Amsterdam is Europe's gay epicenter -- in fact, it might just be the most gay-friendly city on the planet. It even has a monument, the Homomonument, dedicated to gays and lesbians who have been persecuted around the world through the ages.
Get information, or just meet people, by visiting COC, Rozenstraat 14 (tel. 020/626-3087; www.cocamsterdam.nl), the Amsterdam branch of the Dutch lesbian and gay organization, open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. At COC's facilities, there's a daytime cafe serving coffee and quiche, a meeting space for special-interest groups, weekend discos (mainly men on Fri, women on Sat), and a special ethnic evening called Strange Fruit on Sundays.
COC's national office is just a few doors along, at Rozenstraat 8 (tel. 020/623-4596; www.coc.nl), open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (tel. 020/623-6565; www.switchboard.nl), open daily from 10am to 10pm, provides all kinds of information and advice. Call AIDS Infolijn (tel. 0900/204-2040) for info on AIDS.
The free biweekly magazine Shark is an excellent source of cultural information, in particular for offbeat and alternative scenes, and has a listings section titled "Queer Fish." Gay News Magazine, a monthly magazine in both Dutch and English, is available for free in gay establishments around the city.
