Amsterdam, Netherlands
Other Fun Stuff
Bridgevereniging Gay Forcing
Such a cool name! This is Amsterdam's LGBT bridge club, popular with both men and women.
Eastern Bathhouse Hammam
Mmmmm…. Hammam. One of my favorite words in the world. Who doesn’t love a Middle-Eastern inspired sauna with rub downs, wash downs and massages? This hammam is for men only on Mondays, but for the rest of the week it’s just girls, girls, girls! But erase all those dirty, sexy thoughts from your mind. Despite all the lesbians, it also draws in a lot of straight women with their daughters or moms, and knickers are a must. A lovely place to relax with a group of friends.
Zaanstraat 88
Amsterdam
Fenomeen
A wonderfully unique experience, Fenomeen in the Binnepret Square is a lovely, modest and charming sauna that was a squat back in the mid-1980s. On Mondays it’s women-only, meaning it’s chock full of lesbians. Beyond the massages, sunbeds, relaxation tank, Turkish bath and courtyard shower there’s also good food. Fenomeen is a back to the roots kind of place with organic juices, herbal teas and wholesome, healthy snacks.
1e Schinkelstraat 14-16
Amsterdam
Het Vrouwenhuis (aka the Women's House)
Housed in a former school building, this women’s centre was originally squatted in 1973 by a number of people, including the group of women who founded Amsterdam’s first lesbian café, the Saarein. The space eventually became legitimized and now welcomes a number of women’s and lesbian groups and offers all kinds of classes from dance to self-defence to web design. They’ve also got a great feminist library with about 3000 titles and to boot, there’s a bar on site. One note, they’re usually closed from July to about mid-August.
Nieuwe Herengracht 95
Amsterdam
Tel: 625 2066
www.vrouwennuvoorlater.nl
Internationaal Informatiecentrum en Archief voor de Vrouwenbeweging
This long name translates into the International Information Centre and Archives for the Women's Movement. This is the national library, documentation centre and archives on the position of women and women's studies in the Netherlands.
Obiplein 4
Amsterdam
www.iiav.nl
International Homo/Lesbian Information Center and Archives
The IHLIA is Amsterdam’s biggest collection of queer documentation in all its forms: books, magazines, posters, audio tapes, flyers, dissertations, CDs, t-shirts, pulp fiction… the list goes on and on. They also have a great collection of queer information on issues like coming out, gay parenting etc. To boot, they’re a resource, centre, so if you’ve got any questions about homo Amsterdam, they’re here to help. The centre is now housed in the new Amsterdam Public Library near Central Station.
Nieuwpoortkade 2A
Amsterdam
www.ihlia.nl
Kattenkabinet (the Cat Museum)
Can we say lez? The world’s only museum dedicated to our feline friends! See how the world has appreciated pussies over the centuries in sculpture, painting and print.
Herengracht 497
Amsterdam
Movies That Matter
This is a regular film series hosted by the local chapter of Amnesty International. Many of the films they screen deal with LGBT and women's issues, and they're often in English.
The Amsterdam Stetsons
Well, who knew? Even in the most European of cities, you can still wear cowboy hats and two-step. The Stetsons meet up on Mondays (for beginners to advanced) and Tuesdays (for the seriously advanced). While this is more popular with gay men, a fair number of lesbians are also regulars.
The Homomonument
A moving memorial to the gays and lesbians who lost their lives during WWII. Each year on May 4th, the Netherlands' National Remembrance Day, people from all walks of life gather at the Homomonument to commemorate the gay and lesbian victims of war. Representatives from political parties, social organisations, the military, the police, dignitaries and regular people all come to observe the traditional two minutes of silence at 8 p.m. and to listen to the speakers. The Homomonument is located right next to the gay and lesbian information centre, the Pink Point.
Located at the corner of Keizersgracht and Westermarkt streets at the foot of the Westerkerk (Wester Church).
www.homomonument.nl
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The Anne Frank house is actually just around the corner from the Homomonument. And the Pink Point is more like a stand than an actual “centre”.
Rebecca on Sep 18, 2007
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