Amsterdam in September: The Best Month Nobody Talks About

Everyone talks about Amsterdam in spring — the tulips, the light, the canal tours. September is better. The summer tourists have left. The light is extraordinary — that particular golden northern European September light that photographers come to the Netherlands to find. The cultural season has just started. The prices have dropped. This is the month.

Museumnacht

Museum Night Amsterdam — usually the first Saturday of November but announced in September — opens around 50 museums simultaneously from 7pm to 2am. One €25 ticket covers all of them. Live music, performances, and events in venues that are normally closed at night. Buy tickets in September the moment they go on sale. They sell out.

Amsterdam Dance Event

ADE — the Amsterdam Dance Event — runs in October and is the world’s largest electronic music conference and festival combined. Five days, hundreds of venues, thousands of artists. The conference element is industry-facing. The festival element is open to the public and covers everything from techno to ambient. September is when you should be booking accommodation if you plan to come for ADE.

The Jordaan Festival

The Jordaan Festival in September is an entirely local affair — three days of outdoor concerts in the Jordaan neighbourhood squares, Dutch music, families and older Amsterdammers, almost no tourists. It is one of the most genuinely community-focused events in the city calendar and entry is free.

The parks in September

The Vondelpark and the Westerpark in September have a quality of light and attendance that they do not have in July. Warm enough to sit outside, cool enough to move around. The outdoor theatre in the Vondelpark runs through the end of September and is free.