Join the Youth Hostel Association and then book one of the three hostels in Amsterdam - I prefer the Vondelpark, if you get enough going it's a hoot or - but you can also book a family room. And it's oh-so cheap!

www.yha.org.uk/

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I came to Amsterdam, a cynic of all things jazz and bohemian. I left 'Cafe Eijlders' with great memories of friendly locals, attentive barstaff, nice beer, good music and a promise to return

Café Eijlders
Korte Leidsedwarsstraat 47
1017 PW Amsterdam
telefoon: 020 - 624 2704.
www.eijlders.nl

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Intimate in the way only tapas bars can be intimate, prices here are very reasonable and the atmosphere is suitably Mediterranean. The scratched-on-with-a-knife graffiti decor is not, however, to everyone's taste.

0031 20 422 62 50
124 Utrechtsestraat

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A jenever (gin) tasting house (aka bar).

As well as the usual Bols jenevers, this delightful small bar has a large range of flavoured gins (including liquorice and a salty one), aged 5 & 10 year old gins and bitters (their own brand Olofspoortje Bitter is on my desk at the moment - a very nice bitter orange 30%).

The bar is on the corner of the main Red Light area, not far from Centraal Station. I went on a busy evening & approached from the wrong direction, past hoards of drunken English tourists trying to find somewhere to get ... well, what do people go here for?

But this historic bar was nice & quiet - about 10 Dutch people (including two who were tourists), and a small party of Japanese who were shown into a back room for a 'tutored tasting'. I stayed & tried to understand as much Dutch as I could, whilst selecting the more unusual jenevers.

Beer, cheese and other snacks are also available.

Nieuwe Brugsteeg 13, 1012 AG Amsterdam; tel 020 624 3918

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Every weekend hip Amsterdammers descend on the beach 20 minutes outside the city. By day the area is a sea of gorgeous looking bikinied bodies and surfer dudes lounging on over-sized cushions and hammocks, by night there is dancing in the sand at one of the Ibiza style-clubs. It's a glamorous hippy vibe with yoga classes held in between DJ stints.

Trains to Bloemendaal leave from Amsterdam Centraal Station every half-hour. It's a short taxi ride from the station to the beach.

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Berets and wristbands abound in the the place my mate Matt calls "Ebelingo" because there's so much chalk that the whole place is chattering. He's great. Anyway, come to the Ebeling for great service and even better house DJ's. A must.

Overtoom 50/52
1054 HK
Tel: 020 689 45 58
www.cafeebeling.com

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It's the Whitney Houston to the Tig's Bobbie Brown. More likely to be filled with media types walking around tugging on each others’ sculptured facial hair and discussing the 'lighting' on their latest shoot. On Sundays the clientele changes and you can enjoy a mediocre Harvester style experience that'll have you pining for home.

At the back of the Tig Barra

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Cool, stylish cocktail bar just off popular Leidseplein. The staff and clientele are easy on the eye and the toilets are dark with a nice flat surface to rest your cigarette or book or whatever. Sometimes the regulars can get a bit rowdy and it has been known for a slap or two to be administered, but in general the atmosphere is chilled, just like the drinks. The food is average but bearable and affordable.

Korte Leidesedwarsstraat 45, near leidseplein; trams 1,2,5,10

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Tiny brown cafe run by sports mad. You can watch all your foreign sports there and chat to the colourful locals, Steven, an expat who's always on crutches losing things and hiding from his wife, Conor, a mumbling wood carver who used to market deodorants and Beard, a young sailor with a dark past. Fantastic! Great 'tostis' as well.

Westerkerk

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A great bar for Sunday afternoon jazz (4pm – 7pm). There’s also excellent, cheap food served through the week from 7pm.

Kloveniersburgwal 59

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It may seem rather strange to be drinking Belgian beers in Holland but this little bar is just fantastic.

The bar area is tiny and with wooden tables, stone floor and tan walls covered in old-fashioned advertisements for many of the beers they sell. It has eight Belgian beers on tap and 30 in bottles. The beer menu is very well written, informative but also very amusing, giving you background on where the beer was brewed and also the percentage alcohol content, very important if you intend to stay for more that one or two.

The girl behind the bar was extremely friendly and also knowledgeable about the beers on sale. You can also order bar snacks such as toasties, cheese and mustard (perfect with beer) and extremely spicy sausages.

Gravenstraat 2, just behind the Nieuwe Kerk and Dam Square

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In de Wildeman certainly justifies its label as a bierproeflokal (beer tasting house) with its choice of 200 bottled beers and another 18 or so on tap.

Kolksteeg 3 (an alleyway not far away from the Centraal Station/Dam Square); www.indewildeman.nl

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This is one of the hippest bars/restaurants in Amsterdam, with price tags to match. It is partly owned by the son of John de Mol (of Endemol and Big Brother fame) and is very popular with the type of Dutch person who features in the equivalent of Hello!. That said, the Chinese fusion food served in tiny portions in a dark and sexy interior is great, the margaritas alcoholic but delicious, the people watching, of course, fantastic and you can repair to the club downstairs when you have finished eating.

Don't go here for a romantic meal but do go to see the Dutch equivalent of Jodie Marsh and Rio Ferdinand at play.

A short walk from the Leideplein and the PC; Hoofdstraat at Hobbemastraat 2; tel: 020 616 6664; www.the-mansion.nl

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Great Middle Eastern restaurant with a difference. Belly dancers, henna tatoos and fortune tellers combine with great food and a very sexy atmosphere to make this a really special place to go in the Jordaans district.

Rozengracht 133-1, Amsterdam; tel: 020 344 64 01
www.worldsbestbars.com/city/amsterdam/nomads-amsterdam.htm

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A small Proeflokaal (tasting House) selling many types of flavoured Jenever (Dutch gin). There’s sawdust on the floor, and you drink from small glasses, filled to the brim. The bar only opens in the afternoon and early evening. It’s always full of locals and well worth a visit.

Pilsteeg, which is just off Dam Square by the side of the Hotel Krasnapolski

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Along the Prinsengracht heading towards the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, there are several cheap and cheerful bars. In the summer they have excellent seating along the canal.

Prinsengracht Canel, the nearest tram stop is Westermarkt

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This is the brewery-tap of the excellent 't Ij brewery. Spit & sawdust would probably be a step up for the place, but the beers brewed on the premises make it well worth a visit. I particularly recommend trying the Columbus and the Struis, both of which score 5/5 on my personal beer scale. Unfortunately opening hours are restricted - it's only open Wednesday to Sunday, 1500-2000.

Funenkade 7; Tel: 020-3201786; www.brouwerijhetij.nl

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Without doubt the best beer bar in Amsterdam, this is a traditional brown cafe with a tremendous range of beer and staff who know about that beer. I understand the barrels at the back of the main room are from the Genever distillery that the building used to house. Unusually for a Dutch bar, there's even a non-smoking room. It can be quite hard to find, being down an alleyway, but there's a map on their website.

Kolksteeg 3; only a short walk from Amsterdam Centraal Station; tel: 020 427 86 60; www.indewildeman.nl

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