Amsterdam is a low city, so a rooftop bar here is either genuinely high or it is a first-floor terrace with a marketing budget.
The six below are the ones with a real vantage point, listed with the floor, the height where it is published, the address and the hours, because several of them close far earlier than you would expect a bar to.
1) Floor 17, Amsterdam West
Floor17 sits on the seventeenth floor of the Leonardo Hotel Amsterdam Rembrandtpark at Staalmeesterslaan 410, and at 85 metres it is the highest terrace in the city.
The restaurant and cocktail bar run from four in the afternoon until midnight Sunday to Thursday and until one on Friday and Saturday, with the kitchen open five until ten.
The terrace itself opens at noon and closes at ten, weather permitting, which is the line to check before travelling out there.
The hotel gives three hours of free parking, which is unusual enough in Amsterdam to be a reason in itself.
2) A’DAM Lookout, Amsterdam Noord
A’DAM Lookout is the observation deck and sky bar on top of the A’DAM Toren, directly across the IJ from Centraal and about five minutes on the free ferry.
It is open from ten in the morning until ten at night with last entry at nine, and Friday and Saturday evenings bring live DJ sets in the panorama bar.
Entry is roughly 16.50 to 19 euros depending on whether you book online, and the Over the Edge swing at 100 metres is a separate ticket of around 7.50.
Unlike the others here you pay to get in before you buy a drink, so treat it as an attraction with a bar rather than a bar with a view.
3) LuminAir, Oosterdok
LuminAir is the eleventh-floor sky bar and terrace at Oosterdoksstraat 4, beside Centraal, and it is the venue that used to trade as SkyLounge.
Its hours are the widest on this list: five until midnight on Monday and Tuesday, five until one on Wednesday, and from noon until the small hours Thursday to Saturday.
Sunday runs noon to midnight, which makes it the reliable option for an afternoon drink at height.
The outlook is across the IJ and the old town roofs, and the pricing matches the hotel it sits on.
4) Canvas, Amsterdam Oost
Canvas is on the seventh floor of the Volkshotel at Wibautstraat 150, above the Wibautstraat metro stop, and looks over the Amstel and the centre.
It opens every day for breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks, so it is the one on this list you can use at any hour without a plan.
Canvas Nights bring DJs and live music on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and on Friday and Saturday the restaurant turns into a dance floor with free entry.
That means the room you book a table in at eight is not the room you are standing in at midnight.
5) Blue Amsterdam, Kalverstraat
Blue is a glass tower on the third floor of the Kalverpassage at Singel 457, 30 metres up with a 360-degree outlook taking in the Munttoren, the Rijksmuseum and Centraal.
It is a café and restaurant rather than a bar, open ten to half past six most days, until eight on Thursday and from eleven on Sunday.
That makes it the daytime option and the cheapest way to get a wide view of the centre, over coffee or a glass of wine rather than a cocktail list.
Walk-ins are fine and reservations are only taken until midday on weekdays, so it also works when everything else needs booking.
6) Zoku, Plantage
Zoku’s rooftop at Weesperstraat 105 is a greenhouse and garden terrace rather than a bar counter with a railing, a few minutes from Artis.
It combines glasshouse seating with open terrace and an indoor lounge, so it survives the weather better than any other entry here.
It is the least formal of the six and the one that tolerates staying for several hours.
Choosing By Time Of Day And Budget
For an afternoon view without a bill, Blue is the answer, and it is the only one open at ten in the morning.
For sunset, Floor17 has the height and LuminAir has the water, and both need booking on summer weekends.
For a night that turns into something else, Canvas is the one with the DJ schedule and no door charge on Friday and Saturday.
For a first visit where the view is the point rather than the drink, A’DAM Lookout is the honest choice, ticket price and all.
Amsterdam terraces are busiest between late April and September, and outside that window several of them close at the first sign of rain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Amsterdam rooftop has the highest terrace?
Floor17 at the Leonardo Hotel Rembrandtpark, at 85 metres on the seventeenth floor.
A’DAM Lookout is higher still at 100 metres for the swing, but it is an observation deck with an admission charge rather than a terrace you walk onto.
Which rooftop bar is best for sunset drinks in the centre?
LuminAir on the eleventh floor at Oosterdoksstraat 4, which opens at noon Thursday to Sunday and stays open late.
Book ahead for summer weekends and arrive an hour before sunset if you want a seat facing the water.
Is there a rooftop with a swing?
A’DAM Lookout’s Over the Edge swing hangs off the roof at 100 metres.
It is ticketed separately from entry, at around 7.50 euros on top of the 16.50 to 19 euro admission.
What is LuminAir and what happened to SkyLounge?
They are the same eleventh-floor terrace beside Centraal, which now trades as LuminAir.
The view is unchanged, across the IJ and the roofs of the old centre.
Which rooftop works in bad weather?
Zoku, because its rooftop is largely a greenhouse with indoor lounge seating attached.
Blue is also indoors, in a glass tower, so neither depends on the forecast.
Which suits a group celebration?
Canvas at the Volkshotel, which programmes DJs four nights a week and lets the restaurant become a dance floor at weekends without charging entry.
Floor17 is the alternative if you want the group seated with a view rather than standing.
