Concerts and shows in Amsterdam: Concertgebouw, opera, music venues

The venues at a glance

All these venues sell tickets on their official websites. If you are choosing between a concert and a night in the bars and clubs, see also our guide Amsterdam at night.

The Concertgebouw: the great hall of classical music

Opened in 1888 at the end of Museumplein (Concertgebouwplein 10, 1071 LN Amsterdam), the Concertgebouw is home to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and has one of the most renowned acoustics in the world. It programmes more than 700 concerts a year in two halls: the Main Hall (Grote Zaal), with about 2,000 seats, its organ and composers' names painted on the balconies, and the Recital Hall (Kleine Zaal), with about 440 seats, devoted to chamber music and recitals. The programme mixes touring orchestras, soloists, early music, jazz and concerts for children.

Tickets, discounts and dress

Prices depend on the concert and the seat category; some seats with a restricted view are sold for less. Under-30s can buy "sprint" tickets four hours before the concert starts: €18 in the Main Hall, €11 in the Recital Hall, subject to availability. There is no dress code: wear whatever you feel comfortable in. The cloakroom is free, and for many concerts a drink is included before the concert or during the interval.

The Concertgebouw is next to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum: an evening concert is easy to combine with a day in the Museum Quarter. Trams 5 and 12 stop at Museumplein and Van Baerlestraat, two minutes on foot.

Free lunchtime concerts

From September to June, the Concertgebouw gives a free 30-minute concert every week, from 12:30 to 13:00, usually on Wednesday: a public rehearsal by the orchestra, conservatory ensembles or young chamber musicians. You need a free ticket, bookable online no earlier than one week ahead, two per person at most. There are no concerts in July and August. These concerts are recommended from age 6.

Opera and ballet at the Nationale Opera & Ballet

The Nationale Opera & Ballet (Amstel 3, 1011 PN Amsterdam), often called the "Stopera" because it shares its building with the city hall, is home to Dutch National Opera and Dutch National Ballet. The main entrance faces the Amstel, on the Waterlooplein side. Operas on the main stage are surtitled in Dutch and English.

In autumn 2026 the programme includes the opera Cherry Town (8 to 20 October), Swan Lake by Dutch National Ballet (15 October to 8 November) and a staged version of Bach's St John Passion (10 to 26 November). Prices vary with the performance and the date of purchase: the closer the date, the more the remaining seats may cost. For performances that are not sold out, students can buy a €20 ticket from 13:00 on the day itself.

The box office only opens two hours before a performance on the main stage: buy your tickets online. Waterlooplein metro station (lines 51, 53 and 54) is a two-minute walk away.

The free Tuesday concert

From September to May, except over Christmas and on public holidays, a free concert takes place every Tuesday at 12:30 in the foyer: chamber music performed by members of the Dutch National Opera chorus, the resident orchestras or the Opera Studio. No booking: arrive a little early.

Theatre, musicals and comedy

Koninklijk Theater Carré

This large neoclassical theatre from 1887, originally built for a circus, is reflected in the Amstel next to the Magere Brug (Amstel 115-125, 1018 EM Amsterdam). It stages musicals, Dutch comedians, concerts and ballet, with regular English-language shows. Weesperplein metro station (lines 51, 53 and 54) is about six minutes on foot.

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam

The former Stadsschouwburg on Leidseplein (Leidseplein 26) is the municipal theatre and home of the ITA company. Performances are in Dutch, but some are surtitled in English: the theatre's calendar flags them.

Shows in English

For a show with no language barrier, Boom Chicago (Rozengracht 117, in the Jordaan) has been staging comedy and improv shows entirely in English for more than 30 years. Allow about two hours; there is a bar on site.

Pop, rock and electronic music: Paradiso and Melkweg

The city's two most famous venues are a stone's throw from Leidseplein. Paradiso (Weteringschans 6-8, 1017 SG Amsterdam) occupies a 19th-century former church that became a concert venue in the late 1960s; its main hall, beneath the stained-glass windows, remains one of the most sought-after rock stages in Europe. Melkweg (Lijnbaansgracht 234a, 1017 PH Amsterdam), a former dairy on a canal, has several halls of different sizes, from the small stage to the large Max hall.

Two things surprise visitors:

• Membership: both venues are associations. For most events you have to add a one-month membership to your ticket, €4.50 at Paradiso as at Melkweg, usually offered together with the ticket.
• Payment: at Paradiso you can only pay by card (American Express not accepted). Cloakrooms are replaced by paid lockers: from €3.50 to €6.50 at Paradiso, €4 or €7.50 at Melkweg.

Concerts generally have no minimum age, but club nights are usually 18+, with photo ID. At Paradiso, remaining tickets are only sold at the door once doors open. Trams 2, 11 and 12 to Leidseplein; metro 52 to Vijzelgracht for Paradiso.

The big venues in the south-east: Ziggo Dome, AFAS Live and Johan Cruijff ArenA

International tours stop in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, around Bijlmer ArenA station. The Ziggo Dome (De Passage 100, 1101 AX Amsterdam), with about 17,000 places, hosts the biggest indoor tours. AFAS Live (Johan Cruijff Boulevard 590), with about 6,000 places, hosts mid-sized concerts. The Johan Cruijff ArenA, Ajax's stadium, is used for open-air summer concerts.

From Centraal Station, metro 54 (and 50 from the west of the city) reaches Bijlmer ArenA in just over a quarter of an hour; Sprinter trains stop there too. Allow about ten minutes on foot to the Ziggo Dome and three minutes to AFAS Live. After a big concert the platforms are crowded: wait a little, or walk to Duivendrecht station, a quarter of an hour away.

Jazz and contemporary music on the IJ

A fifteen-minute walk east of Centraal Station, the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ (Piet Heinkade 1) programmes contemporary and classical music, world music and film concerts in a glass hall facing the water. Right next door, the Bimhuis, the leading jazz club in the Netherlands, holds more than 300 jazz, improvised and world music concerts a year. Tram 26 stops in front of both venues.

On the other bank, the former NDSM shipyard hosts festivals and parties in its halls, reached by the free ferry from Centraal Station.

Listening to music for free

Times noted in October 2026. The Wednesday recital at the Westerkerk combines with a visit to the Anne Frank House next door; in summer, the open-air theatre in the Vondelpark programmes dance, comedy and music. More ideas in our guide to free things to do.

Buying tickets at the right price

• Use the venue's official website or the ticket office it names. Resale sites often show prices well above face value, and a ticket bought from a stranger in the street or on social media may be fake: see our guide to scams and safety.
• Young people get the best deals: Concertgebouw sprint tickets for under-30s, a €20 same-day student ticket at the opera, and discounts with the Dutch CJP card at many venues.
• Big weeks need booking early. During Amsterdam Dance Event, from 21 to 25 October 2026, the city's clubs and venues sell out; Dutch National Ballet even presents a remixed Swan Lake on 21 October at the Gashouder in Westergas. See our guide to the best time to visit.

Getting back after the show

The central venues (Concertgebouw, Leidseplein, Carré, the opera) are less than half an hour on foot from most hotels in the centre. Trams and metros run until early in the night; after that, GVB night buses leave Centraal Station for the different districts, with a separate ticket. If you cycle back, switch on your lights and lock your bike in the designated parking, such as the free, supervised one at Leidseplein. All fares and tickets are in our guide to public transport in Amsterdam.

Further reading

To carry on the evening after a concert, our guide Amsterdam at night presents the bars and the districts to go out in. The Museum Quarter combines with a concert at the Concertgebouw, and our free things to do list other concerts with no paid ticket.