So since moving to Europe we’ve been told by everyone that Gay Pride in Amsterdam in the Netherlands is the funnest, wildest and most unique Pride event in Europe!
So we of course took on the challenge head on and were so lucky enough that we could share the weekend with so many friends flying in for a reunion from the U.S, Europe and Australia!
Watch our video on how awesome Amsterdam Gay Pride is and read below for more info on how to plan your trip!
When is Amsterdam LGBT Pride?
From the last Saturday of July to the first Sunday of August.
What makes Amsterdam Gay Pride so special?
First off, Amsterdam is one of the most sexually liberal cities in the world!
It has the red light district, leading laws of LGBT inclusion, relaxed drug laws (Marijuana is legal) and a fiercely open and diverse nightlife.
In 2001, The Netherlands was also the first country in the world to pass same sex marriage! 4 years ahead of Spain and Canada.
And furthermore, the most standout event is the pride parade which is a parade of more than 80 floats cruising through the main canal of the city. And it’s the only Pride parade in THE WORLD that takes place on water.
More than half a million spectators and LGBT supporters fill the entire city to watch the parade almost doubling the population of the inner city.
So it’s a major and elaborate spectacle to see, as much for the spectacle that is the fashion, colour and fabulousness of a floating gay pride parade as is the overwhelming and welcomed size of the broader community support of the LGBT community.
Best way to watch the parade
So like most LGBT prides worldwide, there is a full week of pride celebrations with the pinnacle celebration day being the day of the parade on the last Saturday of pride week. And the parade runs from 1-5 pm but the party on the canal goes on all morning before the parade and for hours after.
The parade runs through two of the main canals with the majority of the parade running through the Prinsengracht canal. Map below for reference of the full route from this year (2018):
The inner city gets so packed with people that the best place to watch the parade is from a boat on the side of the canal so you have your own space, so you can bring drinks and food, and even better if you have a bathroom to avoid needing to push through crowds and wait in line forever just to have a wee!
We rented a 40 person boat between our friends and opened it up for strangers from all around the world to join us as well! We had new and old friends join from every continent and it made for so much more of a fun and diverse party. See our event here.
If you want to get your own boat BOOK EARLY as boats are limited and book up months in advance. If you want to join other boats they are advertised everywhere online or if you visit the Amsterdam Pride Facebook page in the lead up to pride week.
One of the guys who joined us on the boat is another YouTube Travel and LGBT blogger named CK TEH. He got even more footage of the parade in his video.
Is there more than “just” a parade?
First off there are so many gay clubs in Amsterdam including Fame, Cafe Montmartre, Queer’s Cafe, Soho, Club Nyx, Taboo, Dirty Dick’s, Prik and a million more. The street with Taboo and Club Nyx and many other bars is busy with on the street partiers all week leading up to Saturday getting the busiest Saturday night.
On the Friday and Saturday night there are street parties and concerts set up all over the city including on the “Homomonument” near the Anne Frank House.
The official after party post parade is the Funhouse XXL party thrown off by Club Rapido which runs from 8pm Saturday to 9am Sunday morning. It’s a collection of clubs, bars and warehouse style party areas with multiple stages and DJ circuits from all over the world. We went there and had a great time.
Plus there are many other after parties and after after parties for the not faint of heart!
Where to stay?
Hotels for Pride in Amsterdam book up solid so book early. We wanted to stay pretty central but still stay cheap without staying in a hostel and we found a great hotel called Hotel Monopole which was directly in front of one of the canals, right above a great indoor/outdoor gay bar Queer’s Cafe and right next to a few more including Fame and Cafe Montmartre. There are some complaints on Trip Advisor that it was too loud being above a bar but we barely even noticed slash were part of the crowd partying down there anyway!
So who’s coming next year?
We had such an amazing time over a 5 day weekend and we STILL missed so much. So are definitely going back next year! Who’s in! Get in touch especially if there is something we just HAVE to do next year.
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Thanks guys!
Chris and Larry
