Part of the Gay Amsterdam Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
One of Amsterdam's oldest LGBTQ+ bars, on Zeedijk since 1927.
Café 't Mandje has been on the Zeedijk since 1927, when 25-year-old Bet van Beeren took over a bar called the Amstelstroom from her uncle and renamed it after the basket, 't mandje, her mother used to bring her food in each day. Bet, an out lesbian known as the queen of the Zeedijk, ran a famously tolerant room where sailors, sex workers, and queer women mixed at a time when that simply wasn't done elsewhere; on Queen's Day the billiard table came out so men could dance with men and women with women. It's often called Amsterdam's first real gay café. After Bet died in 1967 her sister Greet kept it going until 1982, then preserved the interior intact for a quarter-century before the bar reopened in 2008, which is why the walls, the bric-a-brac, and the neckties hanging from the ceiling still read like a living museum. It's small and unpretentious, more a working brown café with a century of queer history than a nightlife stop, and worth a drink for anyone who wants to stand inside the actual room where Amsterdam's gay scene started.
Have feedback on this description? Let us knowDrag brunches, circuit nights & every party worth knowing in Amsterdam — in your inbox every week.
No upcoming events
Try checking a later date or browse events in the app
$41
$34
$76
$413
$6
$41
$212
$455
Experiences powered by Viator
Get the full experience — check in, follow this venue, and connect with the community.
August is summer's grand finale: WorldPride in Amsterdam, Chicago's Market Days, Provincetown Carnival, and the last big beach weekends. Here are the best gay events in August.
Robbie S.
The practical first-timer's guide to drag: what people actually wear, how much cash to bring, how to hand a tip to a queen without making it weird, and what the room expects of you.
Robbie S.
A gay bar is a bar. Here's what actually happens on a normal night, why walking in alone is easier than you think, and how to pick the right one for your first time.
Robbie S.
A calm, practical answer to every question first-timers actually have about gay bathhouses — how check-in works, the unwritten rules, what things cost, and why almost everyone there came alone.
Robbie S.
The rainbow flag has meant something specific since 1978 — one word per stripe, assigned by the man who dyed the first one. What every color means, why two stripes are gone, and all the other flags.
Robbie S.
Drag is an art form, not an identity, and what people assume about it is off. Here's what a drag queen actually is, where drag came from, what the job pays, and how the illusion gets built.
Robbie S.
