Amsterdam Gay Travel Guide 2025

Upcoming Events in Amsterdam

|  18 August 2025
Hartjesdag 2025: shrill, traditional cross-dressing street carnival at the Zeedijk where women dress as men and men dress as women.
12:00 – 22:00 @ Zeedijk
|  24 August 2025
Superflirt Festival 2025: annual queer festival in the east of Amsterdam with several stages of various hosts from the LGBTQ scene.
13:00 – 23:00 @ Kaap Amsterdam (IJdijk 10)
|  13 September 2025
StreetHeart Festival 2025: annual queer street party in front of the gay club Church, with DJs, shows, food and drinks.
13:00 – 21:00 @ Kerkstraat 46-53
|  18 October 2025
The Garden of Backdoor: LGBTQ+ party in the south of Amsterdam, with DJ Chris Turina, Manuel Coby and Diego Summers.
Tickets: from 25/33 €
23:00 – 05:00 @ Levenslang (H.J.E. Wenckebachweg 48)

About Amsterdam and its gay life

Amsterdam had been a powerful city of maritime trade fame for many centuries. In the second half of the 20th century it was considered the gay capital of Europe, due to the beauty of the city and due to the city's liberal atmosphere which was far ahead of most other European cities and countries at that time.

As our Amsterdam Gay Maps show, there are several gay areas in Amsterdam, all of them not really far from each other. First of all you got the street with the unpronounceable name, Reguliersdwarsstraat, which is rather mainstream and quite busy at the weekend. Nearby are the Amstel street and Kerkstraat. And finally there are Warmoesstraat and Zeedijk in the very center of Amsterdam.

As you can see on our Clubs & Parties page there aren't many regular gay clubs and parties left in Amsterdam nowadays. The most popular and crowded parties are those which happen monthly or every few months. So, if you like dancefloors with hundreds of half-naked sweating guys, check for the next dates of those irregular parties.

Annual highlights and queer events in Amsterdam are the LGBTQ film festival Roze Filmdagen in March, King's Day on the 27th (or 26th) of April, the Milkshake Festival in July and the Amsterdam Gay Pride with the canal parade in August.