Part of the Gay Amsterdam Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Gay cruising bar with dark rooms and a sling near Amsterdam Centraal
The Cuckoo's Nest is a gay cruise bar near Nieuwezijds Kolk in the Centrum, open since 1984 and originally a leather bar. The ground floor is a normal bar where you can have a drink and talk; the real draw is downstairs, where a sprawling basement darkroom — long rated among the largest in Europe — runs as a labyrinth of maze, cabins and a sling. It caters to gay men and skews cruisy rather than social, though the front bar keeps things easy for a first drink. Action picks up in the afternoon and again after work, with the late evening busiest. There's no cover; the expectation is simply that you buy a drink. It sits a few minutes from Dam Square and the western edge of the Red Light District, which makes it an easy add to a night already happening in the center.
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