Amsterdam Nightlife Busy Times (2026): Busiest Nights and Hours

When Amsterdam nightlife gets busy, night by night. BestTime forecasts.

Night by night

Every number here is a percentage of the venue's own weekly peak, where 100% is its busiest hour of the week. Averaged across 297 venues, 50% means the typical venue is about half as busy as at its peak. It is not a head count.

Friday and Saturday are hard to separate. The averages match, and venues split 44% to 49% on which is their busiest night. Friday has the higher peak, 80% against 75%. Saturday starts sooner: at 4 PM the average venue is already at 50% on a Saturday, against 40% on a Friday.

The drop after midnight is steep on both nights. On Friday the average venue is at 75% at 11 PM, 50% at midnight and 30% at 1 AM. Saturday follows almost the same curve: 70%, 50% and 30%.

Weeknights peak earlier, between 7 and 9 PM. Thursday is the busiest of them, yet almost no venue has Thursday as its busiest night (0%). Sunday averages 25%, above Monday, and peaks at 6 PM.

Neighborhoods

De Pijp

De Pijp leans Friday. Its 24 venues average 55% on a Friday against 50% on a Saturday, every one of them is lively on a Friday, and Friday is the busiest night for 62%. Friday peaks at 10 PM and Saturday an hour earlier, at 9 PM. Thursday is the busiest weeknight at 35%, and Monday and Sunday are equally quiet at 20%. For more detail, read our De Pijp nightlife guide.

Irish Pub O'Donnell's on Ferdinand Bolstraat peaks on Friday at 10 PM and is still at 95% at 11 PM. Café Gollem peaks on Friday at 9 PM, is at 90% at 11 PM on both weekend nights and reaches 60% late on weeknights. Café Brecht peaks on Saturday at 9 PM.

Café Gollem:

Irish Pub O'Donnell's:

Leidseplein

Leidseplein leans Saturday and stays out latest. Its 25 venues average 50% on a Saturday against 45% on a Friday, with 92% lively. Saturday is the busiest night for 64% of them, and it peaks at 11 PM. No other area in this guide peaks that late on a Saturday. Friday peaks at 10 PM. Thursday is the busiest weeknight at 30%, and Monday is the quietest at 20%.

Jazz Café Alto peaks on Saturday at 10 PM and is at 90% at 11 PM on a Friday. Aran Irish Pub on Max Euweplein is a weeknight bar: its busiest hour of the week is Wednesday at 8 PM, and it reaches 65% late on weeknights.

Jazz Café Alto:

Aran Irish Pub:

Rembrandtplein

Rembrandtplein is the most Saturday-focused area. Saturday is the busiest night for 71% of its 28 venues. It averages 55% with 93% lively, against 50% and 79% on a Friday. Both nights peak at 10 PM. Thursday averages 30%, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday are equally quiet at 25%.

The Three Sisters peaks on Saturday at 6 PM, holds 80% at 11 PM on both weekend nights and reaches 60% late on weeknights. Xtracold Icebar runs on an earlier clock: its busiest hour is Saturday at 6 PM, and it is at 0% by 11 PM.

The Three Sisters:

Jordaan

In the Jordaan, Friday and Saturday are equally busy at 50%, both peaking at 10 PM. Saturday is fuller, though: 96% of the 45 venues are lively on a Saturday, against 73% on a Friday. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are equally quiet at 25%.

The Jordaan stands out early in the week and on Sunday. 31% of its venues are lively on a Monday, more than in any other area. On Sunday it averages 30% with 40% of venues lively, also the highest share of any area. Weeknight and Sunday peaks come early, between 6 and 8 PM.

Waterkant on Marnixstraat peaks on Friday at 10 PM and is at 95% at 11 PM on a Saturday. Proeflokaal Arendsnest, the beer bar on Herengracht, peaks earlier, on Friday at 8 PM. O'Reilly's Irish Pub peaks on Friday at 9 PM and reaches 70% late on weeknights.

Waterkant:

Proeflokaal Arendsnest:

De Wallen

De Wallen has 64 venues, the most of any area. Saturday is the busiest night at 55%, Friday follows at 50%, and both peak at 10 PM with more than 90% of venues lively. Every other night averages 30%. That is the highest weeknight level in the city: no other area reaches 30% on a Monday. Even weeknights peak at 9 or 10 PM.

Excalibur Café peaks on Saturday at 10 PM and is at 100% at 11 PM on a Saturday. Café Old Sailor peaks on Saturday at 11 PM and reaches 65% late on weeknights.

Excalibur Café:

Café Old Sailor:

Oost

Oost is a small sample of 11 venues. It leans Friday: Friday averages 50% against 40% on Saturday, 91% of venues are lively against 73%, and Friday is the busiest night for 64%. Friday peaks late, at 11 PM. On weeknights and Sunday, venues peak at 6 PM. Monday, Tuesday and Sunday are equally quiet at 20%, and Thursday is the busiest weeknight at 25%.

Bar Bukowski on Oosterpark and Ruk en Pluk on Linnaeusstraat both peak on Friday at 11 PM. Café Kuijper peaks on Saturday at 10 PM and reaches 50% late on weeknights.

Bar Bukowski:

Café Kuijper:

Lively on a weeknight

We rank venues by weeknight late max mean: how close a venue gets to its own peak late on Monday to Thursday, averaged over those four nights. Four of the top six have their busiest hour of the whole week on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Pulitzer's Bar on Prinsengracht leads at 85%. Its busiest hour of the week is Tuesday at 10 PM.

Irish Pub Slainte on Warmoesstraat scores 80% and also peaks on Tuesday at 10 PM.

Cafe Corso and Café de Zeevaart, next to each other on Oudezijds Achterburgwal, score 80% and 75%. Both peak on Wednesday at 10 PM. Door 74 on Reguliersdwarsstraat and Hookah Lounge Amsterdam on Kinkerstraat also score 80%, but peak at the weekend.

Cafe Corso:

Busiest at 11 PM on a Friday

Five venues are at 100% at 11 PM on a Friday: Red Light Bar, Belushi's, Bar Bukowski, Cafe de Ebeling and 24K Karaoke Bar.

Red Light Bar on Oudezijds Achterburgwal peaks at exactly that hour, and it is at 95% at the same time on a Saturday.

Belushi's on Warmoesstraat peaks on Friday at 10 PM and reaches 55% late on weeknights.

24K Karaoke Bar is at 100% at 11 PM on a Saturday as well. Cafe de Ebeling on Overtoom is a weekend bar: it peaks on Friday at 11 PM but reaches only 15% late on weeknights.

24K Karaoke Bar:

Clubs

We looked at 19 venues listed as clubs. Saturday is their night: it is the busiest night for 68% of them, against 21% for Friday. Saturday averages 50% with 89% lively, and Friday 40% with 74% lively. Clubs peak at 11 PM on every night of the week, an hour after the average bar. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday all average 15%, and on Tuesday and Thursday no club is lively.

Escape on Rembrandtplein peaks on Saturday at 11 PM. At that hour it is at 100% on a Saturday but 65% on a Friday.

Club Prime, also on Rembrandtplein, peaks on Saturday at 11 PM and is at 85% at 11 PM on a Friday. Stone's Café Bar & Nightclub on Warmoesstraat peaks on Saturday at 10 PM. The list also includes late bars. The Waterhole, just off Leidseplein, is at 100% at 11 PM on both Friday and Saturday.

Club Prime:

The Waterhole:

Tips

• Friday and Saturday are equal across the city, so choose by area. De Pijp and Oost lean Friday. Rembrandtplein and Leidseplein lean Saturday.
• Get out by 10 PM. That is the weekend peak, and by 1 AM the average venue is down to 30%.
• On a weeknight, De Wallen holds 30% every night. Pulitzer's Bar, Irish Pub Slainte and Cafe Corso get closest to their own peak.
• On a Sunday, try the Jordaan: 40% of its venues are lively, with the peak at 6 PM.

How we measured

These numbers are BestTime forecasts, built from anonymized, aggregated phone location data combined with real-world signals such as weather, events and holidays. Each value is a percentage of that venue's own busiest hour of the week. Our nights run until 5 AM, so 1 AM after a Friday counts as Friday night. A typical-week forecast does not cover seasons, holidays, special events, door policy or queues. Read more about how the forecasts work.

Next steps

• See which bars are busy on a Friday night in the free Amsterdam bar guide.
• Check club busyness in the free Amsterdam nightclub guide.
• Read how to see if a bar or club is busy before you go.
• Browse all busy times guides.