it's across the square to Rain again for the official after party. Run by Rotterdam's Sound Architecture crew, we manage to keep going for a bit longer to the fine techno on offer but leave the youngsters to battle on to the 10am finish. Time to get some sleep and save energy for the even bigger event planned for 2007.

Daytime in the 'dam

Days inbetween the dancing are spent shopping, eating in the many cool restaurants, or simply wandering around the city. The canals of the older districts provide a perfect way of relaxing and meandering, on foot or hired bicycles, with cafes ideal for watching the world go by. The café culture and quiet roads typify the laidback feel of the people and place, though it's easy to get caught by surprise by trams, the odd car charging over a canal or crazy cyclists. The cyclists are perhaps the most dangerous of them all, silently creeping up on unsuspecting tourists who feel safe walking in the canalside roads.

The biggest hazard later at night is drunk cyclists. Slower but more potent, they crab across the roads with many defying gravity as they attempt to stay upright while completely plastered. It's fun to watch but you can't help wandering whether they ever make it home.

The old city centre has plenty going on, from the 17th century Royal Palace (closed until 2008 for renovaton), Nieuwe Kirk (New Church) dating back to 1408 and of course Dam Square (best avoided unless you like tacky shops and restaurants, department stores and gaudy fairgrounds). Around Neiuwendijk, one of the the main shopping streets, is a clutch of the best underground record shops with vinyl for budding DJs and mix CDs for clubbers to continue partying at home (see page 3).

One of the best places for walks and architecture is The Jordaan district, built in the 17th century for the working classes and a haven for Jews and Huguenots. Now it's an expensive desirable area, but remains a maze of things to stumble on.

Finally, the standard tourist fodder or a canal cruise is one way to relax as you float around the waterways. Though the guided tour in four languages doesn't help the post-clubbing chill out, the gentle rocking of the boat does.

Clubs, bars, restaurants and shops

Nightclubs

Melkweg
Lijnbaansgracht 234a

Paradiso
Weteringschans 6-8

The Sand
Rhoneweg 36

Escape
Rembrandplein 11

Rain
Rembrandplein 44

Studio 80
Rembrandplein 17

Supperclub
Jonge Roelensteeg 21

Restaurants

Envy
Prinsengracht 381
Very sophisticated restaurant, all metal decor and open kitchen, serving a small dishes for each person to try a few.

Haesje Claes
Spuistraat 275
Classy hotel serving typically Dutch dishes in a very Dutch setting, main courses 15-25 euros

Brasserie Harkema
Nes 67
Large brasserie just south of Dam Square serving European dishes. Mains 12-17 euros

Record shops

Mid-town
Nieuwendijk 104

Rush Hour
Spuistraat 98

Killa Cutz
Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 19-D

In Deep 'n' Dance Records
Rozengracht 60

More information

Amsterdam Dance Event

Amsterdam Tourist Board

Holland International canal cruises

Gareth Scurlock travelled with the Netherlands Board of Tourism and stayed at the Crown Plaza City Centre

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