Leidseplein

A square for the evening

Leidseplein is where Amsterdam goes out. Terraces fill the open space, theatres and music halls ring the edges, and the side streets are packed with restaurants. It is one of the busiest nightlife centres in the city, and it costs nothing to stand in at any hour.

Go for the mix. The square is also a real crossing point, with trams sliding through and people cutting over the bridge towards the next canal. It is a good place to see how the centre works, and to decide where you want to eat.

From cart park to theatre square

The square dates from 1660, part of the Fourth Expansion of the canal ring. It began as a parking place. Visitors from outside the city left their carts and wagons here before walking on into town. The name comes from the Leidsepoort, the city gate that stood here until 1862. This was the end of the road from Leiden.

The first Stadsschouwburg, the city theatre, went up in 1774. It was a wooden building and it burned down completely in 1890. The theatre you see now opened in 1894.

Transport shaped the place too. On 3 June 1875 the first horse tram in Amsterdam left from here for the Plantage. On 14 August 1900 the first electric tram set off from the same square, heading for the Haarlemmerplein. Cars were pushed out in stages: the north side and the Leidsestraat became car-free in 1971, the rest of the square in 2017.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s young artists and writers gathered in the cafés Eijlders and Reynders. They were nicknamed the "pleiners", the square people. Two songs from the 1940s, by Willy Walden and Toon Hermans, were already singing about summer evenings here.

What to look for

Start at the Stadsschouwburg and look at the facade. Then turn around. Opposite stands the Hirsch building with its small, striking tower. In front of the American Hotel and its Café Américain you will find the Hans Snoek fountain.

On the square stands *Tegen alle stromen in*, "Against all currents", by Rini Hurkmans. It was unveiled in 2024 in memory of the crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who was murdered nearby in July 2021. It is a quiet spot in a loud place.

By the Leidsebrug, the bridge over the Singelgracht, is the small Leidsebosje. It holds two of the biggest trees in Amsterdam, plane trees with enormous trunks. Look up at one of the branches. A tiny figure of a tree sawyer has sat there since 1989, placed by an artist who stayed unknown.

The lizards and iguanas near the entrance to the underground bike garage are by Hans van Houwelingen. The garage opened in 2021. In winter, an ice rink takes the place of the terrace.

The venues are all within a few steps. Paradiso and Melkweg are the music halls. De Balie, Bellevue and DeLaMar are theatres. Read the posters even if you are not going in.