Part of the Gay Amsterdam Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam's oldest women's bar — a Jordaan brown café since 1978.
Saarein has held its corner of the Jordaan since 1978, when a collective of ten women took over the bar from a couple named Saar and Rein and turned it into Amsterdam's first women-only café, the name a contraction of the previous owners'. It's recognized as the city's oldest lesbian café, and in 1999 a new owner opened the door policy to all queer-minded people, but the lesbian crowd is still the core and sets the tone. What you get is a classic Dutch brown café rather than a bar with a scene: a pool table, darts, pinball, cheap drinks, and conversation, in a low-key room where regulars and visitors mix without attitude. In a nightlife landscape that has lost most of its dedicated women's spaces, it's one of the few queer bars in Amsterdam that genuinely feels like a neighborhood local, and worth the short walk west from the center to find it.
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
$411
$6
$41
$211
$453
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.
