Melkweg Club

Probably the most famous club/entertainment complex in this part of Europe, the Melkweg lives up to the hype for most visitors and can be an entertaining place to go even when you don’t recognize any of the names on the bill. It’s actually 5 separate venues in one complex, and sometimes there is a separate admission charge for different things in different rooms. In spite of its overall size and fame, the largest room is smaller than most people expect. The Max holds about 1,500 while the Oude Zaal room holds another 700, and the Rabozaal in the building next door adds room for about 1,400. There is also a 90-seat cinema, a 140-seat theater, and various galleries and art spaces throughout.

History

The Melkweg (Dutch for milky way) was founded in 1970 when a local theater group took over a disused dairy building just off Leidseplein. It’s been run as a non-profit ever since, although the city has had to step in to prop the organization up at least once recently. The interiors have been continually upgraded and now the entire place feels like an experimental art space, but the two main rooms and the big acts they draw are the main reason for going.

Location

Melkweg is just off Leidseplein so it’s extremely easy to find and reach for most visitors. The address is:

Lijnbaansgracht 234a
1017 PH Amsterdam

Concerts

Along with the Paradiso Club, which is just a few blocks away, the Melkweg draws all the international touring acts that are too small to play in the enormous Johan Cruijff ArenA (the old Amsterdam ArenA) and the not-as-enormous AFAS Live (formerly the Heineken Music Hall) next door to it. There are concerts most nights of the week in summer, and many nights of the week the rest of the year. Obviously this has to do with which artists are coming through Amsterdam, but on any given night there might actually be two good concerts going on at Melkweg.

Dance parties/DJ events

Most Thursday through Saturday nights, and occasionally on other nights, Melkweg hosts nightclub events that are referred to as “parties” after the concerts have let out. They require a separate admission and usually cost around €5 for normal events, and possibly much more for special one-off events. The music tends to be a mix so if you are picky you should see what’s on for that night before you get in. They have disco, hip-hop, electro, indie rock, and other more unusual combinations as well. These are generally run by outside promoters who rent the space and do all the promotion, so information can be hard to find on the official Melkweg website. Many of the parties are in the same room and night each week, but sometimes they are onetime events or promotions. Parties usually start between 11pm and midnight, and the whole place stays open until at least 3am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Membership required for some events

For most music events you’ll also need a “membership” before they’ll let you in, and the events calendar says which ones require it. As of 2026 a monthly membership costs €4.50 and is added when you buy your ticket. They also sell annual memberships for €25.

How to find out what’s on

The official Melkweg website has a full English version now, and its events calendar lists every concert and club night, so that’s the place to look. The old listings sites I used to recommend here are gone.

Buying tickets in advance

You can buy advanced tickets with no extra charges at the Melkweg box office, which opens at noon daily as of 2026. The only official sales points are the box office, melkweg.nl and Ticketmaster.nl, so skip the resale sites.

Online tickets can be purchased for most events on Ticketmaster.nl. This site comes up in English, but the way each individual venue inside Melkweg is listed can be confusing at first, so click around a bit to see it all.

Map to Melkweg

To see where Leidseplein is in the context of the city center check out the main Amsterdam map page. You’ll find Leidseplein on the left side of the page, just a bit below the center of the map.