Essentially Amsterdam – Monday, October 26, 2026

Monday October 26, 2026

Good morning, Amsterdam. Today: Storm Boelo cancels nearly 80 flights at Schiphol, IJburg residents move into a building they developed themselves, and a disco exhibition at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam is free with a Stadspas.

IJburg residents move into building they developed themselves: Akropolis IJburg is Amsterdam’s fourth new-build housing cooperative, and like the other three it is in Oost. A residents’ association owns the 31-home building and rents out the social and mid-rent flats. At least half the residents are 55 or older, and at least 20% are families.

Princess Alexia dances at Amsterdam Dance Event party: Queen Máxima filmed her daughter as the pair were spotted dancing to a set by DJ Tonno Disko at a party in Zaandam. The royal family has previously been seen at concerts by Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Jay-Z. This year’s festival, the 30th edition, ends on 25 October.

Westerpark’s Café-Restaurant Amsterdam turns 30 with little changed: Café-Restaurant Amsterdam, known locally as Cradam, opened thirty years ago in a former drinking water pumping station as the city’s biggest restaurant, with 300 seats. Its managers, there since day one, say the interior is almost untouched: only the ashtrays have gone, and the menu is largely the same.

Johanna’s Jordaan supper club seats strangers for €15: Once a month, Johanna Hagen cooks a homemade meal at Café R. de Rosa for eight to ten neighbours and encourages guests to come alone. She keeps the table small so older guests can hear each other, and regulars now wonder how anyone who misses a dinner is doing.

Storm Boelo cancels nearly 80 Schiphol flights: The wind has put some runways out of use, so fewer planes can land and take off, and most cancellations are KLM flights to cities such as Paris, Manchester and Hamburg. In central Amsterdam, the storm brought a tree down on a moving car; the driver was unhurt.

Disco exhibition at Wereldmuseum Amsterdam, free with Stadspas: The Wereldmuseum in Oost is showing hundreds of disco tracks, videos, art and fashion, including work by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring, until 22 August 2027. Regular tickets cost €18. A local guide also points to record shops, vintage clothing and cocktail bars in Oud-West and the Haarlemmerbuurt.

Zuidoost college builds mock street to train enforcers: The training course for municipal enforcement officers at the ROC college in Zuidoost has a recreated street where students practise handling conflict. Over 80% of the city’s officers regularly face aggression, so role-play time has doubled, with scenarios from blocked zebra crossings to drunken tourists quarrelling on the Wallen.

Amsterdam city debt could top €10 billion: The coalition’s budget, presented last month, includes cuts meant to keep borrowing in check. A public administration scholar says debt should be weighed against the city’s assets, while VVD leader Daan Wijnants warns the main lender, Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten, could balk at that level.

Amsterdam’s Bouchon du Centre reborn as Tire-Bouchon: After 27 years, Hanneke has retired and handed her French restaurant to Paul Verbunt and his son Lucas, who kept the old interior but dropped the Lyon menu. Expect shared small plates, around twenty wines by the glass from about €7.50, and no reservations.

Ice skating on Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum as backdrop: A rink stood on this spot from 1887 to 1937, and now ‘t Wak serves hot chocolate and dinner overlooking the ice. 26 October, Schaatsbaan Museumplein. OUTDOOR / ACTIVE

Play jitsu for toddlers aged two to four in Noord: A forty-minute sport session for the very young at the community centre on Kometensingel, held every Monday morning through December. 26 October, Wijkcentra noord-west. KIDS WORKSHOP

Board games all week for Nationale Spellenweek, through 1 November: Museums, libraries, community centres and cafes put on games all week, often free or cheap, with venues shown on a map. 26 October, Door heel Nederland. GAMES / HOBBIES

Más Tiempo by Skepta, an ADE morning party high above Noord: Sixteen floors up in the A’DAM Tower, Skepta’s ADE morning party runs from seven until one, line-up still to be announced. 26 October, 07:00, The Loft. FESTIVALS

Chanel Beads and a second album, Your Day Will Come: Shane Lavers’s experimental solo project, started in Minnesota and later based in New York, plays its second album, with urika’s bedroom opening. 26 October, 19:30, Tolhuistuin. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Free lunchtime concert by the Girls’ Choir of Ely Cathedral: An hour of choral singing at lunchtime, with Sarah MacDonald conducting the English cathedral’s girls’ choir, which toured France in 2024. 26 October, 13:00, English Reformed Church. CHOIR / VOCAL

Voices around 1300, an Early Music Festival concert with Les Trouveurs: Three singers, one also playing the daf, move from single-line song to early polyphony, with troubadour songs, motets and Landini ballate. 26 October, 20:00, De Waalse Kerk. CLASSICAL

Sold out: Natanya’s first Amsterdam headline show: The London singer-songwriter, who writes and produces most of her own music, mixes Y2K pop, alternative R&B and poetic storytelling. 26 October, 19:30 – 20:30, Bitterzoet. POP / ROCK

British-Greek alt-rock from D3LTA, a Eurovision hopeful for Greece: Already sold out, the show pairs indie rock with pop, and producer and vocalist NEFLELI opens with an electronic trio. 26 October, 20:00 (doors), 20:30 (show), Cinetol. POP / ROCK

World Orphan Drug Congress, three days on rare disease medicine: Science, government and manufacturers meet over cell and gene therapy, genetic testing, market access and real-world evidence, through 28 October. 26 October, 08:00, RAI Amsterdam. CONFERENCE

Cheeky Monday, the weekly drum and bass night, away from Melkweg: The Amsterdam crew behind 21 years of Monday jungle and drum and bass leaves Melkweg for a night, with a twelve-name line-up. 26 October, 23:00, Onder Hans. DANCE / PERFORMANCE

Jochem Myjer in Net Alsof, his theatre show at Carré: A theatre show from Jochem Myjer titled Net Alsof, on the big riverside stage of the royal theatre on the Amstel. 26 October, Koninklijk Theater Carré. COMEDY

Opening night for Baby Reindeer on the Amstel: The first night of a stage production called Baby Reindeer, in the small comedy theatre on the Amstel. 26 October, 20:15, De Kleine Komedie. THEATER

Derek Mitchell’s Double Dutch: Two, in English, one last time: Marrying into Dutch culture and living between worlds are the themes, with Phoebe Perry opening, though this date is already sold out. 26 October, 20:30, DeLaMar Theater. THEATER

European Outdoor Film Tour: climbing in Madagascar and an Aegean voyage: Short adventure documentaries in original language with Dutch subtitles, plus a live presentation and an interval, up to three hours in all. 26 October, 20:00, Meervaart. FILM

Lunchtime Clue, the 1985 board-game whodunit restored in 4K: Guests blackmailed in a remote country house, Tim Curry as butler Wadsworth, and the alternative endings of Jonathan Lynn’s Cluedo comedy. 26 October, 12:05 – 13:39, LAB111. FILM

Tove Ditlevsen’s Copenhagen Trilogy, three and a half hours on stage: Eline Arbo directs Maria Kraakman and cast through childhood, youth and dependency, in Dutch with English surtitles at some performances. 26 October, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam, Rabozaal. THEATER

Is every journalist an activist? A panel on neutrality: NOS’s Giselle van Cann, Eric Smit and Natasja Gibbs weigh objectivity against activism, prompted by Fréderike Geerdink’s book Alle journalistiek is activisme. 26 October, 19:30, De Balie. TALKS / IDEAS

The Social Corner book club, in English, on Maggie O’Farrell’s Land: Women only and fine to come alone, the small group discusses an 1865 Irish mystery with host Carolina, a cafe drink included. 26 October, 18:00, OBA – Openbare Bibliotheek. STORY / READING

Free 10k evening run with music, at an easy pace: Midnight Runners hold a pace of around 6:30 with music playing, and you can join late, leave early or cut it short. 26 October, 20:00 – 23:00, PARCK aka Ping Pong Bar. SPORTS (ACTIVE)

Sing Taylor Swift in three-part harmony at the Concertgebouw: The audience is the choir, lyrics handed out at the door, no experience or note-reading needed, drinks included, and the result filmed. 26 October, 20:15 – 22:30, The Concertgebouw. WORKSHOP

The Poor Man’s Rembrandt: a real Rembrandt tattoo at his house: Schiffmacher & Veldhoen run a tattoo studio in the modern wing, with bookable slots, daily walk-ins and tattoos from €100 to €350. 26 October, 10:00 – 17:00, Museum Rembrandthuis. ART / MUSEUMS

Whistler-style night paintings, layer by layer, for beginners over 16: Two hours of building moody night scenes in layers, between figuration and abstraction, for up to fifteen adults with no experience needed. 26 October, Van Gogh Museum. WORKSHOP

Build a bamboo lantern for the Super Sint Maarten parade: Pretvormers guide you through bamboo, lantern paper, cotton and glue, on the condition that you walk with your creation in the parade. 26 October, 19:00, Restaurant Elixer. WORKSHOP

A drop-in experience cafe for 18 to 30 year olds: Someone with lived experience listens and offers support, while young adults talk, join an activity and eat together, every Monday. 26 October, 17:00 – 21:00, BREEN. SOCIAL / DRINKS

 

Daily markets open today: Nieuwmarkt, Dappermarkt, Albert Cuyp (De Pijp) and Ten Kate (Oud-West).

Looking ahead: Imagine Film Festival (from Tue 27 October), Tapis Rouge French Film Festival (from Wed 28 October) and Stevie Wonder (Wed 28 October). See the week ahead →

Planning and Digital Manager: Fairphone, Amsterdam

Health & Safety (H&S) Manager: Bunge, Westzaan

Manager Master Data Management (MDM): KPMG, Amstelveen

Versmedewerker Groente & Fruit: Albert Heijn, Amsterdam

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