This weekend, Amsterdam will be hosting over 2000 of the world's best dance acts, as the Amsterdam Dance Event (a wonderfully laid-back name if ever we heard one) gets underway.

For anyone attending – or planning to visit the city some other time – we asked local house legends Lars Dales and Maarten Smeets – otherwise known as Detroit Swindle – for their insider guide to the best bars, cafes and record shops to visit between all the fun.

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1 | Red Light Records
If you’re looking for a decent excuse for walking around the red light district, you can always say you’re on your way to Red Light Records. It’s literally in between a bunch of ‘windows’ and has a great collection of rare vinyls from spaced out Eurodisco to Brasilian drum bands. And you get a discount next door when you buy more than 2 records. True story.

Oudekerksplein 26a


2 | Razmatazz
A relaxed bar and restaurant slightly west of the centre with the largest and funkiest gin-tonic menu in town. Go there, try all of them and then have some more. 

Hugo de grootplein 7


3 | Nghia n Nghia
Get your Asian lunch kicks on at this off the beaten path spot on Rozengracht. Go for any of the Vietnamese rolls and forget all about yesterday’s hangover. It’s the best street food in town.

Rozengracht 106


4 | Hutspot
If you didn’t spend all your money on beer, go to Hutspot and slip into something more comfortable (and good looking) at this cool clothing / accessory shop. If you’ve got real cash to spend, go get your macbook customised with your own laser engraved logo. Oh and It’s also a bar and lunchroom and has a Yoga studio in the attic. Can’t go wrong there.

Rozengracht 204


5 | Studio 80
Yes we know Trouw is a club you’ve just “got to see”. But when the dust settles and everyone finally gets over Trouw closing down, Studio 80 will still have some awesome nights and will still be gritty, dark and have perfect sound. There’s a reason we run our party ‘The Great Escape’ there, so I suggest you go check it out.

Rembrandplein 17


6 | Volkshotel / Canvas 
Right across the street from Trouw is this funky hotel / bar / club / studio space. Go to Canvas on the 7th for a great view of the city and some really good sandwiches, or just go for drinks and a dance to enjoy there programming. Better even: sneak up to the roof and take a (skinny) dip in one of the hot tubs (or just get a hotel room, they’re nice as well).

Wibautstraat 150 


7 | FOAM
If you need a cultural excuse to visit Amsterdam during ADE, or if you’re just sick of meeting DJ’s, manager, friends of DJ’s and friends of the DJ’s manager, head to FOAM. it’s a cool photography museum with amazing exhibitions to feed your needy eyes and give your ears some rest. And when you’re done, you can hop back into the bubble called ADE and be cool about that new artist you just discovered.

Keizersgracht 609

See Detroit Swindle perform at the Amsterdam Dance Event, which takes place from 15 19 October
 

From: Esquire UK