17 October 2023
When choosing a location for meetings and events, Amsterdam consistently ranks as a top choice. With its rich history, stunning venues, and vibrant atmosphere, the Dutch capital offers a unique and inspiring setting for any gathering. Amsterdam is so much more than the red light district and coffeeshops that it is known for. Its unique canals with their 17th century houses are worth a stroll, both in the daytime and at night when the lights go on.
Why Amsterdam?
- Centrally located: Amsterdam is a hub of international travel, making it easily accessible for attendees from around the world. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is one of Europe's busiest airports, ensuring convenient connections. A train can get you to the city center in just about 20 minutes.
Unique venues: The city boasts an array of unique venues, from historic canal houses to modern conference centers. Consider hosting your event in a canal-side mansion, a former industrial building turned chic event space, or even a cutting-edge museum.- Multilingual and diverse: Amsterdam's population is known for its diversity and fluency in English, making it an ideal location for international events. You won't have to worry about language barriers here.
- Cultural richness: With world-class museums like the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House, attendees can explore Amsterdam's cultural heritage during downtime.
Recommended Venues
- Beurs van Berlage: This historic stock exchange building turned event venue offers grandeur and elegance. It's perfect for conferences, product launches, and exhibitions. This location that has multiple spaces and breakout rooms, can be booked for events of 200 persons and up.
- EYE Filmmuseum: Situated on the banks of the IJ River, this contemporary venue offers stunning views of the city and is ideal for film screenings, presentations, and receptions. The location offers various unique event spaces for events from 10 to 900 guests, each with its own style and character.
- The Royal Concertgebouw: For a touch of classical elegance, consider this renowned concert hall. Its acoustics are exceptional, making it suitable for concerts, award ceremonies, and gala dinners. The building offers five multifunctional spaces that can accommodate groups from 25 – 1950 people, depending of the type of event.
- The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history. The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt (a.o. The Night Watch), Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer (a.o. The Milkmaid). The museum also has a small Asian collection, which is on display in the Asian pavilion.
- The Van Gogh Museum is situated in the same area as the Rijksmuseum and is dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries. The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings in the world, among which the famous Almond Blossoms, Sunflowers, Irises, and Potato Eaters.
- Anne Frank House: A must see when you are in Amsterdam is the house where Anne Frank and her family hid from the nazis during the WW II. The house, together with the two adjacent buildings, opened as a museum to the public in 1960. It contains a permanent exhibition about the life and diaries of Anne Frank, as well as an exhibition space about all kinds of persecution and discrimination. The museum is the third most visited museum in the Netherlands, after the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. Tickets are only available online, be sure to plan well in advance.
- RAI Amsterdam: Located not far from the center of the city, this multifunctional exhibition and conference center accommodates a wide range of events. From meetings to large-scale conferences, whether it concerns a meeting with 10 people or a trade fair with more than fifty thousand people.
- Amsterdam Lookout, located on top of the A’DAM Tower in Amsterdam North, is an observation deck with an unrivalled panoramic view of Amsterdam. Daredevils and thrill seekers can get their adrenaline rush with Europe’s highest swing ‘Over The Edge’ and dangle 100 metres above the ground, back and forth over the edge of the tower. The building also offers multiple options for meetings or events for small and large groups.
- Zaanse Schans: This unique part of the Netherlands just north of Amsterdam, is full of authentic wooden houses, mills, barns and workshops. Stroll past the bakery museum and enjoy the smell of fresh cookies or look at the warehouse where clogs are made. You should be sure not to miss the cheese factory, pewter foundry and the various windmills.
Beurs van Berlage
Amsterdam Eye
De Zaanse Schans
More about Amsterdam
- Flower Power: The Netherlands is famous for its tulips, and Amsterdam's floating flower market, the Bloemenmarkt, is the only one of its kind in the world.
- Canals Galore: Amsterdam is often referred to as the "Venice of the North" due to its extensive canal system, even though Amsterdam has more canals than Venice. In fact, there are over 100 km (about 62.14 mi) of canals (grachten), of which the historical 17th century canal ring area, named Grachtengordel, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2010. Book a boat trip to explore Amsterdam from the water.
- The Vondelpark is Amsterdam’s largest city park, and certainly the most famous park in the Netherlands. ‘Amsterdammers’ as well as tourists enjoy sunny days, dog-walking, jogging, roller-skating, listening to music, people-watching, or just lying in the grass. Free concerts are given at the open-air theatre or in the summer at the park's bandstand. Other attractions are the statue of the poet Vondel and the historical Pavilion with its restaurant Vertigo, opening in summer a popular terrace.
Bicycles Rule: With over 800,000 bicycles in the city, Amsterdam is one of the most bike-friendly places in the world. You'll often see more bikes than cars on the streets so watch out when crossing cycle lanes.- Tolerance and Diversity: Amsterdam is renowned for its progressive values and openness in regard to the LGBTQ+ community. It was the first city in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Amsterdam Pride, Amsterdam Gay Pride or Pride Amsterdam is a citywide queer-festival held annually at the center of Amsterdam during the first weekend of August. The festival attracts several hundred-thousand visitors each year and is one of the largest publicly held annual events in the Netherlands. The peak of the festival is during the Canal Parade, a parade of boats of large variety on the first Saturday of August.
Amsterdam offers a perfect blend of accessibility, unique venues, and cultural richness for meetings and events. Whether you're planning a conference, a gala dinner, or a corporate retreat, the Dutch capital is sure to leave a lasting impression on your attendees. So, consider Amsterdam for your next event, and immerse yourself in the charm and vibrancy of this extraordinary city.